Hi everyone, not been here for ages, mainly because I am no longer using any Pentax cameras except the Ricoh GR. However, this forum was very instrumental in me learning digital photography. I owe thanks for all the encouragement I had while here.

I've just had an article published in 3 newspapers (Bolton News, Metro and the Daily Mail) after signing up with a press agency. The majority of the images were taken with the GR, two of them were taken with a K5, and a couple on the Sony A7s.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3565473/Light-city-Stunnin...

I found the K3 extremely good at low ISO'S, and coupled with the Sigma 18-35mm it produced pretty astounding detail. I found however that the files don't stand up to processing as well as the files from my K5 did, which made it utterly useless for aerial photography. I have only sbout 10 aerial images from the K3 that I would print. Greens tended to smear and WB was impossible to get right. I sold it after a few months and went full frame with Sony, and now am a complete convert to mirrorless cameras.

No idea how it works, it seems a bit random. I had four consecutive images "explored" about 6 months ago and none since then....one of the images was a pic I didn't like and was gong to remove.

It sounds like an indexing problem. I had similar when upgrading to Windows 10. Have a look at this link which will tell you how to check what is being indexed and also how to rebuild the index if neccessary. I would recommend rebuilding the index anyway after checking that it is indexing the location where the images are stored.

If you want to sell images online, at some point they are going to get nicked. If you plaster them with ugly watermarks, you probably won't sell any. More subtle ones can be removed easily. All you can do is not post them at sizes that can make decent sized prints, though it doesn't stop websites using them. I would rather make some money and accept the fact that I will probably have some of my images used without my consent, than make my images not worth stealing and make nothing.

I haven't been successful in getting compensation from anyone (I have tried), and don't even bother trying anymore. If I lived in the UK I might. I do issue a lot of take-down notices, which are nearly always complied with. You have to take risks to succeed, and in photography, that risk is that someone somewhere is going to use an image without permission.

Selling on eBay doesn't sound a good idea to me, certainly not as a sole outlet. Ebay is not a place I imagine people go shopping for photographic prints. However, I've never tried it. Until your post I didn't actually know that you could buy prints there., though I shouldn't be surprised I guess.

I tried Fine Art America a while ago, and never sold anything. For me the most success I have had with prints has been through my website and Flickr, in about equal measure. Tagging images works. My most lucrative (in terms of price for a single print) print sales have come a non-profit website I allow to use my images for free, though this is in the niche market of aerial photographs of mountains. I also get some sales from Facebook, and some through word of mouth.

What I am trying to say is that I think before selling images online you need to both identify the market you are aiming at, and at the same time make your images easy to find online. The scatter-gun approach. It's a very competitive market; putting all your eggs in one basket is not going to work unless your work is already known.

Thanks John and Carl; I included the street shots as that is one of the things I use the GR for, but I appreciate they may look out of place with the other images. The GR is a very versatile camera, despite it's fixed focal length, and works very well for a lot of the photography I enjoy most.

I've not posted any pics for a long time, so thought I'd share a few from the GR taken over the past 18 months ago or so...apologies if I've posted any of these previously. I just love this camera.


Karakoram valleys by Jon, on Flickr



Cumulo Nimbus by Jon, on Flickr



Downtown Miami by Jon, on Flickr



Orbit over Bangkok by Jon, on Flickr



Biscayne Bay by Jon, on Flickr




Doha sunset by Jon, on Flickr



Kuwait City by Jon, on Flickr



R0050050 by Jon, on Flickr



R0050041 by Jon, on Flickr


Lastly, some panoramas, stitched in Autopano Giga, which has opened up new possibilities with panoramas.



Shiraz by Jon, on Flickr



Xinjiang by Jon, on Flickr



Batura Muztagh by Jon, on Flickr

Personally I was hoping the new GR would have a 35mm or 50mm equivalent lens on it. The sensor itself is great, probably no need for an upgrade on that, though improved high ISO performance (above 1600) would have been nice. Strangely, the 47mm crop mode is mentioned as a difference from the original, yet a firmware upgrade introduced that crop on the original. I certainly won't bother upgrading to the mark II version, it would be totally pointless.

The GR is still my most used camera, and I expect it to remain so, plus it's made me more money than all my other cameras put together, so I'm very happy with it. The wide lens continues to amaze me, it's just so much better than a lump of glass screwed onto the front of another lens has any right to be. The GR is imo the best designed compact on the market, simple, uncluttered, small, highly customisable. I've seen none of the dust issues I've seen some people complain about, and I live in a far dustier environment than most people.

I suspect if I didn't have a GR already, this new model would have me licking my lips waiting for the original version to drop in price; I doubt very much whether I'd buy the latest version. I'd be surprised if it sells very well, to be honest, as the original is going to be a real bargain now. I'm still hoping they come out with versions with different focal lengths.

I was hoping it would come out with a 35 or 50mm equivalents lens...if it's the same 28mm equivalent can't see the point in buying one, unless it has some radically new sensor.

Both of those features would stop me buying one....they would make it larger. I've found no need for a tilt screen with my GR, and I have an optical viewfinder which I very rarely, if ever, use...likewise, I hope it doesn't have a touchscreen, or if it does, that's it's not necessary to use it to access functions and it can be switched off. One of the GR's strengths is it's so easy to set up and customise, it doesn't need gimmicky crap.