[i83N]

Latest GR Firmware Update : Software Downloads | RICOH IMAGING

[KevinE]

I've never seen this product in person. Does it actually exist?

[Eyewanders]

Oooh oooh! Thank you!

[Adam]

I've never seen this product in person. Does it actually exist?

Sure it does. Ricoh isn't a mainstream camera brand but the latest GR has received universal acclaim for its pocketability and DSLR-grade image quality.

Ricoh GR vs. Nikon Coolpix A Review - Introduction - PentaxForums.com

Adam
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[Eyewanders]

Sure it does. Ricoh isn't a mainstream camera brand but the latest GR has received universal acclaim for its pocketability and DSLR-grade image quality.

Ricoh GR vs. Nikon Coolpix A Review - Introduction - PentaxForums.com

Testify!

[Adam]

Testify!

I think the closest analogy would be a pocketable K-5 IIs with a 18mm prime lens on it.

[Eyewanders]

I think the closest analogy would be a pocketable K-5 IIs with a 18mm prime lens on it.

Agreed. The closest camera I've ever handled to a pint-sized DSLR in terms of both handling and IQ. I think you mean 28mm prime lens though.

[Adam]

Agreed. The closest camera I've ever handled to a pint-sized DSLR in terms of both handling and IQ. I think you mean 28mm prime lens though.

No, it's actually an 18mm focal length. 28mm equivalent on full-frame. That's why some people are saying it's a tad on the wide side for an everyday shooter.

[Eyewanders]

Ah yes - you're right. I'll never be able to think outside 35mm equivalents.

[Uluru]

Now, the GR is not as half as popular in the West as it would have been with a 35mm lens on it. Or even a 50mm one.
Ricoh is, hopefully, slowly crawling out of its ancient worldview and will deliver GRs for the world markets.

[thibs]

IMO they will... soon.

[cali92rs]

Now, the GR is not as half as popular in the West as it would have been with a 35mm lens on it. Or even a 50mm one.
Ricoh is, hopefully, slowly crawling out of its ancient worldview and will deliver GRs for the world markets.

I wouldn't count on it...their GRDs were 28mm equiv as well.

[Eyewanders]

I wouldn't count on it...their GRDs were 28mm equiv as well.

Exactly... I prefer the 28mm. I've the 21mm adapter for occasional wide shots, and there are 35mm & 47mm crop modes (which I've setup for a single button press) if I really want to frame it smaller. Sure, it is not *true 35 or 47, but I prefer it this way. Other than the slightly slow AF in lowlight compared to the older GRD models, this is my perfect pocket cam. In most ways each GR gets better and I really don't see them abandoning this formula after roughly 30 years of success.
My biggest wish right now is that the next iteration would match the AF speed of the past models. The firmware update from October certainly helped quite a bit but it's still an occasional frustration in very lowlight.

---------- Post added 02-28-14 at 02:23 PM ----------

All that said, if they released a comparable model that was a fast 50mm variety, I'd snatch it up in a moment.

[Uluru]

I wouldn't count on it...their GRDs were 28mm equiv as well.

GR is a Japanese-only cult camera. Nothing more than that. That is why, to brand ‘purists’, the GR is 28mm, or, the traditional Japanese normal wide-angle. That is not western wide normal FoV, which is 35mm.

If Ricoh tried to understand the western market, there would be Ricoh GR35, or Ricoh GR40+ (GR50). No doubt about it. But even today, in the USA, Ricoh is ICON series of copiers. A company with a strict Japanese aesthetics and worldview, with only a coulisse in front of them in things that matter to them (copiers). In camera business, they stick to their traditionalist comfort zone. Total foreign camera market share for Ricoh and Pentax together is puny 8%.

Infusion of fresh thinking and B2C thinking outside its comfort zone is what Ricoh needs desperately, if they want to entice customers around the globe to talk about them.

So if they want any lasting success with its GR beyond one niche, the GR it must become 35mm, it must become 50mm. What they do now through image cropping inside firmware is a joke .. but at least one that is, hopefully, readying them for real commitment.

The GR is advertised as 'Be your eyes'. The current GR is the eyesight of the traditional Japanese photography approach. That is why it is 28mm. That is why it only crops to 35mm allowing for a much smaller file. That is the level of politeness western users are greeted with.

On the other hand, even today, Leica’s most appreciated lenses in constant demand are 35mm and 50mm, both Luxes and Crons, and what to speak of Summarites. They can’t make enough of them! Why new Fuji's 35mm lens gets so many appraisals even before it's available to buy? And one compact camera that is almost constantly on DPR’s top list of cameras is Fuji X100s (before it X100) with its splendid 35mm/f2 lens. That camera when first introduced was so half-baked it barely took photos. But the lens and styling appeal stole people's hearts in the West and it sold in hundreds of thousands. Is that a coincidence, that even a faulty product is cheered for and yet one that is nearly perfect (the GR) is still a niche?

Because the GR with its 28mm lens is nowhere to be seen. Recommended yes, but mostly in the alleys of Shinjuku, among shelves and people who already know everything about it.

[detritus]

GR is a Japanese-only cult camera. Nothing more than that. That is why, to brand ‘purists’, the GR is 28mm, or, the traditional Japanese normal wide-angle. That is not western wide normal FoV, which is 35mm.

If Ricoh tried to understand the western market, there would be Ricoh GR35, or Ricoh GR40+ (GR50). No doubt about it. But even today, in the USA, Ricoh is ICON series of copiers. A company with a strict Japanese aesthetics and worldview, with only a coulisse in front of them in things that matter to them (copiers). In camera business, they stick to their traditionalist comfort zone. Total foreign camera market share for Ricoh and Pentax together is puny 8%.

Infusion of fresh thinking and B2C thinking outside its comfort zone is what Ricoh needs desperately, if they want to entice customers around the globe to talk about them.

So if they want any lasting success with its GR beyond one niche, the GR it must become 35mm, it must become 50mm. What they do now through image cropping inside firmware is a joke .. but at least one that is, hopefully, readying them for real commitment.

The GR is advertised as 'Be your eyes'. The current GR is the eyesight of the traditional Japanese photography approach. That is why it is 28mm. That is why it only crops to 35mm allowing for a much smaller file. That is the level of politeness western users are greeted with.

On the other hand, even today, Leica’s most appreciated lenses in constant demand are 35mm and 50mm, both Luxes and Crons, and what to speak of Summarites. They can’t make enough of them! Why new Fuji's 35mm lens gets so many appraisals even before it's available to buy? And one compact camera that is almost constantly on DPR’s top list of cameras is Fuji X100s (before it X100) with its splendid 35mm/f2 lens. That camera when first introduced was so half-baked it barely took photos. But the lens and styling appeal stole people's hearts in the West and it sold in hundreds of thousands. Is that a coincidence, that even a faulty product is cheered for and yet one that is nearly perfect (the GR) is still a niche?

Because the GR with its 28mm lens is nowhere to be seen. Recommended yes, but mostly in the alleys of Shinjuku, among shelves and people who already know everything about it.

so... westerners have a narrower perspective?