Forum: Ricoh GR
07-08-2020, 11:57 AM
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Thank you all for your very kind words, I am very humbled :)
Regarding Macro mode, it allows you to shoot as close as 6cm and is about 1:3.5, which is pretty close.
Below is a pic I just shot right now as an example: GR000450_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
Note that I shot this at 1/640 and ISO100...I used a manual flash handheld and the GR III one handed. That's the reason I wanted such a high shutter speed, which is not a problem with the leaf shutter :)
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Forum: Ricoh GR
07-07-2020, 02:45 PM
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I have been lusting for this camera ever since handling one in the BIC camera store in Tokyo last year. I finally scored one for a good price over at fredmiranda, and it included 3 OEM batteries :)
I took it on a roadtrip up the California coast this past weekend. And, to challenge myself, it is the ONLY camera I took.
Pros:
- Even though I only shoot raw, the files definitely have more of a "film like" quality than any other digital camera I have ever used. It does have strong vignetting which may add to that. Of course this is correctable in post, but it is something to be mindful of.
- My friends commented "what kind of pictures do you expect to get out of that?" LOL, they are used to me carrying around a lot of "big cameras", and they were implying that they didn't think I could get high quality pictures with such a compact camera. It is definitely stealth and is a big plus.
- Lens is super sharp, like really sharp. It allows nice cropability.
- 28mm equivalent focal length is very versatile, more so than 35mm.
- Autofocus in lowlight, single, was actually not as bad I thought it would be (with the latest firmware).
- In body SR is definitely a plus.
- The touch screen is really responsive. I use it to focus and release shutter with one touch, and it (mostly) works very well.
- Macro mode lets you get really close and definitely adds versatility (but more in the cons section).
Cons:
- No articulating rear screen. This makes getting those really low level shots (like an inch or 2 above the ground) much more challenging than it ought to be.
- I used this a lot on the beach in midday, and I was basically guessing at my composition. I had the screen on full brightness, but wasn't quite enough.
- No flash. This would be really nice to have due to the leaf shutter so you can sync at really high shutter speed. This comes in handy to get a nice fill flash in the day time, and also the catch light in the eyes.
- Macro mode autofocus is, in a word, bad. This is double true in low light. Also true when you use the touch screen to focus. However, it does improve a little bit when I used the half-shutter press to focus as opposed to the touch screen.
Here are some pics:
- One of the shots where an articulating screen would have really come in handy GR000264_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Majestic 9 pound beast (i just now noticed the head peering over the rocks, I totally should have cloned that out) GR000299_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Used the built-in ND filter, shot at f16 to try to bring the shutter speed as low as possible and get the swirling water GR000282_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Shot into the sun, no ghosting (reminds me of the DA 15mm LTD) GR000373_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Beautiful landscapes, horrible harsh lighting GR000377_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Harsh lighting GR000402_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Used VSCO Afga film simulator GR000404_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Sharp, sharp GR000393_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Smooth bokeh from a wide angle (have to get really close to your subject) GR000418_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
- Don't worry, the Elephant Seals are not dead...they are just huuuuge and rest a lot! This is one where I used the 50mm in camera crop. As you can see, the lens is sharp enough that you still get a lot of nice detail even after the crop GR000431_Edit by Kenneth Marks, on Flickr
So, in summary, this is a really hard camera to describe. People that say "oh just use a phone it is the same thing", nope, absolutely not. The resolution and lens on this thing is just way more than you can hope to get from a phone. Same thing with the smooth bokeh (if you get close to your subject).
You really have to know how to work the 28mm equivalent focal length. It is great for non-human close-ups. For humans, it is awesome for environmental portraits.
No camera is perfect. I would 100% sacrifice a bit more camera volume for pop-up flash and an articulating screen. Those two additions would send this camera into the stratosphere.
Having said that, i would only want those additions if it were to remain pocketable. I have had a Fuji X100F, which is the previous model, and it was big enough to discourage me from taking it everywhere. Also, the Fuji interface sucks the fun out of photography (of course that is subjective and only my opinion).
This may sound strange, but here is my summary:
I would not want this to be my only camera. But if I absolutely had to have only one camera, this one would be it.
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
04-10-2020, 10:18 AM
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Keep the Tamron, there is no need to "upgrade" it.
Instead get a cheap manual flash, a cheap hotshoe flash trigger and a flash arm.
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Forum: Ricoh GR
10-13-2019, 08:45 AM
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I know the image quality is no contest.
I was more concerned about it being able to lock on and focus.
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Forum: Ricoh GR
10-13-2019, 08:20 AM
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I am very seriously considering a GR III.
But one of places I would really like to use it frequently is in restaurants or bars like when my wife and I go on date nights or a night out with friends. It would be nice to get candids in those situations.
I see lots of nice shots out in the sunshine, but I almost never see indoor candids with this camera.
Any experience with this situation? Or am I better off just sticking with my Pixel 3 phone?
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Forum: Ricoh GR
04-19-2019, 08:27 PM
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Hi Paul!
If you are a fan of Pentax, and like the 28mm focal length, then the GR III is an absolute no brainer. It is pretty much the least pretentious camera out there. And if you are a fan of Pentax, then you wont mind the AF. That is not a slight in anyway, it is just understanding the tool's limitations and using the it's strengths.
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Forum: Ricoh GR
04-19-2019, 05:30 PM
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So i am vacationing in Tokyo and they have AWESOME camera stores. They even have full lines of Pentax products on display to view and play with :)
Anyway, i have always been interested in the Ricoh GR line. But in America there is no where to actually handle one.
I spent an entire 5 minutes playing around with the GR III, so take this with a grain of salt :P
I can see why this thing has such a passionate fan base. It feels very sturdy and it is very compact.
I was disappointed in how easy it is to remove the ring outside of the lens. I can see that it would be easy to lose.
For being a wide angle, it really has gorgeous bokeh, if you get close to your subject. And man, it really does focus close.
The lens is shaaaarp from edge to edge wide open.
The touch screen is very responsive.
As for autofocus, when it locks on, it is very quick and it stays stuck. However, if it misses, and hunts, it really slows things. It just racks back and forth. And it does it slowly.
The troubling part is that the store was very well lit and not dark. Perhaps it being fluorescent lights made a difference?
I do wish it had a tilting screen. I think it would still be plenty pocketable with the few millimeters required to add one.
Having said all of that, i am seriously considering getting one. It is just so discreet and the b&w pics from the new flickr GRIII group look so luscious.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-25-2017, 08:28 PM
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This is such a very useful focal range. I take about 75% of my shots with the 15-30mm. This + DA35mm LTD + 55-300mm is all anyone could want (perhaps sprinkle in a 55mm or 70mm if you are a portrait shooter).
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-12-2017, 10:31 AM
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For Pentax stuff, here is the best place.
For Non-Pentax, I have had good luck at fredmiranda.com, however they do require a donation (like here), to list items.
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
09-08-2017, 03:53 PM
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Hmmm,..I am not sure that is a great example. The guy's face is not in focus, but his forward shoulder is :confused:
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
08-27-2017, 05:27 PM
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Awww man, I would've snatched one up real quick for that price!
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-27-2017, 12:54 PM
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Not at all...
I definitely think there is a future market for k-1/D850/5dmk4.
Obviously there is a smartphone market.
It is the in-between market which is being under-served by camera makers. The $300-$800 market that consists of folks that want better pics than they can get from smart phones, but do not get better results with their Rebels/D3400s because they do not know how to (or don't want to spend the time to learn) fine tune their camera's jpeg engine. They do not want to spend 10/month on Adobe CC or troll thru youtube learning how to set their camera. So they get frustrated with their cheap, space consuming DSLR and it collects dust, while they go back to their smartphones to tale pictures.
I know a few people like that personally. I offer to help them, but as soon as I talk about using faster or slower apertures they have already lost interest.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-27-2017, 10:48 AM
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Straw man argument...
No one is arguing that camera companies should not build DSLRs.
However, they should not ignore the vast majority of the population that does not care about sensor size, cipa data, financial reports etc.
By the way, the statement "clueless smartphone users" reek of snobbery, but it is not unexpected.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-27-2017, 10:26 AM
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So your opinion is to not give consumers what they want, rather what they SHOULD want (SHOULD want according to the tiny population of DSLR enthusiasts).
Sounds like a recipe for 1% marketshare.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-26-2017, 11:04 PM
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You missed my point.
My point was that camera companies would gain customers by making it easier to get decent files out of midrange cameras. How much easier can you get by swiping left and right to change settings??
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-25-2017, 01:55 PM
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I am not arguing that in-camera JPEGs are not adequate for the majority of photos out there. This is the problem though:
- I want to shoot in a museum, so I have to alter the camera's WB settings, sharpening and NR settings.
- I go outside to the museums flower garden, so I have to re-change the WB settings, and reduce NR and perhaps change the sharpening, then chimp and tweek.
- After that, I go to dimly lit restaurant. Rinse, wash, repeat.
The quality of the JPEGs are fine, it is the camera's interface that makes it frustrating for a lot of first time DSLR owners. There is a reason why a lot of new DSLR owners complain that they are actually getting better results from their cell phone than their new camera.
There is no reason (besides lack of vision and resources) why a camera company could not create a user friendly, intuitive samsung galaxy/apple i-phone interface for developing RAWs.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-25-2017, 12:25 PM
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1) There is the cellphone crowd that are happy looking at 8" images and just want to press a single button to add a filter and share. There are billions of these people.
2) There are the new parents/kids recital/high school sports/travel photographers where a cell phone isn't cutting it and do not want to use an over sharpened, over saturated filtered. This is the group that would be best served if camera companies focused in on software development and mobile solutions. They want an easier solution than tweeking and re-tweeking the cameras JPEG engines, but dont want to come home after a long day at work and sit in front of a computer screen for processing.
3) The gear heads and the manual control guys that agonize over every pixel.
There will always be a market for the #3 group. Heck you can still by a 8x10" field camera brand new, along with sheet film, all the development chemicals and darkroom equipment.
I think the problem is that camera companies (and message board gear heads) often think that groups 1 and 2 are the same. But in reality, they are very distinct. They want better than cell phone, and better than Instagram filters. But do not have the money for a full frame camera, and do not have the patience or time to fiddle with every RAW exposure.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-25-2017, 11:07 AM
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Yes, and that is the problem... a simple filter, such as what is available on VSCO or instagram, gets results that are as good or almost as good as in-camera JPEGs with the swipe of a finger. With a camera, you have to create multiple JPEG profiles, with different WBs, sharpening, noise reduction etc. and it is very non-intuitive.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-25-2017, 10:54 AM
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I don't want to answer for the OP, but for me personally, I was in a fancy, very dim bar this weekend where the waiter makes your drinks table side. A 16 or 23mm f1.4 would've been very handy. Indoors, poorly lit environment where things move....SR/IS does not help you much there.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-25-2017, 10:13 AM
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Unfortunately, these are the compromises you have to make. No one system is perfect. If I had my choice, I would want a Pentax body with Fuji lenses....but that aint happening lol.
You just have invest in a system that checks MOST of your boxes.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
08-24-2017, 09:47 AM
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Nope, for me that would be the 645Z.
If I had that kinda $$$, that is where I would go
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Forum: Sold Items
08-17-2017, 10:34 PM
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Forum: Sold Items
08-14-2017, 12:33 PM
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Forum: Sold Items
08-10-2017, 04:34 PM
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PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing Item for Sale
Pentax DFA 15-30mm f2.8 For Sale Asking Price
1,100.00 USD Item Location
Long Beach, CA (United States) Item Description
For sale is my like new Pentax DFA 15-30mm f2.8 lens, with caps, case, box and paperwork.
The lens shows barely any signs of usage and the glass is pristine.
Asking for $1,150 - Price is not firm but please no lowballs. Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
No Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling Item Condition (Key)
Used
Like New Shipping Destinations
North America Shipping Charge
Included in Price Shipping Services
USPS Accepted Payment Types
PayPal Return Policy & Additional Details
Return lens within 7 days for full refund minus shipping costs if not as described
Please send me a private message if interested in the item!
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Forum: Sold Items
08-04-2017, 10:52 AM
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Bump...
Price is not firm, but please be reasonable ;)
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