Triple Crown

Ricoh GX100

nobody@flickr.com (szociofoto) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 06:52:41 -0800

szociofoto posted a new topic:

The camera I'm going to review is the Ricoh GX100.

This is a small beast. Mine is about 6 years. I bought a S90 a year ago to replace it. And I discover GX100 is much better.
Looking it now, my thinking is that although there is no big differences in the results pf bpth cameras the GX100 has much more usability than the S90.

As I said, first point is usability, it is easy and great to use. You will have a great control.
It has a lot of noise with high ISOs but the stabilization is great. you can shot at 1/2 without too much problems!!! Who needs high ISO then?

(this was shot at 0.5 seconds exposure, I had the camera in one hand and the umbrella in the other)

There is a trick I use. I shoot mainly in B&W JPG. The sensivity is auto until 1600 ISO.
Why?
The noise in B&W doesn't look too digital. It is great it reminds me somehow the old grain.

(unintrusive shot at 1600 ISO speed!!! I love this "grain")

Another point is the lens. It is great, not too luminous, but it is a 24mm equivalent. Great for street photography.
And the last point is that is really a nice unintrusive camera.

It cost about 120-150€ on second hand. The bad thing is, I didn't find any second hand model for a long time. I don't know what I will do when it breaks

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nobody@flickr.com (szociofoto) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:51:07 -0700

szociofoto posted a reply:

I'm very pleased with m4/3 olympus cameras and thinking to move to E-M5 or E-PL5.
Great sensor and wonderful tiny cameras.

For me the combo E-M5 (~1000€) + Panasonic 12-35 F2.8 (24-70 equiv ~1000€) and a small Sony RX100 (~600€) for the pocket would be the perfect equipment now.

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nobody@flickr.com (Narkissos.) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 08:14:31 -0700

Narkissos. posted a reply:

Poor AF (it's said to be comparable to the X100 by those who've used it, which is more than good enough for me) and battery life aren't that big an issue(which is why I'm even considering this), they do give two batteries with the camera... and I quite literally have never used flash, and I don't plan on doing so either. Maybe in studio settings in the future but in that use, the Sigma DP2M is actually pretty good because it can sync flash up to 1/2000 or so.

Also, it appears the aformentioned Ricoh cameras aren't really cameras I'd consider, purely because of the sensor size (yes, I make large prints when I do make prints) - the camera I'll replace my 5D with needs to at the very least match it if not exceed it, and at lower ISOs the Sigma DP1/2 Merrill cameras indeed do so. High ISOs are an entirely different matter, but I have my X100 for that which, while not really as good as the 5D, is more than adequate for me, even for large prints.

But thanks for the recommendations nonetheless. If there are any other, perhaps a bit more comparable cameras (in terms of IQ) you'd recommend, then I'm all ears. Obviously practically nothing short of a D800E or a medium format digital camera will match and exceed the DP2 M in terms of just raw image quality (save for dynamic range which I don't consider that big an issue in practice) at lower ISOs(on account of its very dense Foveon X3 sensor on a relatively large area), but at the very least something as good as the 5Dc in that regard, otherwise there's just no real point in doing the switch, because while I'd have a lighter camera, I'd also lose too much for me to consider doing it. ;)

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nobody@flickr.com (Jason R.) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 04:25:26 -0700

Jason R. posted a reply:

Whilst I like the idea of a 30mm (45mm equiv) lens the Sigma has a lot of drawbacks. Poor af, poor battery life, no built in flash, etc etc.
I would go for a Ricoh grd 3 or 4. There's not a massive difference between the two and you can get a 3 for a couple of hundred pounds. I have a 3 and it is a BRILLIANT pocket camera. Fast af, flash, AMAZING battery life, incredible shooting options and in camera iq control. The only issue I have with it is that it is 28mm which is a bit wide for me (I normally shoot at 50mm) That said the iq is so good that a slight crop to compensate is no problem.

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nobody@flickr.com (Narkissos.) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 04:03:56 -0700

Narkissos. posted a reply:

Well... I'm now considering just getting rid of all my heavy equipment, or in other words, my 5D and the Sigma 24mm and 50mm lenses and instead acquire a Sigma DP2/1 Merrill to complement my X100. I'm mainly considering this because of size and weight and the fact that for the last month or so I just haven't brought my 5D along at all... and what's the point of owning a camera if one doesn't actually use it.

Still, I'm of two minds on the matter, because it's equipment I already own, am familiar with and it's very, very versatile, and it's only real downside is indeed the size and weight.

Why am I considering this is because I can live without the creature comforts of DSLRs (fast AF, et cetera), as I've discovered, and also I'm planning on a trip to Hungary and Bosnia early next year and theres no way in hell I'm bringing the 5D with me, but I would like to have two different cameras with me... and also, it's one of the few cases where I'm willing to part with full frame simply because I wouldn't actually lose any low ISO image quality (in fact I'd gain a fair bit, but frankly the 5D has more than enough of that in practice anyway, so it's more like a bonus than an actual thing to take into consideration in terms of decision making).

Thoughts, ideas, recommendations?

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nobody@flickr.com (Narkissos.) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 05:47:04 -0700

Narkissos. posted a reply:

I wouldn't say one has to be better for 35mm, than any other focal length... but 35mm probably looks the best, with 50mm taking second place in my subjective opinion.
I much prefer wider lenses to longer ones, in fact I really don't like using lenses longer than about 60mm in full frame FoV terms(the longest lens I own is the Helios 44-2 58mm F2, and I mostly use my Sigma 50mm F1.4 on my 5D, can't stand anything longer than the 44-2 for most uses).

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nobody@flickr.com (szociofoto) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:42:33 -0700

szociofoto posted a reply:

Indeed, the X100 is a great camera.
But you need to be a masterclass to make good street photography with a 35mm.
I love it, yes!

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nobody@flickr.com (Narkissos.) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:24:54 -0700

Narkissos. posted a reply:

Now that the dust has settled, so to speak, I consider the 5D a superior camera in terms of just flat out image quality. The 5D has more dynamic range and more malleable RAW files, and when I shoot at higher ISOs, I can bring back the shadows better and with less noise from the 5D's files. So even after 7 years of technological innovation in terms of noise and dynamic range and all that, you still can't beat physics. Who would've thought. :P

Still, the Fuji is more than admirable in terms of image quality and is still my camera of choice for street and travel photography, and I'll never leave the house without it.

That's one of my favourite images I've made with the X100.

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nobody@flickr.com (Narkissos.) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 10:14:32 -0700

Narkissos. posted a reply:

And now I am yet another proud owner of the Fuji X100.
A wonderful little camera, the three latest images in my stream are made with it... and they are from only the first shoot. :D

Wish the battery life was better... but that's about the only gripe I have with it, and that can be fixed by the purchase of extra batteries, which is something I'm planning on doing in the not too distant future.

The noise performance is ridiculously good, even ISO 6400 looks very nice, and what noise it does have looks more like grain than digital noise... the 5D accomplishes that admirably, but the X100 is even better in that regard.

And the viewfinder! That's the main reason I bought this thing (in addition to it being very small, silent and the fact that it has a 35mm FoV lens on it). It's just so great in use... the control layout is excellent and with a custom thumb grip it fits in the hand even better than my 5D.

Should prove to be an excellent tool for me, over time. Time will tell if those 3 photos I currently have in my photostream, that I made with the X100, are anything to write home about, so to speak...

But for now I'm extremely satisfied with this thing... in fact after a few hours of use I already liked it better than my 5D. :)

I sold both the Zeiss and Tair lenses though... was kind of sad to see the Zeiss go but I needed the money. It's used by a videographer now...

Edit: Decided to remove most of the X100 images from my photostream, only one remains...

England uncensored

nobody@flickr.com (szociofoto) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:44:24 -0700

szociofoto posted a new topic:

Wonderful work about england, by Peter Dench

www.reportagebygettyimages.com/features/england-uncensored/#

Love it!

As a comment, I think it is inevitable to remember Martin Parr when you see any colorfull photo of england. Don't try to compare, in my opinion these photos are great, but Martin Parr is a genious!