Ricoh Hypothetically, a GR collection....

[emerson]

So, it has occurred to me that it might be interesting to assemble a full collection of the [digital] GR. GRD to GRDIV, GR, GRII, and so. Maybe the LE versions. This would allow an overview of the design philosophy, and to contrast them in use. That, and they're just cool objects.

Has this occurred to anyone else? Any advice? ("Don't do it!" might be best...)

 

[Petach]

So, it has occurred to me that it might be interesting to assemble a full collection of the [digital] GR. GRD to GRDIV, GR, GRII, and so. Maybe the LE versions. This would allow an overview of the design philosophy, and to contrast them in use. That, and they're just cool objects.

Has this occurred to anyone else? Any advice? ("Don't do it!" might be best...)

It didn't until now.....except my pocket (and the ever fragrant Mrs T)say no!

 

[emerson]

Useful quote: "But, it's cheaper than golf!"

Might work.

 

[emerson]

Not finding much (anything, really) on the designer or designers behind the GR cameras. Any leads appreciated.

 

[Luke]

to be clear, do you want to buy one of every GR ever....or merely assemble a list of all of them ?

I fully support you buying one of each....including all the limited editions. Although I'm fairly certain that a wealthy, eccentric GR fan has already done it.

 

[john m flores]

to be clear, do you want to buy one of every GR ever....or merely assemble a list of all of them ?

I fully support you buying one of each....including all the limited editions. Although I'm fairly certain that a wealthy, eccentric GR fan has already done it.

I'm eccentric but not wealthy. That's why I collect Pentax Qs...

 

[Lightmancer]

Don't ignore the film models. It was an original GR that started the line and I had one. Ricoh did some cracking SLRs in the '90s, by the way, with a variant of the Pentax K mount. I had an XRX, which took Pentax glass and was streets ahead of the manual focus offerings from Pentax at that time.

 

[emerson]

to be clear, do you want to buy one of every GR ever....or merely assemble a list of all of them ?

I fully support you buying one of each....including all the limited editions. Although I'm fairly certain that a wealthy, eccentric GR fan has already done it.

I don't have the same level of interest in the LE versions. I see these as only cosmetically different. My interest is in understanding the intentions and decisions of the design team, since that's what shapes the experience we have with that particular camera, and would come to be the basis of the GR phenomenon. The sequence of models might illustrate this further, as the concept and execution evolves.

It seems to me that GRD1-4 and GR1/2 would not be all that expensive on the secondary market. Certainly not as expensive collectively as, say, the new Nikon or a Leica.

Not sure I'll move on this, but it's an interesting thought experiment, if nothing else.

 

[emerson]

Don't ignore the film models. It was an original GR that started the line and I had one. Ricoh did some cracking SLRs in the '90s, by the way, with a variant of the Pentax K mount. I had an XRX, which took Pentax glass and was streets ahead of the manual focus offerings from Pentax at that time.

The film GRs are great cameras, and certainly the antecedent of the digital GRs, but they're not the focus of my interest. I think the digital GRs are probably an very different set of design decisions even if they share some of the same philosophy.

 

[emerson]

So, the Ricoh site does mention Tomohiro Noguchi and Hiroyuki Higuchi as members of the design team. But I suspect that there's a lot lost in translation, Japanese to English, and marketing-ese to factual understanding.

It would be great to interview these two, and to build some sort of resource for GR enthusiasts to agglomerate what we know about this camera.

I do try to stay away from fetishizing cameras, but it seems to me that the GR is something of a minor phenomenon in photography and deserves some critical reflection.

 

[emerson]

Side note: Tomohiro Noguchi led Ricoh's product planning and has been in charge of the Theta line.

 

[emerson]

Another side note: his Instagram feed is worth checking out. Talented guy, on a variety of fronts.

 

[john m flores]

Side note: Tomohiro Noguchi led Ricoh's product planning and has been in charge of the Theta line.

That's why the Theta is well thought-out!!!

 

[emerson]

I'm eccentric but not wealthy. That's why I collect Pentax Qs...

What has that experience been like, John?

 

[john m flores]

What has that experience been like, John?

The Pentax Q system offers the most camera-like experience of any small camera that I've owned or used.

Separated at birth? by John Flores, on Flickr

 

[emerson]

My dream collection seems to have turned up at the Ricoh booth at Photokina.
[from Photographyblog.com]

 

[emerson]

The GRBlog has posted what appears to be a translated interview with Noguchi, relating design principles:

1. We do not compete in a number game using catalog specs.
2. We do not install a function only because it is a fad.
3. We do not design only to draw attention.
4. We do not change models easily.
5. Always challenge and propose something new.

This is a welcome counterpoint to the shrillness of recent GR3 discussion at other fora, and conjecture from some that the new and unfinished camera is already a ‘failure’. I’m hard pressed, after reading the blog and understanding a little more about the thinking behind the new model, to find significant flaws or departures from the GR philosophy.

I’m quite certain that any substandard photos taken with this new model will more likely be due to my lack of skill than any fatal faults in the GR3.

 

[rayvonn]

The GRBlog has posted what appears to be a translated interview with Noguchi, relating design principles:

1. We do not compete in a number game using catalog specs.
2. We do not install a function only because it is a fad.
3. We do not design only to draw attention.
4. We do not change models easily.
5. Always challenge and propose something new.

This is a welcome counterpoint to the shrillness of recent GR3 discussion at other fora, and conjecture from some that the new and unfinished camera is already a ‘failure’. I’m hard pressed, after reading the blog and understanding a little more about the thinking behind the new model, to find significant flaws or departures from the GR philosophy.

I’m quite certain that any substandard photos taken with this new model will more likely be due to my lack of skill than any fatal faults in the GR3.

At the end, 99% of current owners will probably be buying the new one and probably by pre-order. I just hope that the new sensor is consistent with the current one.

 

[Brian]

Wait 10 years when they have all depreciated to next-to-nothing and buy them cheap.

 

[emerson]

Perhaps. But the GR21, for instance, isn’t all that cheap today...