Ricoh Richoh GRD IV lens problem

kinggab

Rookie
This is my first post, and it is not intended to be a chicken little message, just one user's experience with the new Ricoh. I bought it almost a month ago, and it was working beautifully. I have been using it for street shooting, and I have found it easy to use and a perfect complement to my Olympus EP-3 and Mamiya 6 cameras. Unfortunately, this morning I power the camera on and the shutter would not open, nor the lens would extend from the camera body. I made sure the battery was charged (it was), and swapped it for the extra battery that I purchased when I bought the camera. Same thing. This is the first camera where I have had a problem, which is unfortunate. I am not an abuser of cameras, and this has mainly stayed in my jacket. I am going to see if I can send it to Ricoh. It's a great camera that enables me to take good pictures, and I need to have this taken care of ASAP. I am tossing this out here just in case others might have a similar experience -- hopefully not.
 
Is it possible that something is jammed in the barrel? Even some lint could stop the lens from extending and thus keep the camera off.
I have heard of no problems with this camera. Please lee us informed on your progress.

Also, keep the battery out for atleast a minute.
Don
 
I had the same problem with my GRD2 a couple of years ago. I sent it back for repair, which they did a no charge even though it was over a year old. The problem does sometimes sort itself out with a change of battery though.

Does the camera sound like it is trying to extend the lens or is it just dead, ie if you hold down the play button does the screen come on?
 
The screen comes on, if I have it on one of the "My" settings. I can even play back images that i have shot. But if I put it on any other mode (A, S, etc.) it will shut itself off.

Will, it sounds like it is just dead. It makes a couple of clicks, but then doesn't do anything else. And as mentioned before, I swapped out the batteries to make sure that it wasn't an issue.
 
Checked it for potential blockage. I can't find a thing. Seriously, there isn't much to do, except running a very thin piece of mylar through the area where the lens barrel would extract. And even that I did very gingerly. If it was indeed lint I would consider that to be a serious design flaw of the camera -- one can't control dust!
 
kinggab, that's unfortunate.

i am having some weird things happening too with my GRD IV. and no matter how much i love it, it does seem less reliable than expected. and i'm not the nervous type when it comes to cameras.
first of, there's a number of times where i have to shut the camera and reboot in order to have it focus properly. it is a bit of an annoyance and i don't know why it's doing it. and i don't know if it's connected to this or not, but i seem to have too many out of focus shots, but not because of my behalf, more because it does not focus properly and on time. it's only when i get home that i realize with surprise that some shots are totally out of focus, and in the case of such a fast AF, it is a bit of a weird thing.
also, i noticed a change in the way the camera makes noise, compared to the first days i got it, several weeks ago. tried multiple settings from snap to MF, didn't change a thing. i know that all of this is a bit abstract still, but i know the camera well now, and i see how it behaves. something tells me there could be something wrong. so wait and see.
i still LOVE it though. and even in case of a problem, i would have it fixed straight away or get a new one.
 
Haven't had any focusing issues. It was quick and accurate. Often I would power on, take shots, and power off, especially if I am moving from one place to the next. When the lens extracted it always made a noise.
 
Sorry to hear about the problems you are having.

When the lens extracted it always made a noise.

I quite fondly remember older Ricohs as having some of the noisiest lenses, whether focusing or (where applicable) zooming. I once had a Caplio R40 that sounded like it was crushing gravel, and even my last Ricoh (a CX1) was nowhere near as silent as an equivalent Canon or Panasonic to give two examples. From that experience I would have assumed a noisy Ricoh lens to be normal...
 
This focus issue interest me. You say even in snap that you get oof images?
Are you meaning things in the focus zone that are out?
That would imply a lens issue and could be related to the OP's problem....
Don
 
I shipped it to Ricoh. I forgot, this is under warranty! They said they will take care of it; that it is probably a lens issue.
 
Don,
i erased my latest batch of images from the camera so i'll check the shots i have at home.
i don't want to anticipate too much on this, i was just feeling that a few things were fishy, but the camera works great though.
 
Yeah, don't panic. Ricoh is great with service. It's probably nothing serious and remember, cameras are simply stupid, otherwise they'd always make great pictures.
 
Back
Top