An Open Request to Ricoh and to Assist with an Informed Buying Decision [SIMILAR]
barjohn [GALLERY] - 1 month ago
I have purchased the GXR with A12. I have identified the following issues that need to be addressed by Ricoh in firmware. I believe that most of these issues can be either fixed or improved in firmware. At the same time I think prospective buyers need to know as much as possible about the camera and any shortcomings it may have. Further, despite these issues, I believe it is an excellent camera, especially when used in zone focus (snap) mode and with the fixing of these items it could be an all around winner. It's major competition in IQ will be the Samsung NX and the Leica X1. From the raw images I have seen I think it will fair very well except for those with vivid imaginations that think they see some mysterious Leica glow but would be unable to identify it in a blind test (it's actually red dot glare).
My list of issues with the GXR/A12:
Auto Focus Issues:
1. Slow spot mode auto focus in normal room light level, reaches acceptable though not GF1 speeds as light level increases (avg. full press AF speed =1.08sec) (GF1 avg. full press AF speed =0.36sec with 20mm f1.7 lens, average speed with 14mm-45mm zoom at 14mm is 0.23sec)
2. Multi-autofocus is so slow it is almost unusable except for still life (Avg. focus speed 1.39sec)
3. Image in the EVF & LCD freezes during AF then jumps to a new position when focus is achieved
4. Low light level for focus assist light to come on is set too low resulting in inability to lock focus in conditions that are brighter than conditions in which the light turns on and auto focus is achieved
Manual Focus Issues:
1. Center magnify is insufficient and needs to be either made adjustable and set in a menu (like one button playback magnify) or have two steps 5X and 10X
2. Focus ring response is jumpy and moves in click steps rather than in a smooth continuous motion and the lens response lags the physical change causing focus to be missed as one overshoots the focus point and then on return undershoots the focus point
3. In full manual mode the image brightness on the LCD or EVF varies with the exposure setting making manual focus in low light difficult; this may be by design to show the user what the exposure looks like but there needs to be a simple override during manual focusing such as when turning the focus ring it should automatically brighten the image to assist with focusing
Other Issues:
1. Screen leaves live view after shutter release for about 1.9sec. This results in a blank screen for the 2 seconds or if image review is on and set to less than 2 seconds, the image is frozen for the period of review less than the blank time
2. If reviewing an image (playback), a full press of the shutter takes it out of playback but does not fire a shot in auto focus or manual mode (the GF1 will focus and fire the shutter)
3. When auto flash mode is selected the TTL feature does not seem to function properly and images either over or under expose
I hope this is of help to both Ricoh engineers and forum members. As a software engineer, I think some of these issues could be resolved by double buffering which would improve the perception of responsiveness by making the camera more responsive. Also, examining the servo loop software algorithm might gain improved performance. I realize there are some limits inherent in the macro lens design and the sensor readout speed but within those limits improvements are clearly possible as seen in bright light performance.
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John
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Comments and critiques welcome.