Ricoh First Ricoh Outing. Snap focus misses. I'm close. Advice needed.

Tom,

DOF Master is thinking of the ORIGINAL Ricoh GR, which was a 35mm film camera, so its using a 35mm full frame rather than APS sensor for its assumption. Use the GXR (28mm) instead of the GR. I'd also recommend starting to think in terms of meters since that's what the GR uses on its distance scale. So, no, those numbers are wrong because you entered the wrong camera - easy enough mistake to make! But even with the Right sensor, there's not a lot of DOF when you focus that close. Which is the downside, particularly if you're shooting in lower light. But this is where using a smaller sensor camera like the GRD4 helps a lot. With the GR, if you set it at 1 meter, even at f11 you only have from .6 to about 3 meters in focus, which should be more than enough, but at f6.4 you have less than a meter of DOF, which might or might not be...

-Ray

Gulp. My Sony RX100's stock just went up.
 
Tom, you seem to have run headfirst into the problem that occurs when you stuff a bigger sensor into a camera that has been traditionally aimed at street photographers; namely that if you use them in the traditional way you don't get the benefits of a larger sensor. We normally think of larger sensors offering the ability to use narrower depths-of-field, better dynamic range, less noise, better colour reproduction, etc. However in the case of using zone focusing you still need a decently large depth-of-field, which means smaller apertures, which in turn leads to higher ISOs, and in which case dynamic range, noise, all start to nosedive. The bigger APS-C sensors which still give you more punch when you can use them optimally of course (landscape, urban, etc) but it may well be that your RX100 is your best street camera.
 
And that's the catch, almost infinite DOF...one of the best things about smaller sensors for this purpose. That's not without it's tradeoffs though (like everything else).

It's funny.....I love shooting the RX100 and I have a post processing technique in Lightroom that is easy and, to me, fun to do. But man do I love shooting with that GR. I had a blast shooting that festival I went to with that camera. I love the files it produces. Gorgeous. I have had to adjust my Lightroom workflow because its different than working on Sony RX100 files. But I adapted to the GR post processing in no time.

I got plenty of pictures that I'm happy with from the festival. Being my first time out with the GR I can't complain. I just need to try to bring the focus area closer to me a few feet. Then all will be good. Whether that's as easy as it sounds I don't know....but.....I'm gonna find out soon enough.

I put up a bunch of photos from the GR in my Flickr photostream. I'm happy with them. We all want perfection from the word go.....but.....it takes work to achieve it. I am willing to work at this to get it right.

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Tom, you seem to have run headfirst into the problem that occurs when you stuff a bigger sensor into a camera that has been traditionally aimed at street photographers; namely that if you use them in the traditional way you don't get the benefits of a larger sensor. We normally think of larger sensors offering the ability to use narrower depths-of-field, better dynamic range, less noise, better colour reproduction, etc. However in the case of using zone focusing you still need a decently large depth-of-field, which means smaller apertures, which in turn leads to higher ISOs, and in which case dynamic range, noise, all start to nosedive. The bigger APS-C sensors which still give you more punch when you can use them optimally of course (landscape, urban, etc) but it may well be that your RX100 is your best street camera.

I am happy with the Ricoh GR. If I can produce photos that my mind wants to get then it will be my primary street shooting camera. I have many shots from the GR that I really like. Focus was perfect at certain distances. If I can bring that zone closer to me in terms of feet then I'll be all set. Hopefully I can pull it off with practice. The GR does do some sweet B&W.

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With the risk of being misunderstood, when it comes to good street shooting, I suggest to have a look at Blanko`s recent shots under the Nikon 1 samples thread. Randomly shooting strangers from the hip in no context or part of a story telling scene is something I did as well, but since concluded that it does not make for good photography and sometimes comes across sneaky.
 
With the risk of being misunderstood, when it comes to good street shooting, I suggest to have a look at Blanko`s recent shots under the Nikon 1 samples thread. Randomly shooting strangers from the hip in no context or part of a story telling scene is something I did as well, but since concluded that it does not make for good photography and sometimes comes across sneaky.

It depends on what one wants to do. First I need to work on my technique where I can develop enough skill where I can use a camera as almost extension of my hand. Once I achieve that skill I can then evolve as a photographer. I very much enjoy taking photos of interesting people. Candid portraits are only possible if the subject is not aware of being photographed. You're basically trying to talk me out of taking the kind of photos I want to take and asking me to shoot in the style of another photographer. I have just scratched the surface of candid street photography. Who knows where I will end up. I do look forward to and am excited about the journey.

By the way retow....I noticed you shoot landscapes on occasion. You should check out the work of Marc Adamus. You could learn many things from him. http://www.marcadamus.com/gallery.php
 
With an inconspicuous camera like the GR and snap focus, you might find that you can still often and fairly easily get candid shots (even close up) by bringing the camera up to head or chest height and taking the shot when you see an interesting subject.

This can yield more flattering portraits, as the angle is more straight on towards the face (less distortion of the face) and you can get more interesting ground-level background than sky. It can also be nice to get shots of people when they instinctively look at your eyes (and not necessarily at the camera, depending on where you hold it), rather than shots where it is obvious they have no idea you were even there (which can come across as voyeuristic).

At the very least, using a swag of techniques will yield more variation and different compositions in your albums :)

This technique can be more noticeable to the subject than shooting from the hip (which also has its time and place), but the subjects often won't realise until after you've got the shot, or they may not even notice at all. Alternatively, you can walk around holding the camera up higher and people may assume you are just walking, or reviewing pictures, or filming, etc.

If you do get "caught" taking a shot, most people either won't care or will just look the other way (but you've already got the shot). If they do take issue with you taking their photo, you can often disarm them by being friendly and showing them their photo or offering to send it to them or delete it if they don't like it. You might also actually meet some cool and interesting people this way, and get even more photo opportunities.

Don't take this the wrong way. I don't mean to criticise your photos or your style at all, and I am by no means an expert on any of this. In my own journey I am trying to be more confident in taking photos of people in various circumstances. At the end of the day, taking photos is personal, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. However you choose to do it, will reflect your particular view of a moment in time and will have personal meaning for you :)
 
The more I think about it the more a super deep nearly infinite depth of field is of the utmost importance to me. Getting the highest quality images with the deepest depth of field being razor sharp from a few feet to infinity. Does a smaller sensor become a requirement in that case?
 
Yes, deep DOF with everything sharp from a couple feet to infinity can only be done with a small sensor camera. If you really love the way the GR works over your Sony, look at the GR III or GR IV. Same controls, pretty much same camera, but small sensor. They are also killer B/W machines.
 
Yes, deep DOF with everything sharp from a couple feet to infinity can only be done with a small sensor camera. If you really love the way the GR works over your Sony, look at the GR III or GR IV. Same controls, pretty much same camera, but small sensor. They are also killer B/W machines.

I love the high ISO performance of my new GR though. Trade offs. Can't live with em, can't live without em. :)
 
And that's the catch, almost infinite DOF...one of the best things about smaller sensors for this purpose. That's not without it's tradeoffs though (like everything else).

Went on another street shooting quest yesterday. Used the Ricoh GR exclusively. I'm getting the hang of it quickly. Instead of 2 meters snap focus I used 1.5 meters and nailed many more shots. Using snap focus 100% of the time. The high ISO performance of the Ricoh is absolutely amazing. I mean wow. Blows the doors of the RX100. The only thing I wish the Ricoh had was a better image reviewing experience looking at RAW files on the LCD. The look jagged. Maybe a firmware update can fix it.
 
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