Comments on my (superb!) new Ricoh GR Digital III
I've been waiting a long time waiting to get a new camera. Finally yesterday I did. During the last two years I have been mainly using a Casio Exilim EX-S10, which for its size makes a fairly good job. Being so small, it is a camera that I could take everywhere, but it is was almost impossible to take shots at night. In march I got a Pentax P30t (film, reflex) from the 80's, but I could not bring with me when I moved to Japan. For a few years I also had Canon PowerShot S2 IS which I gave to my brother last year when he moved to Berlin.
In summary, I was looking for a new camera, and saving money to get a good one. When I knew there was a chance of moving to Japan, I decided to wait: in Japan the are lots of models and the cameras are cheaper that in Europe and Chile.
After reviewing several cameras, I realized that first I had to decide which kind of photos I wanted to do, and which kind of photos I have been taking. In summary I realized that:
1) I usually take candid and street photos (fast response)
2) I like to take photos at night or in low light environments (bars, street, etc). I had to stop doing this when I gave my canon to my bother.
3) A must: good B&W photos.
4) Please, no JPG artifacts
5) If possible, a small camera that I could take with me in my pocket or small bag.
I also wanted a camera that would allow me to learn and experiment:
1) full control over the: aperture, exposure, etc.
2) good macro
3) good lenses
4) Interchangeable lenses
Obviously all this is not achievable at the same time. After looking several cameras and reviews, I made the following list of options:
a) Pentax K-7: fast, excellent quality, etc; But large body, also I would have to invest on lenses and probably I would not use its full potential. I think a camera like this can wait.
b) Ricoh gx200: small, fast, a few interchangeable lenses.
c) Ricoh GR Digital III: small, fast, high quality sensor and lense, *but* fixed focal point (24mm, f1.9). The Ricoh GR Digital II also seems good, but a bit outdated.
d) Sigma DP2: small, high quality sensor (foveon) and lense: But slow.
f) Olympus EP-1: small, excellent quality, etc; But slow. I also would have to invest on lenses and probably I would not use its full potential.
Finally I decided to go for the Ricoh GR Digital III that just came out a few days ago. I'm really happy about my decision. The quality of the photos is superb, specially at night (I got it yesterday evening; so far I have tested it mainly at night). It's really easy to use and access all features using only one hand. I will not talk about the specs, there are several pages where you can find a lot of info. Also, the pictures of Hirosan in flickr had a influnce on me selecting a Ricoh (I've never meet someone with one). For those who want more information, below you can find reviews/info that helped me made up my mind.
Ricoh Digital GR III photos
Comparative shots (Digital GR II, GR gx200, and Digital GR III)
Ricoh Digital GR III review by a Photographer (original in Chinese)
Ricoh Digital GR III review
Samples at dpreview
Side-by-side comparison (ricoh gx200, ricoh gr digital 2, Sigma dp2, olympus ep-1) at dpreview
Ricoh web page
In my flickr you can find more:
