Ricoh GR review

I've nothing against the camera's. It's just that Ricoh
claimed they intended to be a major force within 3 years
and they won't do that hanging around with the 'sealing wax
manufacturers' part of the market.

TV ratings are counted as 'No one watched it' below a certain
figure.... I think it's 30k. Even in the good old film days that
Ricoh seem to still think they are in sales of this type of
camera were minute. A total 20 Black AutoDate Hexar AF's
were imported to the US when they were available.

From......
http://www.cameraquest.com/konhex.htm

"UPDATE: I happened to meet the retired US Sales Konica sales manager. According to him, the black AutoDate Hexar AF is actually a very rare camera. When introduced, no US dealers wanted them. He remembers only 20 AutoDates being officially imported into the US."

"Oddly Konica has never seemed to do all it can to promote the Hexar AF -- many experienced photogs have never even heard of it, much less seen one. Sure, you could special order it from Konica dealers, but strangely enough I have never seen a new Hexar AF in a camera store --- and I have seen more than my share of camera stores. As a result any Hexar AF is not that easy to find, whether new or used."


'

That's why they bought Pentax. It's Pentax that is destined to be the mass market brand. There is still room for a product like the GR. And look at what Nikon did. They tried to outmanoeuvre Ricoh with the Nikon Coolpix A, but they haven't. So Nikon have recognised the worth of this product and the r&d lines associated with it.

The days of the Konica Autodate Hexar are well behind us, Algi.

The soberness and retro qualities of the GR are currently de rigeur (look at how Fuji have turned themselves around). But I think the GR is more timeless than the Fuji x's... which I find a little bit too chintzy in their faux rangefinder look.

The GR is more manly looking. GRRR!

Ricoh have always had an understated look and the GR series of cameras don't need to prove anything in how they perform, they have always had a tried and trusted following. Even Daido Moriyama uses one...
This camera is a no-nonsense image making tool, which it does admirably.
I was sold a long time ago on the 'Snap Focus' feature with the GX200 and I can't praise this mode enough on this camera either.

Also, this camera knows what it's about and has excellent features and customisation potential, it's a jack of a few trades at least, like envronmental portraiture and landscapes as well as Macro (even moreso when you combine this with a close-up dioptre filter too), but it's definitely a master of one and that's the street.
You'll never miss a moment with this camera, if you do then you only have yourself to blame...

For anyone with a Ricoh GXR SRS have some amazing offers
such as RICOH GX-R A16 24-85mm £199 also some Industrial
cameras with GPS and barcode readers.

Thinking about the GXR M mount model very seriously now.....