Large aperture, high image quality and small distortion! Ricoh GRD3 in-depth evaluation

In the advanced portable camera product line that flourished around 1990, Ricoh GR series is the only one that has been digitized and successfully survived to this day. From 197, which shocked four popular GR 1, to GRD3 3, 12 just released this summer, Ricoh GR experienced the last afterglow of film cameras and the rise of digital cameras in the new century.

Leading coquettish for more than ten years! History of Ricoh GR series cameras

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Ricoh GR series (except GR2 1) all adopt a very high-quality 28mmF2.8 fixed-focus lens, so that the performance of this lens has surpassed that of similar lenses of contemporary SLR cameras, so that it is rumored that this lens was designed by Schneider, not Ricoh's own. This rumor, like Zude's gossip, may be true, but no one will confirm it. In addition, France has a strong ability in optical design and manufacturing. For example, the main lens on the Hubble Space Telescope was designed and produced in France.

In 2005, Ricoh introduced digital GRD, and the GR lens with fixed focus design of 5.9mmF2.4 was adopted, which maintained the characteristics of high definition and small distortion in the film era. GRD2 introduced in 2007 mainly improved the CCD pixels, and the lens remained unchanged. By this year, Ricoh has launched the third generation product of GRD, and the biggest change is to switch to a large aperture lens of 6mmF 1.9.

The improvement made by GRD3 is mainly that the lens aperture is increased to F 1.9, and the image engine has been greatly improved. The weakness of the first two generations of GRD, which was criticized by users, has been greatly improved. In addition to noise reduction, it also has quite good performance in color and other aspects. We will focus on this later. Other improvements of GRD3 are invisible, for example, the user interface has changed and it is easier to use; Users can adjust more parts by themselves, which increases the user-defined gear, which is beneficial to large aperture and increases the shutter priority mode.

The most striking thing about GRD3 is its large aperture fixed-focus lens of 6mm F 1.9 (the actual focal length of the first two generations of GRD3 was 5.9mm, but the equivalent focal length of GRD3 remained unchanged at 28mm due to the increase of CCD size from11.75 inches to 1.72 inches).

As an old user of GR series, GRD3 gave me a very good experience. This is the real digital product of GR, and it is a professional photography tool that can make users feel at ease and rely on.

Next is the detailed test results of Ricoh GRD3.

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GRD3 adopts GR series design and magnesium alloy fuselage material, but it is slightly different in some subtle places, which we will elaborate later. The overall dimension of GRD3 is 108.6? 59.8? 25.5mm (width? Tall? Thick), weighs 188g, and is very portable both in size and weight. Ricoh spent a lot of money on GRD3 this time. The easiest place to see in appearance is the 920,000-pixel 3-inch LCD on the back. In actual use, this LCD has accurate display, delicate color and great feeling.

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The subtle but obvious change in appearance is the color of the shutter button. The first two generations of GRD were all black shutter buttons, the same color as the fuselage, but in the third generation, the shutter button became dark yellow titanium gold, which looked very man show. It is difficult to show the subtle color difference between the shutter button and the fuselage in the photo, which is easy for friends to notice after seeing the real machine.

Another detail change is in the front of the fuselage. The GR numbers printed in the first two generations have become intaglio on GRD3 (red box below), which is more exquisite. This is also a man show.

GRD3' s handling of other details is as meticulous as ever.

The inscription on the lens is handled very carefully.

The gear mark on the mode dial is treated as the lens inscription, and this photo also reflects the color of the shutter button and the details of the external treatment of the fuselage.

Hot shoe interface, Ricoh will then launch a matching automatic flash and additional viewfinder.

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GRD3 is equipped with a brand-new GR lens optical structure, 6 groups of 8 lenses, including 2 double-sided aspheric lenses. The maximum aperture reaches F 1.9, which is unique in GR series and even digital cameras with non-replaceable lenses currently on sale. In a wide-angle lens, it is difficult to achieve a large aperture. Different from previous rumors, GRD3 does not use CMOS sensors, but chooses CCD sensors with11.7 inches and10.04 million pixels. The size of the sensor has become larger, so the physical focal length of the lens has become a little longer to keep the equivalent focal length unchanged.

GRD3' s GR lens still squeaks when focusing. I wonder how many teenagers will be needed to use the ultrasonic motor. Perhaps because of the optical structure, the focusing speed is not fast, but Ricoh has designed a fast shooting mode. The lens will be prepared at a distance of 2.5m. Once the shutter is pressed, it will be shot at a focal length of 2.5m regardless of whether the current focus is in focus or not, which is quite useful for news and documentary subjects.

The macro capability of Ricoh small DC has always been very strong, and GRD3 has gone a step further. The closest focal length of 1.5CM and the wide angle of 28mm allow you to take great wide-angle macro photos. When the camera switches to macro mode, several groups of lenses will be moved, so don't remember to turn off macro mode when shooting macro, otherwise the focusing speed will be slower.

GRD3 shooting macro

Among Ricoh's accessories for GRD3, there are also wide-angle and telephoto additional mirrors, which can be installed on the lens through the connecting ring. But it doesn't mean much to the average user, and 28mm is already a focal length that is difficult to control.

The red box is the contact point for judging the additional mirror.

"Editor's note:

It is difficult for a wide-angle lens to achieve a large aperture. If we simplify the lens into a simple lens, what is the ratio of the illumination of off-axis light on the focal plane to the illumination of light incident along the optical axis of the lens, and what is the angle between the optical axis of off-axis light and the main axis of the lens? The fourth power of cosine is proportional, and this conclusion is called Cos4 law in optical design. So what is the significance of this Cos4 rule? Different viewing angles will change with the focal length of the lens, and the shorter the focal length, the larger the viewing angle. According to Cos4 law, the light intensity per unit area of the focal plane will decrease with the expansion of the viewing angle. A wide-angle lens like 28mm has a viewing angle of about 72 degrees. According to Cos4 law, the light from the edge image point of the field of view to the negative film is less than 50% of the imaging brightness of the center image point of the field of view. In other words, the brightness of the edge of the picture is at least one aperture lower than that of the center of the picture. This is only one aspect. The surface reflection characteristics of CCD are completely different from those of film. Light incident at a large angle is likely to be completely reflected because it is less than the critical angle. Of course, the optical performance of this lens is unacceptable. GRD3 lens can achieve F 1.9, thanks to11.72 inch CCD. The size of CCD is small, and the size requirement of imaging ring will be slightly lower, so it is easier for the lens to balance the amount of light entering between the middle and the edge. The lens of GRD3 does not have too big dark angle, and the edge distortion correction is also good. It is a reliable tool for professional photographers.

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The performance of GR lenses in Ricoh's past dynasties is undoubtedly excellent in resolution. Although GRD3 has a larger aperture, its sharpness is still remarkable. At F 1.9, the central resolution of the lens has reached 1767LW/PH (horizontal direction) and 1650LW/PH (vertical direction).

GRD3 shooting resolution ratio

Our imaging test of camera mainly includes resolution, dispersion, color reproduction ability and other items. In the test, we first use the test prototype, according to the method provided in the Imatest software reference, shoot the test target for many times under the illumination of 5000K standard color temperature lamp (color rendering index is greater than 95%), and then use Imatest software to analyze and get the numerical value.

GRD3 shooting resolution ratio

When testing the imaging resolution, we use the automatic mode of the test prototype to shoot the test target with enhanced ISO 12233 resolution, and then use Imatest to analyze the local objects in the imaging center and edge area respectively. We use the MTF50 value obtained by Imatest analysis as a reference to examine the imaging resolution of the camera. The MTF50 value of the test results (unit: LW/PH, line width/image height) indicates the maximum number of black and white lines that the camera can distinguish per imaging height (contrast is 50%). The higher the numerical value, the higher the imaging resolution of the camera (lens). We shot the target at the aperture of F 1.9 and F2.8 respectively.

F 1.9 vertical resolution

F 1.9 horizontal resolution

F2.8 longitudinal resolution

F2.8 horizontal resolution

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Wide-angle lenses are often used to represent a wide range of scenes, so the requirements for distortion correction are very high. GRD3 has the advantage of fixed-focus lens and performs well in this respect. When testing the shape distortion of imaging, we use the test prototype to shoot the square on the plane, and then use Imatest to test the distortion of imaging. The values in the list are SMIA TV distortion, and the closer to zero, the better. A positive value indicates that the imaging produces pincushion distortion, while a negative value is the opposite. The test result of GRD3 is-1.46%, and the pincushion distortion of 1.46% appears on the surface, which is basically imperceptible to human eyes. Of course, it's a little worse than the-1.05% of the previous generation GRD2, so you have to compromise if you want to get a large aperture.

Let's take samples as an example.

Iso1001/52f1.9-1ev (click here for a larger view.

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This photo is taken of the roof of Wuzhen Accommodation Reception Center, which is almost vertical, so the purlins and rafters remain horizontal and vertical, while the exposure of-1EV makes the chandelier and lampshade more prominent, while retaining some details of the roof.

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O 65438 1.9 1/300

This photo is taken of the archway at the entrance of Wuzhen Reception Center, which is similar to the vertical angle.

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The noise control of GRD3 is absolutely commendable. Compared with the previous generation GRD2, it can always keep the picture pure in the face of various lighting environments, which is very difficult and excellent. Let's watch a movie and talk.

GRD3 is equipped with a new image processing engine, and the image quality is greatly improved. The noise control of GRD3 is absolutely commendable. Compared with the previous generation GRD2, it is very valuable to consistently achieve the purity of the picture in the face of various lighting environments. Even the quality of night scenes and long exposures is remarkable. Considering that this is only a small camera with11.7 inch CCD, the performance of GRD3 should be greatly appreciated. It can be said that the image quality performance of GRD3 at ISO200 and below is completely reliable.

You will notice that many samples in this series have reduced the exposure of 1/3- 1 to varying degrees. The exposure characteristics of CCD are similar to that of reverse film, and proper underexposure will make the color more saturated and layered.

Iso 200112sf1.9-1ev (click here for a larger image.

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This photo was taken in a foundry. This thing in the picture is a big pot. Although it was late, it was not dark yet. Normal exposure will make the rust on the bottom of the pot too violent and lose details. I specially cut out the text at the bottom of the pot 100% to see the noise control situation of GRD3.

It can be seen that the overall color transition is very delicate, and there is no noise and unclear edge that are common in small digital cameras.

Iso 2001/36f1.9-1ev (click here for a larger view.

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This photo was taken next to a small shop selling ice cream balls. In the evening, the faint skylight retains some details of the street, and the ball of light echoing far and near creates a quiet atmosphere. The large aperture of GRD3 F 1.9 can not only capture the scenery in weak light, but also bring you a fuzzy background.

This is the edge of 100% bulb, and the picture is clean and delicate.

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GRD3 is also very good at dealing with point light sources with large light. One is that the dead white area of high light is very small, which preserves the details to the greatest extent. In addition, GRD3 basically has no purple edge! It is very, very commendable that even at the junction of light and dark with quite high contrast, purple edges will not appear. Let's talk with samples.

ф o200f1918s0ev (click here to see a bigger picture.

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As shown above, there is nothing surprising about this photo, but it is very telling. Let's take a look at the original cut.

There is a spotlight on the dock, so the illumination is very high. GRD3 can even keep most details in the direct range of the spotlight, and the performance of tolerance is already great.

The above picture is different from the above picture, because it is a little far away, so the influence of highlights on details is minimized, and most details of piers can be seen, which can be compared with SLR cameras.

The problem to be explained in the above picture is the treatment of point light source by GRD3. The light source in the picture is a spotlight used to illuminate the bridge, with high brightness and direct lens. From the photo, the sharpness and contrast of this area are actually reduced due to glare. However, in such a large contrast scene, there is no purple edge, and the periphery of the point light source is also handled very cleanly. The performance of GRD3 is amazing.

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On this trip, I also brought EOS 5D mk2+24- 105/4L suit, which is the treasure of this channel. So I took a lot of similar photos in the same scene with GRD3, and I can choose one or two pairs for comparison. What's the difference between GRD3 and 5D2? It's called Pony 3!

Iso 2001/36f1.9-1ev (click here for a larger view.

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This photo was taken next to a small shop selling ice cream balls. In the evening, the faint skylight retains some details of the street, and the ball of light echoing far and near creates a quiet atmosphere. The large aperture of GRD3 F 1.9 can not only capture the scenery in weak light, but also bring you a fuzzy background.

This is the edge of 100% bulb, and the picture is clean and delicate.

Eos5dmk2iso400105mm/4110s-0.7ev (click here to see the big picture.

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This one was taken with 5D2. Can you tell the difference with the naked eye?

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After several days of intensive use, I basically know the performance of GRD3 in image quality. This is a high-quality portable camera, which can be completely trusted under ISO 400. I didn't even try to see what it could do with higher sensitivity. It's totally unnecessary. Wide-angle lens+thin body+good grip feel can make you stable at 1/2 seconds, which is enough to cope with most common lighting environments.

ISO 64

ISO 100

ISO 200

ISO 400

ISO 800

ISO 1600

Photosensitive test shooting scene, notice that the yellow holster on the right in the middle is a holster that GRD3 will give away at random (click here to view the larger image.

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GRD3 is a very easy-to-use camera, and the whole man-machine interface is very convenient to design. Mode dial +ADJ lever can complete most common operations, and the zoom-in and zoom-out key of seesaw design is exposure compensation when shooting. The shutter button is wide and comfortable, suitable for blind shot, and the power button is small and concave, which is not easy to touch by mistake.

There is a my3 on the mode dial, and the custom gear is increased to the third gear. In addition, Ricoh has added the concept of setting box to the software. Photographers can preset up to 18 custom modes in the camera and call them at any time.

GRD3' s LCD screen is very large and exquisite. Ricoh designed a refreshing menu system for GRD3 by using this 920,000-pixel 3-inch LCD screen. The interface is concise, easy to operate and has many setting options. Moreover, some options that need to be operated will have a graphical help interface after selection, which clearly tells the user which key to use to operate this function, which is very user-friendly.

Playback interface

GRD3' s playback interface is also well designed, which supports 9X9=8 1 thumbnails at most, making it easy to find the corresponding photos, and the delicate display effect also adds a lot of color to GRD3.

GRD3 is still equipped with an electronic level. The reaction speed is faster than GRD2, and it can still work normally when the machine is held vertically, which is very convenient.

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GRD3 supports mainstream SD/SDHC cards. In order to play back more smoothly, we solemnly recommend that you buy a class 6 SHDC card. The transmission speed of high-speed cards is also faster, and the advantages of post-backup photos are self-evident.

GRD3 adopts a brand-new DB-65 lithium-ion battery with a capacity of1.250mah.. In fact, GRD3 can use GRD2 battery, and the battery capacity with GRD2 is larger. So, you know what I mean, right?

When using DB-65, the endurance of GRD3 is about 300-350, and the flash is not turned on. Because I prefer live lighting shooting, I didn't test how long GRD3 can last without turning on the flash. I believe that people who buy F 1.9 large aperture will not like to use the built-in small flash.

GRD3 continues the multi-power compatible design of GR series, and still retains the support for No.7 battery (AAA). Fu Nan No.7 two alkaline batteries can almost shoot 15-20, which is just an emergency plan after the battery is dead.

Ricoh presented a leather case and corresponding belt in the retail version of GRD3 this time. This leather case feels good, and it can be hung on the belt, around the neck, or diagonally across the body after hanging the belt, which is very convenient.

leather sheath

leather belt

Thanks to two models who didn't show up, Mr. Liu Liu of Hummingbird. Com and wan Xin's sister, the color shadow is unscrupulous. Readers who want to communicate can leave a message in the comments.

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Ricoh GRD3 is the nirvana of the legendary Ricoh GR series 12, and it is a nearly perfect portable digital camera. It's so special. If you want a small camera that is light, powerful and excellent in image quality, if you don't care about the trouble of zooming, if you especially like the wide-angle effect with almost no distortion, if you are confident that you can control the 28mm wide-angle lens, if you are addicted to the super-large aperture, and if you want to experience the legend for yourself, then GRD3 is your best choice.

Advantages of Ricoh GRD3:

Thin, sturdy and portable, the lens quality is good, the distortion correction is perfect, the operation is convenient and fast, the man-machine interface design is excellent, the keyboard and the fuselage are well held, the image quality is excellent, the noise is slight, there is almost no purple edge, the aperture is large and the macro function is strong.

Ricoh GRD3 disadvantages:

The focusing noise of the lens is slightly loud, the focusing speed is average, the price is expensive, and high-definition camera shooting is not supported.

We recommend GRD3 to professional photographers and enthusiasts who have high requirements for images. Thank you.

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