GX GARNERINGS

"This is what" was the question put to me when my friends were shown the above photo. The shot was not taken during daytime. No, not during the solar eclispe, which had been a brief fad in the past week in this part of the world. So, what is this? This is one of the shots for which I had waited and take on a stormy night. I just anticipated the moment of the next strike of the bolt, photographed on the continuous drive mode and ended up with this photo. I am sure that the CX1 can do a better job with its much higher continuous drive speed. As the scene was actucally dark, the trick was to pre-expose for a lit-up area (say, a shop when you passed by one or an indoor light if you're indoor) and lock it up with the AEL lock. Don't forget to turn off the power saving feature of the camera, so that the camera won't switch itself off beyond the idle-time and the exposure combo be gone. Some other tips are: 1) Safety comes first when you shoot in inclement weath...

The VF-1 has been attached to my GX200 for a fortnight by now. It becomes an integral part of the camera to my enhanced enjoyment. The individual benefits of the viewfinder are not huge but together they add an extra dimension to the joy of photographing with the GX200, making the experience more completed and closer to using a DSLR without the physical burden. Let me give some final thoughts and a conclusion to this series of VF-1 review. My deepest impression is that Ricoh should have bundled up the gadget with the camera at the same price. The gains will be three-prong: the joy afforded to the photographers, Ricoh's brand-name building and the sales of the GXs. A year after the release of the GX200, the latter two factors have taken greater importance in face of tighter competition in the niche market formally conquered by Ricoh notwithstanding its still lesser known existence in the present-day camera market. As regards the VF-1 itself, the built is solid. The optical m...

^The clouds are the continents, linked by the plane. In addition to the benefits discussed yesterday, there are two other noticeable advantages. One is enhanced steadiness in holding the camera. It goes without saying that with the VF, the GX200 has to be pressed against the photographer's eye whenever a shot is taken. Understandably, this helps steady the camera set to a slow shutter speed. In my case, there has been a proven eight-stop gain in dragging down the shutter speed. ^This photo was done with a shutter speed ten stop lower than the safe speed without shake correction. The image is not razor sharp but acceptably clean. To put it in another way, the proven safe shutter speed now becomes eight stops instead of four stops below the 1/focal length in use (only shown when the step-zoom is turned on). The gain will probably be greater when without drowsiness resulting lack of sleep or of restraint in alcoholic abuses, I think. The other is what could be used to address a reade...

^The VF-1 feels well-built with sturdy material, weighting like two coins or three in the hand. After taking 100-odd photos with the VF-1 (hereinafter "VF" for the ease of typing) for over a week, I am ready to offer my impressions of it. First of all, we are going to judge it by its appearance.   ^ With the hot shoe cover removed, there the VF goes in.  The VF-1 comes with a small case to store the VF-1 or otherwise the hotshoe cover detached from the camera. The VF is rather light-weight and does not add much weight to the camera, which is important to photographers who prefer to hanging the GX200 around the neck. The VF is inclinable upward for as much as 90 degree.   ^If you are short- or far-sighted, turn the eyepiece to correct the diopter.  The correction is very effective to me. The designers must be lauded for incorporating the diopter correction controller in the eyepiece, a tweak of which can vary the diopter. (As an aside...

This is a small step for the mankind, but a big step for my GX200. After much soul- and price-searching, I have taken one step towards fully arming my GX200. I have got a VF-1, the proprietary electric viewfinder for Ricoh GX200. In fact, the VF-1 has been experimented with for a week. Before I finish up with my initial thought about the gear, here for you to enjoy are some of the photos taken with my GX200 by using the VF-1.

While crossing the road, this rider intrigued me.  He had a face of a Japanese cartoon character.  He balanced the bike with both feet on the peddle even though he was actually stopping at the red light.  And look at his posture in style.  The best of all was his T-shirt which yells on it, "Money is what I lack." Have a good weekend!