Gerd Waloszek's Ricoh GXR Pages

Experiences | Photos of the Equipment | Size Comparisons

On this and some more pages, I would like present my experiences with the new Ricoh GXR module camera.

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Experiences

Look, Feel, and Weight - Pocketability?

The GXR looks definitely "professionally," not like a consumer camera - I presume that there will never be a pink version of the GXR... The GXR feels rather solid and quite a bit heavy, particularly when equipped with the A12-50 camera unit and the EVF-2 viewfinder.

I would not call the GXR a beauty, but in my opinion it is also not ugly; it reminds me somewhat of analog viewfinder cameras (but does not have an optical viewfinder...). It's easy to hold with the right hand (although it feels "heavy" and may strain your hand), but initially I had some problems with placing my right thumb - the camera back is rather crowded. In the meantime, I feel more comfortable with it.

Photos: Two attempts showing the back having my wife's CX1 in my left hand...

The GXR does not have a "GX300" feeling for me with S10 camera unit attached, though: it seems bigger, particularly higher, but as I sold my GX200, I have no longer a comparison... With the A12-50 camera unit and the viewfinder attached, the GXR reminds me more of a small DSLR, which in some respects comes close to the truth.

Now from "feelings" to data - at least the weight can be measured. Our scales tell us the following (which should be true to plus/minus 10 percent):

• GXR-S10, EVF-2, LC-2, battery, SD card, shoulder strap (the one that came in the box): 407g
• GXR-S10, LC-2, battery, SD card, shoulder strap (the one that came in the box): 381g *
• GXR-A12-50, EVF-2, lens cap, battery, SD card, shoulder strap (the one that came in the box): 515g
• CX1, battery, SD card, wrist strap (our own strap), for comparison: 204g

*) I did not have the protector for the flash hot shoe available. Also subtract the weight of the shoulder strap and add the weight of a wrist strap - should be around 350g.

Thus, the "GX300" comes at nearly exactly double the weight of the CX1. That's quite a lot!

There has been a lot of discussions regarding the pocketability of the GXR. This is, in my opinion, a decision that depends largely on personal preferences and habits:

• the size of your pockets
• how heavy a camera can be in a pocket - what do you find acceptable, and what not
• which pocket you are referring to (trouser, shirt, coat, ...)

As I never carried my GX200 with attached viewfinder in my pockets, I will not carry the GXR in my pockets either (exception: when wearing a coat). Thus, all in all, I would not call the GXR a "pocketable" camera. For my GX200, I used Ricoh's SC45 case connected to a strap around my neck. I will not buy a new case for the GXR and will just use the shoulder strap for carrying it. I own a larger bag for carrying further equipment when I think that I will need it. When wearing a coat, I can put the unused camera unit into a coat pocket (as I did today). So, I will look like a typical tourist when using the GXR! However, that should not be an issue for me, because I do not have any plans for engaging in street photography...

Photos: Size comparisons between CX1 and the GXR with S10 camera unit (left) and A12-50 (right) camera unit (see larger versions below)

LCD and Viewfinder

The LCD screen on the back of the camera offers a high resolution of nearly one million pixels (however, one pixel for each primary color, meaning that it's actually VGA resolution). It seems to be the same screen as is used in the CX series, and I knew it already from my wife's CX1. However, coming from an SLR tradition and being far-sighted, I always preferred electronic viewfinders over LCD screens. Moreover, pressing the camera against your forehead stabilizes the camera, thus avoiding camera shake. In addition, I prefer to have a preview of the exposure in the viewfinder and also to see the result immediately after the photo has been taken. When using my DSLR, I always forgot to check the exposure on the LCD screen (which was somewhat cumbersome for me, because I had to put glasses on, etc.). I am well aware that there are different opinions about this topic. Street photography, for example, is better done with the LCD screen - but I myself would never buy a camera that offers only an LCD-screen on the back.

Therefore, the interesting question for me was (and I was asked this already in a forum): How good is the electronic viewfinder? Once again, I cannot offer an "objective" answer. I can only say: It is much better than all the EVFs that I have used in the past, and I like it a lot. Here are a few characteristics of the EVF-2:

• Pixels are nearly invisible (should be even better in the new Olympus Pen2...)
• It is possible to focus manually with the EVF - at least under normal conditions
• There is some grain when it is getting dark, but in an optical viewfinder you may see nothing
• Speed regarding camera moves and moving objects seems to be OK - up to now I did not find any noticeable or annoying delays
• Still open: visibility in bright light (I need summer...)
• The image is not as large as in a DSLR, but I have been told that some entry-level DSLRs have lousy optical viewfinders (my Sony A700 had a very good one!)

When I tested the GXR in macro mode and took close-up photos, I found that the EVF view was somewhat "wobbly" - I can provide no better description for this effect here. As I could not hold the camera steady, the objects were moving around in the viewfinder and showed this "wobbling" effect - probably due to some delays when the camera was refreshing the display.

All in all, the EVF is still far away from a good optical viewfinder, but it also has advantages such as exposure preview or the ability to display grid lines (but this is a general advantage of EVFs, not one specific to Ricoh's EVF-2). So, should you buy the EVF-2? If you worked primarily or exclusively with the LCD screen in the past, I would say no. You will have a lighter and more compact camera without the EVF-2 and you will also save some money. For all others, I would say yes.

Menu System

The GXR menu system is similar to other Ricoh cameras and seems to come closest to the CX series (because of the same screen resolution). I had some initial issues with setting the correct image size, because I did not understand the captions on the screen, but now I know that I have to use "L"! Some testers called the CX menu system"dull" because it does not have any funny icons. I am glad that there are none!

I like the direct menu - my Sony A700 had a similar menu - but I still forget to use it: It's too new for me (on a Ricoh)! There is another advantage: I can see it without glasses on the LCD screen.

Individual Settings for the Camera Units

I always wondered how different settings for the two camera units can be realized, which is, of course, desirable, because the camera units are more or less different cameras and there fore require different settings. And nobody is willing to reset settings after changing a camera unit. Up to now (mid February 2010) not many many users seem to have bothered - I read just one post, in which the user wrote that this problem was the reason why he did not change camera units...

I always had the suspicion that the "Start Settings Readout" would be involved here, but I never tried that. Recently (mid February 2010), there was a discussion at dpreview about this topic (originating from a thread about a review at steve's digicams, and therefore somewhat hidden...). There Ardexx, in a reply to Andrew, pointed to these settings, but it looks as if he has not been successful in using this feature yet.

Anyway, I did a quick check regarding the "Start Settings Readout" and can confirm that at least a number of settings are stored when the settings readout at startup is set to "camera unit." First, I had the S10 attached, when I did the menu setting for startup readout. Then I changed a number of settings, particularly in the adjust menu, to some arbitrary values. Then I switched to A12-50 camera unit, which showed a lost of "funny" settings: Language changed from German to English, different items in adjust menu etc. I changed that back again but to settings that were different from the current S10 settings. Then, I switched camera units again. The S10 had kept its new settings. I switched another time, set the A12-50 to the values that I wanted it to have, and then again for the S10 and set also values that I want to use. Seems to "work as expected."

Then, I did another check regarding the MY settings. According to this test, the MY settings are stored individually for both camera units if you set the start up readout to "camera unit." You can also save modes like A, S, or P in those settings. Thus, in this case, too, the system "works as expected."

Autofocus and Manual Focus, Macro Mode

When testing both camera units, I found that the S10 camera unit is slightly faster than the A12-50 camera unit when focusing automatically. It takes two-and-a-half goes before it locks in and makes a high-pitched noise when focusing. The A12-50 sounds nicer, but the AF is somewhat slower, restarts sometimes, and on rare occasions misses the target completely. Professional testers will probably provide us with exact timing data... As expected, macro AF is slower than normal focus for both camera units. The S10 camera unit seems to focus faster than my GX200 in macro mode (the CX1 is definitely faster). The A12-50 can be very slow in macro mode, depending on the subject.

Manual focus seems to be a good idea here, as the EVF allows for manual focusing, depending on subject, lighting, etc.. However, I found that the "by wire" manual focusing is not as direct as a mechanical connection - sometimes nothing seems to happen, sometimes the focus seems to jump. More practice is definitely needed from my side...

When manually focusing in macro mode with the A12-50 camera unit, there two scales: one between infinity and 30cm, another one between 30cm and 7cm. The scales switch automatically, when you turn the focus ring. In the range between 30cm and 7cm, focusing manually can be painfully slow, particularly between 7cm, the minimum distance, and 10cm.

For the S10 camera unit, more or less the same applies. However, the close-up scale varies between 30cm and 1cm. Depending on the focal length, you cannot go as far as 1cm (only between 24mm and 50mm; at 72mm you can go slightly below 3cm).

By the way, I was asked whether macro mode focuses up to infinity - it does!

Overall Speed

I was asked regarding complaints about the review and zoom speed. While there is a short, noticeable delay before an image appears on the screen, it's fast enough for me. I also do not have any complaints regarding zooming and panning speeds.

Shooting speed has still to be investigated. As it depends on AF speed, there are some delays due to slow auto focus (particularly in macro mode and when restarting after a miss). As already mentioned above, the A12-50 camera unit seems to be slower than the S10 camera unit.

In the meantime, I tested the speed of continuous shooting and found a speed of about 3 images per second for auto as well as manual focus - that is exactly what the specs promise.

A Hidden In-Built Lens Hood for the A12-50 Camera Unit

It was only until I read the review of the GXR with A12-50 camera unit on dpreview until I learned that the A12-50 offers a "hidden" in-built lens hood that you can pull out:

Photos: In-built lens hood for the A12-50 camera unit

Issues

The following issues are related to firmware 1.0.5 for the body and 1.0.6 for both camera units.

Banding (Night Scene)

Having read in different forums about banding issues with the A12-50 camera unit, I hit on this issue - more or less by accident - by myself as the following samples demonstrate:

Photos: Banding comparison at different ISO settings

In the forums, this issue is attributed to the CMOS sensor of the A12-50 camera unit, and there is little hope that it can be solved as it seems to be inherent to the sensor.

Autofocus Speed of A12-50 Camera Unit (Improved through Firmware Upadate)

Note: A new autofocus mode has been introduced with the recent firmware update for the A12-50 camera unit. Reports in forums are positive, however, I did not yet have the time to confirm this.

In the forums, a number of posters pick on the GXR's autofocus speed, particularly with respect to the A12-50 camera unit. Therefore, a number of testers/users (Ricoh "fanboys"?) proposed to shoot with manual focusing or in snap mode to alleviate this issue. It is up to you, whether these proposals are a practicable solutions for you...

Al least, one thing is clear: As the the A12-50 camera unit is a macro lens and uses contrast detect autofocus, it will never be a fast "lensor." Therefore, I do not expect much from upcoming firmware updates (as some people in the forums do...). Usually, the slow autofocus is not an issue for me, but in macro mode it can be nerve straining (luckily, there are no butterflies in winter...). In addition, when I press the shutter in one go, I NEVER get a sharp photo - I think that is unacceptable!

Note: A new autofocus mode has been introduced with the recent firmware update for the A12-50 camera unit.

GXR Hanging...

New cameras have often some initial issues, which can usually be ironed out through firmware updates. I my case, the GXR hung already for two times - as far as I can remember with both camera units - while writing a JPEG file to the SD card. As I formatted the card in the camera and format it again to delete the images on a card, I do not think that a corrupted SD card is the cause of the hanging - but I cannot completely exclude this possibility. By the way, I use Sandisk Extreme III cards (2 GB); as far as I remember, it was the same card on both occasions.

I reported the issue in two Ricoh forums, and other GXR users confirmed that their camera also had this issue.

Meanwhile, I do have no further hangs in normal use, because I did not use long exposure times. However, I was able to produce 5 more hangs under certain conditions, which are reported in the following paragraph.

Image Corruption at RAW and Long Exposure Times (Fixed through Firmware Upadate)

Note: This issue is said to have been fixed by the recent firmware issue. I did not yet have the time to confirm this.

I was asked by Pavel Kudrys from ricohforum.com to perform some tests for him. He wanted to know, whether I was able to replicate his results - and I was, indeed! The following conditions seem to lead to corrupted images and image data and also to camera hangs: (1) a shutter time of 10s or longer, (2) image quality set to RAW+JPEG Fine. You have to set the camera to M or S mode in order to achieve long shutter times and correct exposure - all other settings seem to be irrelevant.

At 10s and above, the camera does some processing after the exposure (subtracting a dark image?), which takes the same time as the exposure. Then the preview image appears for a second (set by me to that duration). In my tests, shorter shutter times (1s, 5s) did not lead to this additional processing step and also not to any issues.

Usually, my test proceeded until the camera hung (I experienced three more hangs...), which happened during my tests after havign taken between five and eight photos. A hang was easy to discover: The preview image stayed on the screen instead of vanishing after 1s. I had to remove the battery to be able to use the camera again - buttons, including the on/off switch were not acknowledged. An image was not stored, when the camera hung.

Typically, I got corrupted images, EXIF data, and file data after the second or third photos already. Sometimes, it may take a little bit longer... I also observed that the camera "recovered" in between for an image (or maybe more), and then the images were corrupted again. Image corruption affected primarily the JPEG image but on rare occasions, the RAW file (DNG) can also be affected. The image/data corruption issues could be replicated with both camera units. Therefore, I assume that the software of the body is responsible for the issues. In addition, I suppose that image/data corruption and hangs are not directly related, because I had experienced hangs also with file format JPEG Fine (again, I would relate this issue to the body's software).

Pavel Kudrys is in contact with Ricoh with respect to these issues, but I sent my findings also to a contact at Ricoh, Germany.

Photo: Sample of a corrupted image

Photo: Another sample of a corrupted image

Violet Image with A12-50

Note: It is unclear, whether this bug has been fixed by the recent firmware update

In February 2010, I had the single appearance of a light violet image in between a series of photos. The EXIF data seem to be correct, and it looks as if this issue were a software-related problem of the A12-50 camera unit. Ricoh confirmed the existence of this obviously rare phenomenon for the A12-50 camera unit.

Photos: Violet image (left) and correct image (right, made lighter in post-processing)

Preliminary Conclusions

I just bought the GXR and some equipment for a lot of money. Overall, I am quite satisfied with it (to avoid cognitive dissonance...) and will, of course, keep it - hopefully - for a longer period of time. In my opinion, Ricoh could have done better regarding the AF speed and accuracy, particularly for the A12-50 camera unit, which from time to time misses the target. There are also some initial issues that are typical for new cameras. In my opinion, Ricoh should have eliminated these issues from the beginning, as the conditions under which they occur are not that esoteric. But, we have become used to being users of banana software and products, and hopefully these issues can be ironed out in an upcoming firmware update.

I am less confident regarding the AF speed issues. I know that Olympus struggles with contrast AF, too, but Panasonic seems to do much better - so why cannot Ricoh do better was well? I hope that future firmware updates will also provide some improvements in this area, even though I am skeptical in this respect.

All in all, the Ricoh GXR is definitely an adventure and demanding. It has to be mastered - but that's what makes it interesting and attractive for me.

Photos of the Equipment

The following photos were taken with my wife's Ricoh CX1. They show my GXR equipment. It really looks as if the GXR were a "system camera":

Photo: The complete equipment: I kept the two converters (wide and tele) for the S10 camera unit from my Ricoh GX200. The remainder is new (in exchange for a Ricoh GX200 and a Sony A700 with lenses, as well as other equipment)

Photo: GRX body (bottom left), A12-50 camera unit (top left), S10 camera unit (top right), body, and viewfinder EVF-2 (bottom right)

Photo: Body with A12-50 camera unit attached (plus some plastic covers...)

Photo: Body with S10 camera unit attached (plus some plastic covers...) - with the original lens cap

Photo: Body with S10 camera unit attached (plus some plastic covers...) - with the LC-2 lens cap

Size Comparisons

Below, you will find two mirror shots, in which I compare the GXR with both camera units attached with my wife's Ricoh CX1:

Photo: GXR with S10 camera unit attached (right)

Photo: GXR with A12-50 camera unit attached (right) - see the difference in depth of field!

Gerd Waloszek, last revision: April 20, 2010