Compact Let's discuss the Pentax MX-1 and the Ricoh GRD IV (now the GRD III)

Location
Central Ohio, USA
Name
Andrew
I currently have the Pentax MX-1 and absolutely love it. I find, even for its age, it provides a fun experience. The AF is quick enough, I love the quality you can pull from the RAW files and that you can process the RAW in camera to a jpg profile - reversal film and B&W being my favorites - even more so than the Fujifilm film simulations. If has stabilization, which was still relatively rare in compacts made during that timeframe. My only real complaint - and it is specific to me is that it does not have a viewfinder.

For all the great things that the MX-1 does, I'm getting drawn to the Ricoh GR Digital IV(GRD4).

From what I can see, the GRD4 also has stabilization. Those that have one like the use it for shooting B&W. The focus is quick and it has the snap focus, which given the sensor size, one can use it like a true point and shoot if you set it up right.

I've had the Ricoh GR II and GR III in the past. For all the pluses the GR III had going for it - looking back I really preferred the experience and film looks (reversal film and B&W) of the GR II more.
My feeling is that the Ricoh GRD4 would be a companion to the MX-1 - with a different monochrome profile and the snap focusing.

I know not a lot may have experience with both the MX-1 and GRD4, so looking more for the opinions of those whom have used the GRD4 - and maybe still using it - if it is worth snagging this camera or is there not enough difference in reality between it and what I would get with the MX-1, just shooting it and leaving it set at 28mm and f/2.8?

Alternative to the GRD4 - maybe I should look at the GXR with the 28mm f/2.5 module?

Looking forward to the opinions and conversations!
 
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I'd avoid the GXR unless you're can try it before you buy it. The mechanics and files are nice. The ergonomics are atrocious. For all the buttons, my key gripe is it is painfully slow to move the AF point around... there is a vertical rocker and a horizontal one but no dial and the 4 way buttons don't move the AF point, you can to kind if shimmy it around with the two rockers (or something similar... its painful). If you tend to centre focus and rarely move it around then its probably fine (I like to take off-centre shots with a wide-angle lens). Also, only the newer lens-modules have sensor clean functionality, if you get a spec of dust in there its hard to clean (like my 28mm module).

I really wish they'd made a v.2 and corrected some of the deficiencies. Or at least released a firmware revision that made the interface less quirky.

Otherwise the form-factor and the lens module (at least the 28) is really nice. Build quality is excellent too.
 
Andrew, I'll partially echo what Ray said about the GR II - as well as your own comment about the GR II. I owned one for awhile and, among all the Ricoh's I've used and shot with, it had, to my eyes at least, the most pleasing in-camera profiles, both for monochrome and for color. It lacked IBIS but I never found that a problem, honestly.

With regards to your original question - about the capabilities of the MX vs the GRD IV, well... first of all, I've never used either, so take what I say with a big grain of salt. But I did use the GRD IV's predecessor for awhile - the GRD III - which was close to identical to the GRD IV except for not having IBIS. I thought it was a cool little camera and used it quite a bit, and I especially valued its close-up or semi-macro capabilities. It was a fine little camera. But, and this is merely my subjective and imperfect opinion, with the benefits of hindsight, I vastly preferred its newer and larger-sensored sibling, the APS-C GR II. Weirdly, though the newer GR series are small cameras, they seemed H-U-G-E alongside my truly tiny GRD III - so one of the pluses of the smaller GRD series is they are truly TINY. And, coming back to the philosophical question of whether it's "better" (or simply more "fun") to use a small camera with a fixed 28mm equivalent prime vs. a small camera with a zoom that you leave at the 28mm setting... well, it's truly a toss-up, and I go back and forth on the same question myself. My own solution to these general questions is different than yours (because of my fondness for Fuji's and their internal jpeg engines) but I've wound up adopting a two-camera solution for a similar set of my own questions: when I want a truly tiny camera with a fixed 28mm lens, I pick up my diminutive XF10 (which is almost the same size as my old GRDiii) - but when I want the convenience or versatility of a small small-sensored camera with a zoom, I pick up my small X30 (which admittedly is bigger than your MX-1.

Short version: I'd keep the MX-1 for its versatility, and then add either a GRD IV or a GR II. That would give you versatility and fun.

ADDENDUM: the same thing happened to small Ricoh's as to many Fujis - the prices of used ones seem to have gone up exponentially and irrationally over the past few years - so another factor might be both price and availability. I'm guessing used GRD IV's will be far and few in between and if you could find one, it might be pricey. There might be more GR II's for sale (by people who 'upgraded' to a faster or fancier newer GRiii with IBIS etc) so you might be able to pick one up more easily, and for a less-inflated price.
 
I got a good line on a GRDIV - will know tomorrow morning if I will be getting it or not. As a lot of you have mentioned - the GR II is nice - really nice and I liked it a lot when I had it... and the only reason I got rid of it - silly me - was because at the time I had a major aversion to cameras without viewfinders....my take on that has changed somewhat...so a used GR II may need to be my second option.
 
I'd avoid the GXR unless you're can try it before you buy it. The mechanics and files are nice. The ergonomics are atrocious. For all the buttons, my key gripe is it is painfully slow to move the AF point around... there is a vertical rocker and a horizontal one but no dial and the 4 way buttons don't move the AF point, you can to kind if shimmy it around with the two rockers (or something similar... its painful). If you tend to centre focus and rarely move it around then its probably fine (I like to take off-centre shots with a wide-angle lens). Also, only the newer lens-modules have sensor clean functionality, if you get a spec of dust in there its hard to clean (like my 28mm module).

I really wish they'd made a v.2 and corrected some of the deficiencies. Or at least released a firmware revision that made the interface less quirky.

Otherwise the form-factor and the lens module (at least the 28) is really nice. Build quality is excellent too.

The GXR and 28mm was the only thing I was really interested in...prices on the GXR body and the 28mm would be around the same price as a GR II...which I would rather have at this point.....so a GXR - unless it is for a ridiculous deal is out of the running.
 
Well, again my luck has not been stellar. Got the GRD4 today and it is defective. The lens goes in and out a few times and then just shuts down.

Gotta go through the returns process now. I’ll keep my eye out for some more deals here in the future. Should have just kept the GR II or the GRIII when I had them.
They all seem to do that at some stage. With my GRII it was 4 years and my GRIII, which is still usable but not at 100% is hitting the 5 year mark so I’m expecting it to malfunction similarly anytime shortly. We’re talking about everyday use amassing tens of thousands of files (probably more) within those timescales so I’m certainly not complaining, on the contrary I consider it money well spent considering what that camera does and how I use it. As mentioned in another thread somewhere here, buying a used one has to be done with care. (Also there doesn’t seem to be a new GR model in the pipeline 😡 but that’s another matter).
 
Update on the GRD IV - prices are starting to get a little high....I was bidding on one and it finally ended on eBay at $425.

For $200 more I can get a GR I or GR II for $700 from a company like MPB or KEH with a 6 month warranty....

I'm going to back off of the GRD III and GRD IV for a while...work with the GX200 for a bit and wait on my Nikon Coolpix A to show up....that shipped today.
 
Ok, I know what I said earlier, and I REALLY meant it, but I came across a deal I couldn’t refuse and I now have a WORKING Ricoh GR Digital III.

It is in very good shape and works really well.

RAW files I have no problem working with. Did a quick test run with the camera today. Surprising the latitude you can get from the DNG.

Gotta work out if I can get some good quality JPG out of it.

Finishing up the post processing on the files now, will probably post some later - but very happy with it from the initial outing.

#myhipocrasyknowsnobounds. lol.
 
First outing was more about testing the camera function. Everything works well! Exposure was surprisingly dead on, even in some backlit situations. SNAP focus working well and as anticipated )really love the depth of field scale on the screen).

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