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| Checking out the GR2, Macro mode. He was close enough to bite the lens but refrained from so doing. |
Ricoh Corporation is a multifunctional office equipment, electronics and services organisation which says it is ….”empowering organisations to improve and transform work life…” …whatever that means.
In the post WW2 era Ricoh had a considerable presence in the photographic and printing industries. Ricoh made many well received rollfilm twin lens reflex and 35mm single lens reflex camera models.
As the 20th Century progressed Ricoh’s output of cameras declined as the corporation moved in other directions.
But it seems someone in the Ricoh hierarchy wanted to maintain a presence in the camera business including the interchangeable lens camera sector.
In 2009 this manifested as the Ricoh GXR system. This used a unique approach in which the interchangeable part was a combined [lens+sensor] module. Buyers were not attracted to the concept and Ricoh did not pursue the project.
In 2011 Ricoh bought the camera assets of Pentax presumably as a different way to acquire a presence in the interchangeable lens market.
Unfortunately Pentax has no mirrorless ILCs so the success of the venture rests on customers continuing to buy DSLRs. Good luck with that.
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| Good highlight and shadow detail. There was some false color moire in the meshwork behind the man's head, easily removed in Adobe Camera Raw. |
Today there are not many camera models bearing the Ricoh name and all are niche products some with limited availability in several world regions.
It seems that for Ricoh, making cameras is more like a hobby than a business.
There is the unusual Theta which makes 360 degree panoramas with twin fisheye lenses.
The WG-50 is a consumer waterproof model.
The G700/800 are water/dust/shock/chemical resistant models for industrial uses.
The GR2 is the current version of a line of enthusiast compacts which began with the GR1 in 1996.
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| There is enough depth of field at f3.2 |
You might think that the GR2 would be the model immediately following the GR1. But no, due to the naming muddle in the GR line the GR2 is in fact the 10th version after the GR1.
The GR1, GR10, GR1s, GR1v were high quality compacts which used 35mm film.
The GR21 was the only one of the line to have a built in 21mm lens.
All these models had optical viewfinders.
The first digital version of the GR line, named GR Digital, came along in 2005. Viewing was via the rear live view monitor, a system which continues to the present.
The GR Digital used am 8Mpx CCD sensor approximately 9mm on the diagonal with an aspect ratio of 4:3. The lens, as always with the GR series had a focal length equivalent to 28mm on the 35mm film size.
The GR Digital 2, 3 and 4 continued the same theme. Sensor size varied slightly as did the maximum aperture of the lens. Of some interest is that the GR Digital 4 had a sensor based image stabiliser in 2011.
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In 2013 the GR series moved up to the APS-C CMOS sensor with a diagonal measurement of 28mm.
This enabled much better image quality than was achievable with either film or the 9mm CCD.
Ricoh named the first model with this sensor the GR. Despite the confusing name it was a very good camera and gained an enthusiastic following particularly among documentary and street photographers.
The GR2, introduced in 2015 is a minor update with improved connectivity and some other features but with the same lens and sensor.
Ricoh has pre-announced the GR3 which will appear in the second quarter (?) of 2019 with a new sensor and lens, reduced width, different control set, touch screen and a return of sensor based image stabilisation. It will not have an built in flash.
Throughout the entire 12 model series from 1996 the shape, style, size, configuration and operation of the successive models have remained remarkably similar. Anyone who has used one of the GR models would immediately recognise any of the others.