GX GARNERINGS

A Smooth Transition In actual operation of the rule of “overexpose it right”, the trick of duping the camera with the ISO dials no longer works since the film (sensor) and the camera are merged into one. So, the photographer has to either tweak the EV or use the manual mode. With the GX200, I mostly go manual because it is easier, quicker and more flexible. Otherwise, I would preset the EV to +0.7 (to be adjusted according to different lighting situations) for my matter of taste and go shooting. Although it is noted that the GX200 is defaulted to bias for some overexposure, I haven’t noticed significant overblown areas in my photos taken with the +EV setting, in case you wonder. For its unrivalled ergonomics, the GX200 is a bliss to use when these tweakings have to be done. Take for example, in M mode, a press of the Fn2 button with my right thumb gives me the “right” exposure combo according to the preset aperture. From there, I just turn the front ...

Hmmm, this is my second "contributions" in this Week of Review. Please clap your hands for me... thank you, thank you, thank you :) . Some months ago, we read comments of a local user who sold her LX3 for a GX200. She just found the colours in the LX3's images too "plastic" to suit her taste. I think it was just the same as in the film days when people preferred Kodak to Fujifilm to some other brands. I am sure that there are lots of people who have been happy to have sold the GX200 for a LX3 instead. Afterall, your own photographic style, experience and taste matter a lot. Now, we have another user who sold his GRDII for a LX3. He has posted photos and written some thoughts about the shift here .

(按:這是GX200評測第三部分．全文完) (Note: The text and photos below are published by courtesy and with copyright of the original author , Wouter Brandsma . The copyrighted Chinese translation is done by Nevin. Permission is required for use.) Appropriate workflow The success of a digital camera is probably most determined by someone’s workflow. And that workflow consists of the camera handling, photography making, and editing. A well handling camera is more likely to be picked up by a photographer, even when the camera won’t give you the best results (this matters especially for amateur photographers). The photography making has all to do with how well the camera exposes, your personal skills, and learning the limitations and possibilities of your camera. And for the editing you try to find the application that works the best for you, and achieves the best possible results you envision. I for instance use Adobe Lightroom as my primary editing application. When I w...

Some six months after the release of GX200, it is gaining growing popularity among photographers. In its hometown, Japan, the GX200 was voted the second most popular compact of 2008 after Sigma DP1. Besides the applause for its surperb ergonomics, it has also won design awards in Germany , Japan and Taiwan . In recently weeks, I have come across a number of undecided bloggers wondering if the GX200 is the right camera for them. For a quick answer, it depends really on the specific photographing style and experience of each photographer. The GX200 can be used by tyros as a full automatic P&S for sure; but it should be put to the much better use it is built for. If you are still undecided and comparing it with other comparable cameras, maybe you will find some of my previous posts/ ideas useful here , here and here . For those who are coming from the film era as I do, I am wrapping up some additional thoughts about the GX200 versus film cameras below (specifically, my Minolta SLR ...

So, we are in the Week of Review. This is my contribution (well, I just provide the link): TheOnlinePhotographer published a post linking to a test for film versus 12MP digital in large prints. Mark that the review is in video format with sounds.

(按:這是GX200評測第二部分) (Note: The text and photos below are published by courtesy and with copyright of the original author , Wouter Brandsma . The copyrighted Chinese translation is done by Nevin. Permission is required for use.) The images The GX200 sports a different sensor than the GX100 with 2 megapixels extra. Since Ricoh doesn’t develop their own sensor they have to buy what the markets offers/forces them. As a result of the new sensor Ricoh updated the GX200 image processing engine. The new sensor resulted in some different features like a lowest ISO of 64 instead of ISO 80 with the GX100. They increased the amounts of possible in-camera settings with more B&W settings (just like the Ricoh GR Digital 2), and there is a new feature to compensate the white balance. Even with the noise reduction off there is still some noise reduction applied on the in-camera jpegs, even at the lowest ISO. For the pixel peeper this might be a problem, but...

Today, we are going to learn some useful insights from Colin Bradbury in his mini review of the GRD II. Colin is a professional photographer stationed in Hong Kong. Photos are copyrighted to him. (St Agnes, Cornwall. 'Environmental' portrait) By COLIN BRADBURY: Just back from 2 weeks in rural England with the family over Christmas. Since this was a family holiday and not a photography trip I wanted to travel light. On that basis I left my DSLRs at home and took the GRDII as my only camera to save weight but also to see how useful it would be as the only camera in a variety of photographic situations. I have to say I was very pleased with it and didn't miss having a zoom or longer lens at all. The 28mm is a perfect single focal length and proved itself useful in a variety of situations. Landscapes are clearly well suited to the 28mm but less obviously I have also found it to be great for portraits. With a 28mm you are forced to do 2 things. First, to get in closer ...

No pun intended. No typo. I really mean aiming my eyes at the moon...s. I didn't aim the camera at the moons, of course. The auto-focusing would have easily failed. I have been arranging posts for this week, featuring reviews of the GX200 and the GRD II. But over the weekend I still took lots of pictures with the camera when I was not on the computer. I took pictures until quite late into the day. So when I was on my way home, the crystal clear sky with the cold breeze and an almost empty street was so refreshing that I simply stood on the street as long as my legs could afford me, holding up my head and aiming my eyes at the moons. There, I chased the moonlight to watch the love stories of the Moons. Let me tell them to you with my camera. Tonight there is a stir among the palm leaves, a swell in the sea, full moon, like the heart throb of the world. From what unknown sky hast thou carried in thy silence the delightful secret of love? ~ adapted from Tagore Rabindranath (1) Moons i...

(按:這是GX200評測第一部分) (Note: The text and photos below are published by courtesy and with copyright of the original author , Wouter Brandsma . The copyrighted Chinese translation is done by Nevin. Permission is required for use.) Ricoh GX200, f2.9, 1/80 sec, 35mm equivalent, ISO 100, -0.7 EV (B&W jpeg edited in Adobe Lightroom) Late August I posted my first initial impressions of the Ricoh GX200 . Being enthusiastic about the previous GX100, and the handling of the GX200 prior to my writing, I was somewhat disappointed by the quality of the GX200 RAW files. I had used the camera for a few weeks after receiving it without being able to review the photographs. When I viewed the photographs large on screen the first time I noticed I could not process the photographs the way I used and wanted to do. The editing resulted in more unintended noise, and I missed the byte. The following months I kept using the camera, changed in-camera settings, experimented ...

I strolled along a barely paved path that eventually led to the woods with a modest Chinese pavilion perching on a hilly western tip and commanding a faint view seaward to the airport sitting in the valley afar. Unlike weekends, the sight of visitors was few and far between on the way. A few friendly locals might have passed me by. I, turning at far many more bends than expected, saw time and again tall trees drag out of the ground enormously entangled roots as if waiting aimlessly to be untangled, electricity poles spontaneously point to the sky as if inviting passers-by to cloud-gazing, and raw banana bunches overhang earthy parapets as if yearning for a peek of the path and the world beyond. Twists and turns lay ahead and as unprepared as I could be this picture was unfolded to me. A smart red mailbox, however makeshift it might be, stood atop a melancholic pile of bamboos wanting to join their peers and discharge their rightful duties whether on the bridge or in the opera h...