Sure, it cost me money, but it saved me time. After seeing some of the pictures Russ took with his Ricoh GRII Digital, I decided I needed to have one too. (I always forget that it is the shooter, not the camera…) However, I did not really feel like spending 600 dollars on a little camera. Whenever I make a major tech purchase these days, I always eqaute it into “what kind of lens could I buy for the D40 with the money I’m about to spend…?”
So, I decided to research other Ricoh cameras. You may be asking yourself, “Kristin, why would you want a Ricoh camera? The guys at the camera shop don’t even know that they still make Ricoh cameras!!!” Well, the answer is, I wanted a Ricoh because it can shoot in a square format, just like the TTV photos that I love so much. Sure, I guess I could just shoot differently and crop the photos afterwards, but where is the fun in that?
Since I didn’t want to spend 600 bucks, I decided to do some research and see what else Ricoh had with the square format shooting. I came up with either the GX100 or the R8. I ended up going with the R8, because in the end, my main requirement was the square shooting mode. All three cameras have it, but the R8 was the cheapest. The GRII has fully manual capabilities, which frankly, with my skill level, I don’t necessarily need. I can hone my manual skill set on the Nikon.
I haven’t really had the chance to take the Ricoh for a spin yet. I got it on Tuesday and have had to work every day since then. I am off tomorrow to take some pics at Longwood, and hopefully it will perform well in a bright light situation. So far, the indoor macro results have been poor compared to my Canon Powershot SD630. That thing is a monster in low light and digital macro.
Oh, and how did buying a new camera save me time? I don’t have to spend hours online researching and convincing myself that I don’t need a new camera. Now I know I don’t need a new camera!
I’m interested to see what you can get from it
) I found myself having similar thoughts with “ooohs” and “aaahs” when I realised the GRII took square photos and wondered if any cheaper models did. So thanks for the research!
But for now I shall save my money. I’m hoping to TTV some more to save some money. We’ll see!
Good luck with the new camera.
Comment by rachelcreative — August 29, 2008 @ 5:02 am
I don’t have to spend hours online researching and convincing myself that I don’t need a new camera. Now I know I don’t need a new camera!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I hope it works out for you! I love the way ttv stuff looks, but I’m thinking square format for regular stuff would be totally funky, too! Now I wish the General had a square option.
Comment by Pookie — August 29, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Rachel, I think you could get really great results with it. It seems to be nice and contrasty. But I don’t necessarily think it is a must have. Definitely more of a toy…
Pookie, I’m shocked that the General does not have that option! I’m sure there must be a secret sequence of buttons to push that transforms it into a square picture taker!!!
Comment by kristin — August 30, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
[...] I had to buy a new camera [...]
Pingback by Ricoh R8 camera review | Crunch Gear — September 1, 2008 @ 4:54 pm