As most regular readers on this blog know, my “every-day- carry everywhere” camera is the Ricoh GR (or GRII). The GR is exceptional in many ways :It is very compact despite featuring an APS sensor; it comes with an 28mm equivalent fixed focal length. In addition to providing great image quality, its main asset, in my view, is the very-well thought-out user interface combined with a great layout of the camera controls and dials. The first digital version of the camera dates back to 2005 (at the time with a much smaller 1/1.7″ sensor). Since this first GRD, Ricoh has introduced an updated version every other year. Ultimately, in 2013, the GRD was renamed the GR and  fitted with the much larger APS sensor. The camera has long been a favorite of street photographers and travelers  alike wanting a small carry-everywhere camera capable of delivering high quality files. You can see my reviews of both models here,here and here on this blog.

Despite this success, there have been several reported issues of dust settling on the sensor. I have  both GR models and did not notice any problems until recently when preparing my review of the GRII. I set up a test scene to compare the image quality between the GR and the GRII (by the way found a notable difference between the two-more on that in a future article). It is only then that I noticed some dust on my GR which, I had been using for about two & a half years without this issue.
As you will notice in the images, I got TWO dust particles on the sensor. One small round one, similar to dust spot I got on many of my other cameras (Panasonic LX 100 and Olympus Em1 for example) and a rather big “nail-shaped” dust spot. I suspect (without being 100% sure) that it had been recently stuck on my sensor. I thought this was almost a “study case” to show how a small or large dust spot on your sensor can affect your image file. [Read more…]

Last minute update : the Panasonic 1.7/42.5mm is now down to $298 here. If you did not read my comparison article between the two lenses, check it here and see what a good bargain this Panasonic lens is

Panasonic 1.7/42.5mm vs Olympus 1.8/45mm

If you are serious about your photography and  looking to buy a mirrorless camera, you know you have to look at the whole system and not just which camera body you like the most or has the longest list of features. Chiefly, you have to look at which lenses you like which are currently available in that system (versus lenses just planned to appear sometime “down the line”). In this case, it is hard to deny the appeal of the Micro 4/3 system. This system was developed by both Panasonic and Olympus and today offers, by far, the largest selection of AF lenses developed for the system. You have both manufacturers plus a few Sigma lenses  and a few more “exotic” manual-focus-only lenses.
Today, the lens line-up pretty much covers the entire focal length range (except  a 150mm-300mm equivalent- in a single focal length sorely lacking in my opinion). Both Panasonic and Olympus have lenses that  vary greatly in size, weight , quality, price ..
The “standard” portrait lens has several options and,for a long while, the Olympus 1.8/45mm has been rightfully praised for its combination of tiny size/weight, good image quality and great value for the money. Panasonic had two similar offerings in terms of focal length (a 2.8/45mm macro lens and the Nocticron 1.2/45mm) but very different in terms of  max aperture, weight and price. A few months ago, Panasonic launched its third short portrait lens with the 1.7/42.5mm which,despite the slightly different focal length (more on this later), is the real competitor of the Olympus 45mm. Now to the Big question: which one is the best bang for your buck ? Which one  should you go for ? [Read more…]

GR vs GRII

INTRODUCTION
This review will not cover every single aspect of the camera for a very simple reason : This new model is a very subtile evolution -too subtile many might argue- of the 2013 model, dubbed GR on which I published an detailed review here and here
While this new model is aimed to replace the first one, the first model remains scarcely available until the remaining stock is sold. If you have no use for the Wifi AND  do not really need the larger buffer capacity, the GR is probably a better deal (here) than the GRII (here) although the GRII went already down compared to its $799 introduction price. At the time of this article, the difference amounts to  a difference of $126 which one could use  to get some accessories like the very useful Gh3 hood (here)  or even, the very good GW-3 Ricoh lens converter which will turn on your GR or GRII the 28mm FOV into a very broad 21mm (here).

The GR II was announced back in June and most Ricoh users, including yours truly, were expecting several improvements like : a sensor with a higher megapixel count, some kind of EVF option, wifi… only to list the most realistic expectations. In the end, we only got WIFI/ NFC options, additional special-effect filters, & a larger buffer (the latter being for me the most useful addition). For sure, this was disappointing for most. The idea of having to wait two full years (an eternity in the digital age) was to have some real improvements over the previous model. Indeed, it is difficult to fathom why Ricoh could not at least add some contacts on the hot shoe for an external EVF and why they could not use the 24mp sony APS sensor which has already been used on Pentax cameras (a company now owned by Ricoh) for over a year now 🙁 [Read more…]