Ricoh GR Digital
Keeping it Simple

It’s nice to know that in the modern race to install the latest and greatest features into every new digital camera on the market, there is at least one manufacturer out there determined to keep it simple. The Ricoh GR Digital is a no-nonsense, no frills, solid camera that does just what it is supposed to do – take beautiful pictures with a maximum amount of human control and no fuss.

First, let’s start this review by discussing what the Ricoh GR Digital doesn’t have. There is no zoom to speak of. Actually, there is a 4x digital zoom but any good photographer knows this is nearly a pointless feature. Instead what you are given is a tack sharp and reasonably fast 28mm f/2.4 fixed focal length lens.

For some, this is reason enough to turn their backs on the camera and never look back. For myself however, I consider the fixed focal length lens to be a plus. Most compact digitals don’t really offer a zoom range that I can’t achieve by simply taking a few steps forward or back to get the composition I want.

Having a fixed focal length lens means much sharper images and fewer JPG artifacts. Combined with an excellent quality sensor and you get a very ‘film like’ appearance in the final results in all but the highest ISO settings.

Build quality on the GR Digital is absolutely superb and reminds me of the days when cameras where built to last decades rather then a measly two to three years. Even though the camera body itself is not much bigger then a cassette tape case, my hand fit comfortably around the grip and all dials and functions where easy to access with little fiddling.

Speaking of controls, when was the last time you used a needle style light meter on a digital camera? I was absolutely shocked when I discovered this on the GR Digital but quickly melted into a state of euphoria when memories of my old 70’s SLR’s came rushing back to me. In addition, for an extra $200 Ricoh offers a true optical viewfinder that can be mounted on the cameras hot shoe.

If there is one problem with the GR Digital it’s the processing speed. RAW images can take up to twenty seconds to write to the SD card, a time frame that can make street shooting a little frustrating. JPG quality is surprisingly superb however which reduces this negative fact considerably.

If you’re a photographer looking for an extra point and shoot digital to compliment your larger and bulkier D-SLR’s then the Ricoh GR Digital is a perfect choice. Mine has found a permanent home in my automobile glove box where I use to take images of potential shooting locations on the fly.

A very useful tool through and through.