Ricoh GR Meet - Coffee, Cameras & Conversations
On Sunday 2nd February 2025, CR Kennedy hosted a special GR Meet where Masahiko Atsumi and Genichiro Takaoka from Ricoh Japan attended. There was coffee, food and special guests Hamish Ta-mé and Andrew TJ Teoh giving speeches about their experience with the Ricoh GR range of cameras.
It was a GReat day with a super turnout at the Arium of Mascot proving to be a perfect location and host for such an event. With Alpaka Gear and RZE Watches providing subject matter, prizes and goodies to win!
Of course I took a few flicks with my own GRIIIx to document the days event (even when I’m not working I’m working… I can’t help myself D:
I was running a bit late so I only managed a couple of quick snaps (both whilst moving). I believe I used Snap Focus for these two, set to infinity which is why the first ceiling shot is kinda soft, but I actually quite like how it turned out. The plane shot was a bit of luck as it was so bright that when I held the camera up to the sky I was being backlit so hard I couldn’t frame/see screen the at all. I’ve actually found this to be a bit of an issue when trying to do some semi serious landscape work with the GR camera. It’s not the screen brightness (or lack thereof), its just that you need shade or use of clothing to provide adequate shade over the screen to enable better framing.
Technique wise, for this kind of shoot I like to use a combination of Snap Focus and/or AF Single Point (focus>recompose if necessary). What makes the GR rather special is you can have both types of actuations running simultaneously. I use the front shutter button (half press) to engage the single AF point or… just tap (anywhere) on the back of the screen to take a shot (no waiting for any kind of autofocus here) via the Snap Focus feature with the predetermined distance setting of your choice (1m, 1.5m, 2m, 2.5m etc). I bind the video/BT Fn button on the side of the camera to allow me quick access to change the snap distance. The duality of this interfacing really makes the camera incredibly powerful and a seemingly rare trait in the camera world. Takes a bit of practice but it’s well worth the effort.
Well that’s a wrap, a good time had by all. Looking forward to the next one :-)
