News: GXR Richoh's wonderful silent camera: is this perfect for music photography?

I must let you guys into a newly discovered secret! With 2 of my Canon DSLR's out of action, the serious compact GXR from Ricoh turns out to be a little marvel!





The Ricoh GXR, (with the 50mm lens module) is likely one of the best ever compact cameras for street work or for fun. For music performance, however, it opens up a whole new capability to take as many images as one wishes during the actual performance without creating any shutter sound. This means one can potentially capture images which show the players well at any point in the performance, ushering a new "blimpless" shooting experience for this challenging type of photography.

1. is absolutely silent,
   
   
2. has absolutely the best user interface to address any parameter fast,
   
   
3. auto White Balance gives wonderful reasonably "ready-to-use color"
   
   
4. works in low light well enough for serious reportage shots
   
   
5. beats the compact cameras in having a larger APC size sensor
   
   
6. beats my previous favorite, the canon G10 in image quality

Ricoh has gone ahead of all other MFRs of serious compact cameras for pros by assembling all these features together in one compact camera.

I will add enough pictures to follow, to show that the camera has a great potential. The pictures will come from recent music performances at The Colburn School of Music Grand Avenue Los Angeles, next door to MOCA and opposite the Walt Disney concert Hall.

Asher

So return to this space for the pictures.

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

I must let you guys into a newly discovered secret! With 2 of my Canon DSLR's out of action, the serious compact GXR from Ricoh turns out to be a little marvel!

Click to expand...

This sounds very potent.

The lens-sensor module arrangement ("interchangeable camera camera") is unique and ingenious. I haven't taken the time to understand all the advantages of the concept.

I'll be anxious to hear/see how it does in your project.

Best regards,

Doug

Hi, Asher,

You say the Ricoh GXR is absolutely silent.

By that do you mean that the sound of the leaf shutter is "completely imperceptible", or rather that there is a mode in which the leaf shutter does not operate "shot-by-shot"?

Best regards,

Doug

Doug_Kerr said:

Hi, Asher,

You say the Ricoh GXR is absolutely silent.

By that do you mean that the sound of the leaf shutter is "completely imperceptible", or rather that there is a mode in which the leaf shutter does not operate "shot-by-shot"?

Best regards,

Doug

Click to expand...

I mean its completely imperceptible! So I picked it up and held it 6" from my ear and I could hear a soft shutter noise! had thought it must have an electronic pixel based shutter, but no, it's real and just so well made. In company or even in an auditorium with no conversation, there's enough ambient background noise that one cannot detect any shutter sound. Even in my home or events, no one can tell the shutter was released. That's why there s a synthetic shutter sound added to give feedback to the photographer. Folk are in disbelief that the camera actually takes pictures when I use it as they listen for the shutter sound if they had stopped chewing or want to stop smiling and scratch or have another sip of wine, LOL!

Asher

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

I mean its completely imperceptible! So I picked it up and held it 6" from my ear and I could hear a soft shutter noise! had thought it must have an electronic pixel based shutter, but no, it's real and just so well made. In company or even in an auditorium with no conversation, there's enough ambient background noise that one cannot detect any shutter sound. Even in my home or events, no one can tell the shutter was released. That's why there s a synthetic shutter sound added to give feedback to the photographer. Folk are in disbelief that the camera actually takes pictures when I use it as they listen for the shutter sound if they had stopped chewing or want to stop smiling and scratch or have another sip of wine, LOL!

Click to expand...

Sounds way fab.

As you know, I am a big EVF fan, and I see there is an optional EVF for this critter. Do you have that?



Best regards,

Doug

Doug_Kerr said:

As you know, I am a big EVF fan, and I see there is an optional EVF for this critter. Do you have that?

Click to expand...

i do, but need to use it! In a music performance, this might be more of a distraction to other folk or not, I'm not sure. certainly they wont see the brightly lit and very obvious LCD!

Asher

Here's a random pick, not chosen for anything but spread of figures across the width of the frame. I used the 50mm f 2.5 Macro module at ISO 400. Bart van der Wolfe's's suggestion of under-exposing (with the 5DII) has been applied, without formal testing) to the GXR and so it was exposed at -0.7 EV. This effectively tames the over exposed highlights and the image can be recovered with a simple adjustment with the levels layer.


The files are stored in the camera in Adobe RGB 91988) color space. This shot was by shutter priority taken at 1/64 f 3.5. I am showing the result with the immediately ready JPGs unaltered, right out of the camera, just reduced in size with "focus sharper" in CS4

First here's the histogram, and then the image after correction of the white point by bringing the right hand marker to the right edge of the histogram curve.

Now let's look further at this one randomly picked jpg, out of the camera, with just WP adjusted in the histogram with the layers layer in CS4. Here are 100% crops from left to right. no shadow recovery. Of course, I'll process them from RAw too but this is to show the quality of JPGs from handheld grabshots in low light at 1/64 sec ISO 400 -0.7 EV

Now here's the result of processing in Capture One from RAW





Now just for fun, I wondered what Imagenomic's "Portraiture II", face enhancement software might do to such a picture!




Well it seems to do a nice job in finishing features and softening the background. That's splendid for just a 5 second effort!

Much more to come on the GXR meeting the Colburn Chamber Music Society at Zipper Hall last Sunday! Obviously I need the new zoom lens when it comes out or to get closer, as cropping wastes pixels!

Asher

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

Now just for fun, I wondered what Imagenomic's "Portrait Professional" face enhancement software might do to such a picture!

Asher Kelman: Colburn Chamber Music Society Performance 2010_04_09 Zipper Hall
Processed in Capture One, Reduced to ~45% of full size ​

Click to expand...

Well, that is an extraordinary enhancement!

Best regards,

Doug

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

Now just for fun, I wondered what Imagenomic's "Portrait Professional" face enhancement software might do to such a picture!

Click to expand...

Do they no longer offer that product? I don't find it on their Web site:

http://www.imagenomic.com/

Best regards,

Doug

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

Obviously I need the new zoom lens when it comes out or to get closer, as cropping wastes pixels!

Click to expand...

Which zoom module do you mean, the P10 (28-300 mm ff35 equivalent)?

I'm unable to find what its sensor size is (they seem to studiously avoid mention of that). I hope 24 x 16mm ("APS-C"), but maybe not.

Best regards,

Doug

Doug_Kerr said:

Hi, Asher,


Which zoom module do you mean, the P10 (28-300 mm ff35 equivalent)?

I'm unable to find what its sensor size is (they seem to studiously avoid mention of that). I hope 24 x 16mm ("APS-C"), but maybe not.

Click to expand...

Doug,

You ht the nail on the head! Actually they could even have a full frame sensor, though I imagine they won't because they'd want to keep the weight down. At least, with the APS-C size sensor, we should have
a good quality pixel. They should be gong to a new generation of sensor snce it's almost a year since the GXR was first let out of the barn.

Asher

Doug_Kerr said:

Hi, Asher,


Do they no longer offer that product? I don't find it on their Web site:

http://www.imagenomic.com/

Best regards,

Doug

Click to expand...

It's Portraiture II, not Portrait Professional! My error!

Asher

Now Asher, you have got me interested...very.

I shall eagerly await your further views on this Ricoh.

Thanks for making me aware of this product.

Regards.