In the Hand
The GXR body with the M module is very solid in the hand and evenly distributed in weight, with the generous bulge giving users a comfy grip of the camera. But the overall weight increases significantly when mounted with the Voigtländer lens on loan for the review. As a matter of course, the camera lends itself to dropping head down when the lens is mounted. This is certainly no fault of the camera or the design. It will be the same case for any cameras used with any lens of comparable metal construction.
In fact, among all mirror-less cameras, the 2-year-old GXR body is probably still the best in terms of ergonomics. GXG would have given it full marks if not for the wheel-rocker mechanism instead of a truly two-wheel system for making exposure combos. For the bells and whistles of the GXR body, readers may refer to the previous posts on the implementation of its buttons and functions here and here.
The camera requires two-hands operation; but who will complain? Operating a camera singlehandedly is at best counter-intuitive. After all, in the case of the M module, there are lots of tweaking to do to both the lens and the camera body, most notably for manual focusing. In fact, the manual focusing the most prominent feature compelling interested users to shell out money for the M module. So, let’s dig deep into it.
Focus confirmation: Some Issues
Understandably, there are more visual confirmations to do than with a manual-focus lens. Since there is no electronic or mechanical communication between the lens and the camera body, users are obliged to visually check out the lens to confirm the settings done to it. A side note is therefore that if you are contemplating an external viewfinder to go with the M module, you probably will be better off without one – it is just easier to travel your eyes between the LCD instead of the viewfinder and the lens.
For confirming the focus, the GXR LCD display at 92K dots does an adequate job. But surely an upgrade display on par with the GRD4's 1.23M dots will be much welcomed so that the enlarged image can be beefed up in resolution. This is important because for focus confirmation, the digitally enlarged image sometimes requires quite a guess.
(The above two shots required quite a guess for the focus: the first one with the Porsche badge in relief pattern and the second one with an uneven surface of paints peeling off)
That said, I have not found it a serious issue to manually focus on the LCD display except for when the aperture is so large like below f2 that the DOF becomes extremely shallow (then I really have to guess and sometimes take several shots to be sure). However, it should be borne in mind that for any camera featuring an APS-C sensor -- hence shallow depth of field-- at f2 or below, even AF lens sometimes requires users to spot focus to get the exact point in focus. It is advisable for potential users without any experience in manual-focus lens to find out what to expect with the M-mount. Without limiting to the case of M module, manual focusing is not about getting the focus swiftly across a scene. It is more about being creative in focusing and, for some, the joy of the photographic process too.
But the M module has done some clever tricks to alleviate the occasional frustrations in manually accomplishing the focus.
Two Measures
The good news is that the M module features two smart measures to assist the manual focus operation. First, a focus assist function (FA 1 and 2) to highlight the area/subject in focus; second, a switchable enlargement box for easy confirmation.
In the focus assist function mode 1, the LCD display highlights the area in focus with flickering dots. The same will be displayed in the magnified area when you turn on the magnification box (customisable to the function key for one-press activation and the magnification rate selectable) But, honestly, on some occasions – for example, shooting the foliage or water body under a bright sky – even the magnified area left me guessing whether the focus fell surely on where I intended.
The FA mode 1 and the enlargement box works like this:
The cropped-out final image at f2.0:
For mode 2, the screen displays the scene in embossment and the area highlighted in relief is in focus. Whether mode 2 is usable is a matter of debate because seeing things in grey is a bit anti-intuitive. Here is a shot showing mode 2 in action:
I have not found this mode 2 particularly useful except for maybe an object against a monotonous background. Fact is, I am so unaccustomed to all other objects being shown in grey that this mode 2 has not been used for a meaningful time during the testing period. As far as the field test is concerned, mode 1 is able to handle the job effectively in general. When customised to the two fn function keys on the four-direction button respectively, the focus assist function mode 1 and the magnification box combined are useful enough for the job.
Summing Up
When I moved around shooting on the street, the expensive looking camera was quite a head turner. I would love it to keep in low profile but the eye-catching retro-look of especially the manual lens simply lends itself to the contrary. I almost heard the aahs and oohs from bystanders on some occasions.
Being familiar with the GXR system, I was swiftly geared to the manual operations of the module and the lens. To new comers, the menu items are so extensive that it looks uninviting at first and will take some time to get used to. But once the user knows what the camera can do, the learning will pays off as there are plenty of customisable functions, slots and buttons to tailor-make what and how the operations suit the user best. I personally love Ricoh cameras for being very sensible with what functions are essential to photographers. The case is that a user coming from a different brand name may, with his pre-conception of how a camera should operate, agree with me with a qualified “yes”. But after getting used to the Ricoh cameras, one will see the benefits spot on. The caveat is that one has to read the user’s instruction.
The biggest concern before trying out the was how best the manual operations designed for the M module could work, in particular the manual focusing.
Together with the useful movable focus area at the press of the Adj. rocker, the two measures discussed speed up the manual focus process effectively. Manual focusing is not a problem to me since I am used to pre-focus my cameras to do shots. As a matter of course, pre-focusing a manual lens with a APS-C-sensor camera is less practicable if the photographer mostly uses wide aperture, do wildlife animals pictures, 
shots children running around and the like. So, whether manual focusing is desirable depends on your photographic style. At any rate, the M module works smoothly with all the manual operations. Fact is, once you have got a deft hand with the manual camera, the whole process could add fun to doing photography. The advantage in return is images produced in colours, saturation and exposure as desired. Most importantly, the anti-aliasing filter is gone in the M module and you will be gobsmacked to see the extremely sharp images.
Next, we will discuss further on the M module.
(Kudos to Laikok for lending GX Garnerings the camera unit and the lens)
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