View Through the Fence

GX200, f6.3, 15 sec., ISO 64, RAW, 72mm

While on the bus today I saw this scene and had to get off and take a picture, or a few to be honest. Sometimes I see a scene and know exactly how I want the picture to look like. This was one of these occasions and while it is yet another long exposure I really like the picture. Also reminds me to get out more after dark and take some pictures of the industry around North Greenwich.

Between Good and Evil?

GX200, f4.1, 1/200, ISO 64, RAW, 24mm

Took this picture of the protest while walking in the City today. I was not the only one to take pictures of this though, quite a few people took pictures but mainly with their mobile phones. The good thing about the City is that there s always something happening so I like working here for that reason. It is also very interesting if you're interested in architecture photography with a lot of very interesting old and new buildings.
The GX200 is very good for this and has a great resolution but not enough contrast and the dynamic range is too low, this was always a problem with the GX series. The resolution is there and you get a lot of details with little noise at base ISO, especially when using RAW.

Little Poledancer

R10, f5.2, 1/25, ISO 800, JPG, 200mm

Took this while having coffee at Canary Wharf. The 200mm zoom of the R10 allowed me to take it without having to crop it massively. I did nothice one thing, the lens is too slow at 200mm and it takes me to long to adapt to this massive zoom so I always get lost and have to find where I am to compose my shot. I would say everything over 90mm is a bit of overkill for me and I am also too detached from the scene to take any really good pictures of people. I really need to try some wildlife photography with the R10 and I also have a particular project in mind but need to find the time for it.

Ricohforum London meet up

Ok, today's post is more about the reminder for the 'Ricohforum London meet up' than about photography although the picture is taken with the GX200 and demonstrates the impressive macro capabilities the camera has at the tele end. Ricoh cameras are known mostly for their excellent handling and controls but also for their great macro capabilities.

In exactly one week, on the 29th November, we will have the first official Ricohforum meet up in London. It will take place at the Bridge Lounge from 11am and we will be joined by Ricoh representatives but also a few other guests. This is the chance to meet up with other Ricoh users from London but also to give feedback and ask questions directly to Ricoh. There will be a photo walk along the Borough Market and more. Head over here to find out all the details.
If you can't make it but would like to forward any questions or feedback to Ricoh please post this here or in the Ricohforum.

London skEYE

R10, f7.1, 1 sec., ISO 80, JPG

Been to the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2008 exhibition as recommended by Yesbuts. There are some really cool photos there with great colorful and very detailed landscapes. Still, for me the best photos are a few grainy b&w and sepia pictures. Having been a bit inspired I went out and tried some cityscape pictures with the R10. This while different is my favorite although not as detailed as I would have liked.

In the Train

GX200, f2.5, 1/7, ISO 154, JPG text, 24mm

Took this picture in the train on my way home today while playing around with the GX200. It came out pretty well and is a different kind of picture so I decided to post it today. I used the text mode a few times to take pictures and really like the results if you can get the contrast just right.
In the evening I got out to experiment a bit more with the GX200 and tried some very long exposures of the sky but found that they did not come out as I wanted. Need to try again soon.

St. Paul's

R10, f5.6, 1/760, ISO 80, JPG

There are some days when I'm very inspired and take lots of pictures and like quite a few of them. Then there are days when I am not very inspired or don't have time to take pictures. While I had enough time today and went for a walk to take pictures with both the R10 and GX200, I did not take many pictures and most are pretty bad or at best average.
Take this picture for example, it has very nice colors but is aside from that more a typical tourist snapshot so not very arty or interesting as such. Then again, I took it with the R10 and it is nice to use it sometimes in pure point and shoot mode and be like a tourist. The geek in me is now more interested to see how the picture came out, it is the best case scenario for the R10 or any camera. It is taken in bright light, at base ISO with a fast shutter speed so it should show what the R10 can do best. I based the image parameters on Pavel's recommended settings for the R8/10 (Contrast +2, Sharpening -1 and Color Depth +1). I think the result is very good and as usual the colors came out very well. This is one of the reasons I prefer Ricoh cameras over any Nikon, Fuji, Canon and the likes, the colors are just more natural and not over the top saturated.

Running Ahead

GX200, f3.6, 1/200, ISO 64, JPG b&w, 24mm

I mentioned it before but I really like the GX200 JPGs at ISO up to 200. They are very good and I have no problems with using them. Especially the b&w JPGs finally look more like the GRD I. No idea what went wrong with the GRD II but for a flagship camera to have such excessive noise reduction in JPGs that can't be turned off is not good. The GX200 and even R10 are a good step in the right direction even if they are still not where the GRD I was.
The handling of the GX200 is great but not as refined as the GRDs, you can also not quite use it with one hand as well and the GRDs just 'feel' better.
One thing though if you consider the GX100 or GX200, get the LC1 lenscap. This is the best accessory Ricoh produced and will make your life much easier, the lenscap is a pain. It is a simple but great design and if you search about it you will see adaptations for the Sigma DP1 and the Panasonic LX3.

Smoke Rising

GX200, f6, 4 sec., ISO 64, RAW, 28mm

I started to like taking long exposure shots recently. Due to it getting dark pretty early it is a good time to do this. Took the GX200 again with me but realized that I need to get myself a small and light tripod so I am not depended on ledges and other items to rest the camera on. Really like how the shot came out and think the GX200 does a very good job at this.

High-ISO Comparison - Teaser

Ok, this is the last technical post for the next week where it's more about cameras than the pictures. I've planned to do this for a while but never got round to, so last week at a concert I finally managed to get this started.
The high-ISO comparison this time is only a teaser, this is due to the very slow shutter speeds and moving subjects which make it difficult to compare the cameras properly. All pictures were taken at ISO 1600, f2.5 and a shutter speed of 1/15 so this will account for loss of sharpness or motion blur in some pictures. Anyway, I thought it good to do a quick comparison and see how bothe GRDs perform. I ran Noise Ninja on the GRD I JPG and the GRD II RAW file with the same settings. The in-camera JPG settings were set to Contrast +2, Sharpness +1 and Color Depth -2 on both GRDs.
Hopefully I can do a better comparison soon. This is therefore not a final comparison and the results might be different for the final comparison. Noise Ninja also turned the GRD II file slightly blue so I need to work on that profile.
You can download the files here so you can have a look for yourself.

GX200 Walk

First day out with the GX200 and I am very impressed. It is in almost every respect better than the GRD II as long as you don't go over ISO 800.
The lens needs to be faster though, especially as you zoom in you lose too much. The JPG quality is very good though even if it does not get close to the GRD I JPGs. Even long exposure pictures can be used from the JPGs, something that is impossible with the GRD II. So far my impresions of it are very good and I would say from the current Ricoh cameras it is the best right after the GRD I. The RAW files are as good as the GRD II but with less contrast and not quite as sharp but this can be easily fixed. The only most notable differences are the distortion and the size of the camera. I was even quite impressed with the EVF. More will be posted in my review. For now have a look at some pictures

Two People and Two Macros

This is another day with the R10 and I am still quite impressed by it and so was the guy at Jacobs when I went to pick up my GR1 pictures. Went for a walk during my lunchtime and tried to take various pictures with the R10. The best thing is how versatle this camera is, from wideangle to extreme closeup, everything is possible in a very small package. I was quite impressed with how well it performes. Sure, the IQ is not great and the lens is slow but it is the price to pay for having such a wide zoom range in a small package. None of the pictures is post processed, only one is cropped to 16:9 format and all are shot at ISO 80 or ISO 100.
Finally managed to pick up my pictures from the development but to be honest I am very disapointed, both with the prints and the bad quality JPGs they put on the CD. I just can't see film being worthwile since GRD I prints looked better, there is not sign of better dynamic range or better colors in the prints. The only visible difference is the shallow DOF but this can be worked around even with the GRD. Will replace and post the pictures tomorrow.

Green Chairs

R10, f4.1, 1/7, ISO 200, JPG

After recieving both cameras for review I thought I take the R10 with me to get used to it a bit before reviewing it. The first impression is very good and I really like the camera. More will follow in a review but I am very glad Ricoh dropped the 'soap-box' design, flimsy build and controls from the R5 and improved the interface from the R7. While I have no extensive experience with the previous R series cameras, I think the R10 is the best yet. The great build and design alone are worth the upgrade.
This picture is straight out of the camera with minimal cropping and contrast adjustment.

Ricoh Diary

Ok, the post today will serve more as an announcement for a few things.

First, a big thank you to Ricoh for sending me the GX200 and R10 for review. I will try to write a comprehensive review of each camera in it's own right and also compare it with the other Ricoh cameras. This will all be done in the next weeks depending on time and more on weather.

Second, the Ricohforum meet-up is approaching so be sure to check out the thread or the details on my Wordpress blog. We will have someone from Ricoh and a few other guests taking part in it so it should be very interesting. Post in the forum if you're coming or if you want to forward any feedback or questions to Ricoh.

And third, I've had a quick look through some pictures for my low light/high ISO comparison and the results are very interesting. Will post a first teaser soon on my Wordpress blog.

Bending

GRD II, f2.4, 1/100, ISO 80, RAW 1:1

Ok, the GR1 week is over and now I have to wait for the film to be developed. This should hopefully be done by Friday. This is really a pain and the reason I will not use film again in the near future. While I really enjoyed the week with the GR1, it is a fantastic camera to use afterall, the drawbacks of film are just too much to make it worthwile. The quality is not better either, on the contrary, it is worse, unless you pay extra for your prints or print big.
Since I've used the GRD I a lot recently, I decided to use the GRD II for a while now.
The weather finally got better an we had some sunshine. Makes for a much more pleasing experience to go out and take pictures if it's not dark and raining. So I used my lunch today to go out for a walk and take some pictures.

Ricoh GR1 - Day 7

As you can see from the picture, I finished the film and the week with the Ricoh GR1. Now I will have to develop the film tomorrow although I haven't found a cheap and good place to do so in London. The biggest problem is to get my pictures in digital form and high quality. As nice as negatives and prints are, as useless are they for day-to-day use and won't work to post on my blog either.
The problem with getting pictures on a CD is the poor quality of the scans you get. This is the worst part of using film and the main reason I don't like shooting film. Too much hassle and costs involved to see your pictures. Digital is so much better in this respect and works for me much better, more convenient and cost effective. Developing 20 film rolls and putting them on a CD will cost me more than a Ricoh R10 here and the quality of the prints will be quite poor anyway so pints from digital are usually superior these days.
Ok, today's picture shows another problem with film, the WB.

Ricoh GR1 - Day 6

Continued today with my GR1 week and took one picture, still have 2 left so will manage to have a full week with the slight break of yesterday.Much has been talked about OVFs in compact cameras and wether they should be integrated or not. My opinion is that I don't need an OVF and see it more as a gadget than a real useful tool for composition, my composition actually suffers when using an OVF. But if a company decidest to waste space in a camera and make an integrated OVF it should be like the GR1 or better, otherwise just leave it out and provide a high quality external one.

Window Shoper

GRD, f2.4, 1/60, ISO 1600, JPG

Although I still have three pictures left on the film in the GR1, I did not get roun to use it today so took this picture with the GRD I instead. I had to use ISO 1600 since it was dark so I doubt the ISO 200 film in the GR1 would have been of much use today. Only processing was a slight crop and removing the color noise using Noise Ninja. After using the GR1 recently, I really hope Ricoh can get the GRD III to focus as fast and reliable as the GR1. While the GRD I is very fast and one of the feastest focusing compact cameras, the GR1 is even faster and more reliable in low light. This coupled with a fast lens would be the prefect camra for low light street photography.

Ricoh GR1 - Day 5

After today I still have 3 pictures left on the film so it might get me through the weekend. This is one of my favorite picture from the week and yesterday's featured picture was also taken today with a few other pictures I quite like. I could have easily finished the film but decided to make it to 7 days.

Today, I could also go to a concert and start the low light, high ISO comparison but only between the 2 GRDs. Will have to sort through the pictures and will post a preview soon.

Ricoh GR1 - Day 4

The weather was really bad today (yet again) so I was not overly inspired but tried to take a shot from the hip using Snap focus. It was dark and I had to use f2.8 so I hope it came out ok. One thing I don't like about the GR1 is that I have no idea how to disable the AF assist lamp (maybe reading the manual would help but this is too easy ;) ).

Ok, the picture for today turned out pretty bad, blurry and out of focus due to my own falut for setting the GR1 to Snap focus and f2.8. So I decided to use a different picture instead but you can see the original picture for today below. I decided to use the other pictre since it shows some nice weather this week but also because it showcases best the higher dynamic range although I am sure the GRD II would have done a similar job.

Ricoh GR1 - Day 3

I start to get along better with using film although I am looking for different things to take pictures of. Unfortunatelly the weather is pretty bad, cloudy and it gets dark at 3pm already so there are not many photo opportunities.

This is one of the pleasant surprises of the week, the picture came out much better than expected, it was very dark and overcast when I took it but it looks much better in the picture.

Ricoh GR1 - Day 2

While the weather was again not very good, I still went out after work to take some pictres with the GR1. The ISO 200 film is however very limiting and I hope I won't end up with a bunch of blurry pictures due to camera shake. The biggest disatvantage of film is that it is very restrictive an one can not just change the ISO, color/b&w and other setting as easy as on a digital camera. Everytime I shoot film I wonder if the better image quality really makes up for the lack of flexibility.

I really like the tunnel here and will definitely return for more pictures at some point.

As to answer my own question, the image quality is not better so it does not make up for the lack of flexibility. Let me set it straight, the image quality can be better if you pay a lot for processing. The good news is that most pictures were actually not blurry as expected.

Ricoh GR1 - Day 1

Ok, off to the GR1 week. Unfortunatelly, since the GR1 uses the rather 'outdated' sensor technology caled "film" I have to wait till the end of the week to review my pictures due to the very slow procesing. Also the ISO is fixed at 200, b&w mode does not work either and I have to replace the sensor after each 36 pictures. ;)

So you don't think I just forgot to update my blog, I will keep updating it every day with a place holder picture. These pictures will all be taken with the GRD II and removed once the proper pictures are up. The text might also be ammended.

Little White Dog

GRD, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 64, JPG

A quiet Sunday but the weather was a lot nicer after the rain yesterday so I went for a walk around Blackheath. Forgot my SD card so could only take 7 pictures but I had my GR1 with me and made some good use of it. This also got me thinking to do a GR1 week. This should be interesing since I will only see my pictures at the end of the week.

The Bargehouse

I went back to the Bargehouse today to take some more pictures of it and this time I used the GRD I with the adapter lenses. It performed better due to the faster lens but the focus was more difficult and even with the fast lens I had to use ISO 400-1600 for the pictures.
There is one picture from the GX100 in there and developed from RAW, you can try to find it and see if it does stand out.