For the past 6 years, I’ve been shooting with nothing apart from Fujifilm and I’ve enjoyed the journey, shooting with the Fujifilm system has made me a better photographer. But, I feel it’s time for a change. As some of you know I bought a Ricoh GRII last summer (2019) both the camera and focal length have challenged me in a way no other camera has and after much thought I decided to sell my Fujifilm gear and make the move to Ricoh full-time.
I made the move for a few reasons, the first was down to my health, the Fujifilm was just too heavy, despite being a light camera. Please note that this was really was a difficult decision for me and is not in any way a reflection on Fujifilm cameras. Fujifilm makes some of the best cameras and lenses around. I even considered switching to their X100V, but I was drawn by the challenge of the 28mm focal length which is enjoyed by other Ricoh users. Next was I was getting way too comfortable in my photography and I felt I wasn’t progressing. My thinking was to take myself out of my comfort zone and push myself to do something very different in my approach to street photography and I knew the Ricoh would be the perfect camera for the job.
The GR is a small lightweight discreet camera, perfect in every way for the streets, I don’t feel tired after a day of shooting with I also don’t have to carry a bag with me. I can put 2 spare batteries, my AirPods and my iPhone in my pockets and that’s all I need for the day. Plus I don’t look like a photographer, discretion is key in and around the city.
I was also surprised by the image quality coming out of the Ricoh GRIII, I can’t believe how powerful this camera is. The colours, the monochrome are just outstanding, the GR is bringing me back to shooting in monochrome and I now understand why Christian Cross who has been shooting with Ricoh for years has photos in both colour and mono, it’s not easy to decide which to choose as both have their charm. So why not have the same photo in mono and colour? I’ve never done this with any other camera before, so much has changed in my photography and I owe it all to the GR.
I’ve had my GRII for just over a year and now I’ve got the GRIII, I’ve been asked if I’ll be selling my GRII and the answer is no. I feel there are things on the 2 that are just better, the burst mode for one is way faster and of course, the 2 has the built-in flash. The GR3 has faster and more accurate autofocus and of course, the low light performance is better, but honestly, there’s not much separating the 2 cameras.
Look out for future blogs, where I’ll be showcasing images taken with both cameras as I continue along my journey to document the streets, these are exciting times for me and I hope you can tag along!
