meus sensa: Ricoh

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Another palm sized wonder - Ricoh GR IV (first impressions)

Had a camera frenzy week by having 2 palm-sized cameras (yes you heard me right) in one week! Truth be told, I waited about 1 month for my pixie sized customised Pentax Q10 so technically it was not a "new" purchase for that week but...... The latest addition to my collection is Ricoh GX IV.

Why another palm sized "point and shoot" camera? Especially when I already have the awesome Pentax Q10? Criteria concerning camera purchases at this stage:

I consider myself a learner when it comes to photography - for me, that means that I am constantly learning to seek out and training my eyes to see the best light and angle.

I like a camera that I can bring along when I travel for work (not the bulky DSLR gear and its works except for photo focused trips) and on occasions when having huge amounts of gear is actually down right dangerous (particularly when travelling solo) and basically asking for it when roaming the streets.

I prefer street photography for the simple reason that this is something I see everyday andI just need a camera that doesn't intimidate and freeze people on their tracks when they see me.

With tons on restrictions nowadays on bringing along bulky DSLRs (coupled with camera fees in some locations), having a compact can never be a bad idea and ease concerns of those who feel that DSLR captures everything whilst a compact with its size restrictions, will capture less ;)

I will mostly post on social networking (including blogs) and print on occasions (not on daily basis)

I firmly believe that the best camera is the one you have with you so save for my iPhone, I do want a certain image resolution output for my photos.

Enough about me and my wants, so now, some differences between Pentax Q10 and Ricoh GR IV:

For the Spec hungry folks, you can just hop over to https://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/gr/gr_digital4/ for the Ricoh GR IV and http://www.pentaximaging.com/hybrid/Q10_Silver for the Pentax Q10. In short, Ricoh GR IV is a fixed lens 6mm (35mm equivalent 28mm) f1.9 whereas Pentax Q10 has interchangeable lens options that range from 10.5mm f1.9 fixed lens (35mm equivalent of 47mm) to 15-45mm f2.8 (35mm equivalent 83mm-249mm) zoom lens.

Size-wise, both are essentially palm sized with the Ricoh GR IV being able to slip into myjeans pocket whilst the Pentax (for us ladies) means that it just about fits my handbag.

The Ricoh GR IV won me over with that initial touch and image quality (so much that after that initial introduction and 'touch and feel', I was SOLD!) Well, down to the photos (I was overdrive on food so here they are)