Ricoh GR II. Any current/former users?

[KerrKid]

I just bought a Ricoh GR II and saw it mentioned in another thread. The pix that were posted looked great.

What can anyone tell me about the camera? Will I like it?

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

I don't own a GR II, but I have a Nikon Coolpix A which is very similar and I like it a lot. The A has specs & capabilities of a D7xxx series SLR but with a compact, mirrorless body and finely-tuned fixed lens. The leaf shutter is absolutely silent and allows for flash sync at all shutter speeds; up to 1/2000s IIRC. Image quality is fantastic, especially the OOC jpegs. Shooting with an optical viewfinder (an accessory available for both the GRII and A) changes the experience for the better... composing a shot on a fixed LCD backscreen is my least favorite ergonomic of digital photography.

My fanboyism might be showing, but another sleeper is the P340. It's sort of a 'miniature' version of the A with many more bells and whistles in terms of capabilities, albeit the with the dreaded fixed LCD.

 

[KerrKid]

I don't own a GR II, but I have a Nikon Coolpix A which is very similar and I like it a lot. The A has specs & capabilities of a D7xxx series SLR but with a compact, mirrorless body and finely-tuned fixed lens. The leaf shutter is absolutely silent and allows for flash sync at all shutter speeds; up to 1/2000s IIRC. Image quality is fantastic, especially the OOC jpegs. Shooting with an optical viewfinder (an accessory available for both the GRII and A) changes the experience for the better... composing a shot on a fixed LCD backscreen is my least favorite ergonomic of digital photography.

My fanboyism might be showing, but another sleeper is the P340. It's sort of a 'miniature' version of the A with many more bells and whistles in terms of capabilities, albeit the with the dreaded fixed LCD.

Those look like great cameras! Thanks for letting me know about them. I do like Nikons a lot.

I looked at the finder for the GR II but it’s big bucks. I’ll have to live without it for now.

How do you like the 28mm lens?

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

Physically the lens is 18.5mm onto a APS-C sensor, yielding an equivalent FOV of a 28mm lens on full-frame. It is great for general environmental shooting in AF or zone focus and while not ideal for close-ups, it will produce photos with a similar perspective/distortion as a smartphone and so fulfills that expectation.

The lens on the A is at least as performative as the 18.5mm CX. I've yet to buy into the Nikon Z system, but an 18.5mm (or 16mm) Z pancake to go along with 40mm and 28mm might convince me.

 

[KerrKid]

I actually bought the Ricoh GR Digital II. I didn't know the difference between that and the regular GR II or that there was such a thing. It, of course, has a small sensor at 10 megapixels. I see good reviews on it and the price was right, so I can't complain. The A that you have does compare well to the GR II.

 

[KerrKid]

The Ricoh GR Digital II is DOA. Won't power on. Battery is charged and even new AAA's don't change things. The Japanese seller finally returned my communications after I had to contact eBay. They said to turn the battery around which you cannot do by design. A stalling tactic I think. I have not heard back after I replied to them. The camera has to go back. Unfortunately. It looks in mint shape otherwise.

Get another one? Save more $ and upgrade to the Digital III or save even more money and go with the straight GR series? Or go with a different brand and model altogether?

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

I'm very interested in the GR Digital and GR series, but frankly I'm a bit wary given the high cost and the number of problems I read about with these cameras. These aren't exactly known as the most durable and longlasting cameras in the world, so I'm hesitant to buy a used one, and I've also read Ricoh's U.S. service is difficult to deal with.

Kind of ironic I worry a lot less buying a 50 year old film camera than I would buying a 5 year old digital.

 

[KerrKid]

I'm very interested in the GR Digital and GR series, but frankly I'm a bit wary given the high cost and the number of problems I read about with these cameras. These aren't exactly known as the most durable and longlasting cameras in the world, so I'm hesitant to buy a used one, and I've also read Ricoh's U.S. service is difficult to deal with.

Kind of ironic I worry a lot less buying a 50 year old film camera than I would buying a 5 year old digital.

I haven't read about all the problems, but I sure had one. Makes me very hesitant to get another one. I'm not sure which digitals don't or won't have problems. Maybe just look at them like really expensive disposables. The Fuji X100V seems to get high marks, but I don't know about longevity.

Cameras back in the day were made to last - like a lot of things. That's why I like them. There's something comforting about holding a camera that feels like it was carved from billet steel.

 

[Oren Grad]

I actually bought the Ricoh GR Digital II. I didn't know the difference between that and the regular GR II or that there was such a thing. It, of course, has a small sensor at 10 megapixels. I see good reviews on it and the price was right, so I can't complain. The A that you have does compare well to the GR II.

There are two completely different series of Ricoh digital cameras under the GR name. The first, a series of small-sensor cameras that was introduced in 2005 and ran through four generations, is the "GR Digital" series. The second, a series of cameras with APS-C sensors, launched in in 2013 and now on its third generation, is just called "GR". Ricoh's inept branding for these cameras has caused no end of confusion.

I had the original (2005-vintage) small-sensor GR Digital for a while. In many ways it was a really sweet little camera, but after a while the discussion boards filled with anecdotal stories of control wheel malfunctions that were difficult or impossible to repair. Happened to mine too.

 

[KerrKid]

I've heard of that failure. The one I bought and am trying to return is the Digital model. Yes, incredibly stupid marketing. How do these people get jobs?

Do the regular GR's suffer from this control wheel failure or just the Digital models?

 

[Oren Grad]

Do the regular GR's suffer from this control wheel failure or just the Digital models?

Not that I'm aware of, but it could be that most of the ones out there don't have enough mileage on them yet. The problem I've seen mentioned most often in discussions about the APS-C GR cameras is dust on the sensor, though the GR's are certainly not the only fixed-lens compacts with that issue.

 

[KerrKid]

Not that I'm aware of, but it could be that most of the ones out there don't have enough mileage on them yet. The problem I've seen mentioned most often in discussions about the APS-C GR cameras is dust on the sensor, though the GR's are certainly not the only fixed-lens compacts with that issue.

You’d think a fixed lens camera could keep dust off the sensor.

I would really like a smaller alternative to a dslr, but I’m not going to buy a $1,500 disposable camera. Is there anything decent new or used in the $300-500 range?

 

[Oren Grad]

You’d think a fixed lens camera could keep dust off the sensor.

"Fixed lens" compacts often have retractable lenses with sliding barrel components that are harder to seal. But there are also compacts with fully rigid mounts that have had problems.

I would really like a smaller alternative to a dslr, but I’m not going to buy a $1,500 disposable camera. Is there anything decent new or used in the $300-500 range?

Depending on your focal length preferences, you might look at the smallest mirrorless cameras. Original EOS M, M2 or M100/M200 with 22 EF-M pancake. Olympus E-PL series or Panasonic GF/GX/GM series with compact m4/3 lens of your choice. Any of the non-viewfinder Nikon 1 series cameras with the 10mm pancake. The smaller Sony NEX/alpha APS-C cameras with either 16 or 20mm pancake.

Also, FWIW, the EOS SL1 with 24 EF-S pancake is a really small DSLR - you might be surprised just how small if you've never handled one - though not pocketable in the way the smallest mirrorless cameras are.

 

[KerrKid]

"Fixed lens" compacts often have retractable lenses with sliding barrel components that are harder to seal. But there are also compacts with fully rigid mounts that have had problems.



Depending on your focal length preferences, you might look at the smallest mirrorless cameras. Original EOS M, M2 or M100/M200 with 22 EF-M pancake. Olympus E-PL series or Panasonic GF/GX/GM series with compact m4/3 lens of your choice. Any of the non-viewfinder Nikon 1 series cameras with the 10mm pancake. The smaller Sony NEX/alpha APS-C cameras with either 16 or 20mm pancake.

Also, FWIW, the EOS SL1 with 24 EF-S pancake is a really small DSLR - you might be surprised just how small if you've never handled one - though not pocketable in the way the smallest mirrorless cameras are.

Thank you very much for your detailed response. I will research those options.