Ricoh Surprise! Ricoh GRIIIx (Showcase)

I realized after placing the order with PayPal Credit as my payment method that it was the wrong way to pay for it, I like to take advantage of the extra year's warranty through my Visa credit card in case I need a sensor cleaning or something after the normal warranty expires. But in the hour or so after I realized that, I'm sure I'd like my place and if stock is limited, might not get it for a while. So I'm just sticking to this order, for now.
 
It really is jolly good at macro...
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Some more temptation - and a limitation...
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This is the limitation - for the first time today i wished I was (also) carrying the GRIII. I couldn't step back far enough to frame as I wanted with the 40 - I would have been standing in a flowerbed. The 28 would have done the job with elan.
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BUT it is definitely an as well as, not an instead of...

The "secret power" of the IIIx is the megapixels. With the III I realise I spent a lot of time defaulted to 35mm, going wide only when needed. With the 40 I am closer without effort. It takes some getting used to. Make no mistake this is not just a different lens, it is a different camera, requiring the user to unlearn and learn anew. It is deceptive and it will bite you - as it did me with this shot - if you do not pay attention.
 
Some more temptation - and a limitation... View attachment 273024
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This is the limitation - for the first time today i wished I was (also) carrying the GRIII. I couldn't step back far enough to frame as I wanted with the 40 - I would have been standing in a flowerbed. The 28 would have done the job with elan.
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BUT it is definitely an as well as, not an instead of...

The "secret power" of the IIIx is the megapixels. With the III I realise I spent a lot of time defaulted to 35mm, going wide only when needed. With the 40 I am closer without effort. It takes some getting used to. Make no mistake this is not just a different lens, it is a different camera, requiring the user to unlearn and learn anew. It is deceptive and it will bite you - as it did me with this shot - if you do not pay attention.
I do like the one you posted in the other challenge ( the third one). It has an unexpected plane of focus which is surprisingly clear.
 
Here's a thought which someone should try (maybe I will try, when I have one). I have a weird habit of wanting to edit the RAWs sometimes using the camera's engine after I've offloaded them to a computer, and have put files back onto a card to re-edit in the camera. I wonder how a GRIIIx (or conversely a GRIII) would handle files from the other camera. Most likely they would not display or be able to be edited, but I wonder if the whole imaging pipeline is similar enough between the two that, using a metadata editor, one could fool the camera into thinking the files were native to it. Probably only I would ever have a weird need like that.
 
Here's a thought which someone should try (maybe I will try, when I have one). I have a weird habit of wanting to edit the RAWs sometimes using the camera's engine after I've offloaded them to a computer, and have put files back onto a card to re-edit in the camera. I wonder how a GRIIIx (or conversely a GRIII) would handle files from the other camera. Most likely they would not display or be able to be edited, but I wonder if the whole imaging pipeline is similar enough between the two that, using a metadata editor, one could fool the camera into thinking the files were native to it. Probably only I would ever have a weird need like that.
Just tried it. The answer is the jpgs display, but an attempt to do a raw conversion resulted in "this image cannot be recognised"
 
Just tried it. The answer is the jpgs display, but an attempt to do a raw conversion resulted in "this image cannot be recognised"
That's what I somewhat expected! I wonder if they can be tinkered with enough to get the camera to think they cross over.

The likeliest answer is that if I want to edit files for a camera I might not keep, I'd better get them edited before I part with it. Thinking of the GRIII here.
 
Ricoh US has notified me that they shipped me a GRIIIx, so I canceled my B&H preorder. I'm still on the fence, honestly, despite the GAS implications of this cool new camera. It comes down to the cost, which is too much for me to spend without covering it with the sale of other gear. I will probably first play with the settings and configure the JPEG output the same as I have it on the GRIII, and see how similar the output from this lens is. If the rendering grabs me, then it won't be hard to embrace the 40mm, since it's my single favorite focal length.
 
Ricoh US has notified me that they shipped me a GRIIIx, so I canceled my B&H preorder. I'm still on the fence, honestly, despite the GAS implications of this cool new camera. It comes down to the cost, which is too much for me to spend without covering it with the sale of other gear. I will probably first play with the settings and configure the JPEG output the same as I have it on the GRIII, and see how similar the output from this lens is. If the rendering grabs me, then it won't be hard to embrace the 40mm, since it's my single favorite focal length.
Huh. I never think to go to the manufacturer’s site.
 
+1.
Ricoh US has notified me that they shipped me a GRIIIx, so I canceled my B&H preorder. I'm still on the fence, honestly, despite the GAS implications of this cool new camera. It comes down to the cost, which is too much for me to spend without covering it with the sale of other gear. I will probably first play with the settings and configure the JPEG output the same as I have it on the GRIII, and see how similar the output from this lens is. If the rendering grabs me, then it won't be hard to embrace the 40mm, since it's my single favorite focal length.

Some portraits with GR IIIx:
GR IIIxでスナップポートレート(いなば) | GR official | リコー公式コミュニティサイト
 
Mine arrived on Tuesday from SRS Microsystems in the UK. Their “one left in stock” tugged on my heart … wait that’s the wrong word … purse strings. Hopeful to get an opportunity to shoot some pics at the weekend. Weather has been pants here and busy with work so practising patience.
 
Unfortunately it's UPS ground and will take a week to reach me.
I suspect you'll still get it first. To be honest, I'd be good getting through this challenge first and then have some time to learn the GR. It will take me a bit to get used to how to use it well because it was designed with a bit of a different philosophy. That's why it's special, right?
 
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I suspect you'll still get it first. To be honest, I'd be good getting through this challenge first and then have some time to learn the GR. It will take me a bit to get used to how it use it well because it was designed wiht a bit of different philosophy. That's why it's special, right?
Yes, I'm super interested to see how it "feels" combining the effortless, run-and-gun style of the GR handling combined with the more discriminating 40mm FoV. To be honest, 28mm needs careful framing a lot of the time due to potential distortion and spatial relationships between close and far, but it's still good for those grab shots when you want to suck a lot into the frame and can't spare time for the niceties. 40mm will reward careful composition but at the same time it's so much more neutral than 28mm in terms of distortion and framing. It'll be very interesting.
 
Yes, I'm super interested to see how it "feels" combining the effortless, run-and-gun style of the GR handling combined with the more discriminating 40mm FoV. To be honest, 28mm needs careful framing a lot of the time due to potential distortion and spatial relationships between close and far, but it's still good for those grab shots when you want to suck a lot into the frame and can't spare time for the niceties. 40mm will reward careful composition but at the same time it's so much more neutral than 28mm in terms of distortion and framing. It'll be very interesting.
Spot on. I'm finding I'm "sniping" more with the 40mm. It's seductively easy to frame up something interesting; I actually think it's not as hard work as the 28 - your point about distortion and spatial relationships is trenchant and well made.

But... This isn't a camera that rewards carelessness. You need to "convert", as to a new aircraft. It deceives because it feels so familiar in the hand; I've worked out this must be my sixth or seventh GR, but. Every. Other. One. Was. A. 28...

It's fun to learn 😁
 
Ricoh US has notified me that they shipped me a GRIIIx, so I canceled my B&H preorder. I'm still on the fence, honestly, despite the GAS implications of this cool new camera. It comes down to the cost, which is too much for me to spend without covering it with the sale of other gear. I will probably first play with the settings and configure the JPEG output the same as I have it on the GRIII, and see how similar the output from this lens is. If the rendering grabs me, then it won't be hard to embrace the 40mm, since it's my single favorite focal length.

Had a similar notification from Adorama. They were offering free next day air shipping, which was a selling point. Luckily, I had some superfluous gear to part with to help cover the cost. I still have gobs of m4/3s gear I keep telling myself I'll never sell, but I do still come back and use it every now and again. That as well as looking on it fondly and sentimentally, it's hard to bring myself to part with any of it.
 
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