New Ricoh GR in 2015?

[joaoantunes]

Hi,

Was thinking on buying a Ricoh GR in the coming months (1st trimester) and researching online found that Ricoh had traditionally a release pattern of 2 years and some places even listed it as discontinued (my local shops dont even have it anymore).

Are there any news/concrete rumours that a new Ricoh GR might be released in the first months of 2015?
I'm normally a person 'buy what you need right now', but I'm still saving for the camera and wouldnt mind waiting another month or two.

Thank you

[thelps]

Pavel here on this forum has noticed that Ricoh generally have been releasing new GR models about ever two years.
The GR was announced in mid to late April 2013 so its possible there will be an announcement in 2015 around April/May, but then maybe not? Who knows for sure?
Some say the Nikon Coolpix A has dropped in price and been discontinued also.
The big question is what the GR II will be? Some posters online suspect same size sensor but 24Mpixel as a popular guess.

[Kaver]

Personally I don't care about the 24Mpixel, wifi and gps. 16Mpixel is good enough for this type of sensor. I hope for new lens like the 35mm f2 or f2.8 because the 28mm ricoh's compact series are a bit boring. Time to change it imho.
Another thought.. AF should be improved togheter with the M mode (selectable auto iso like GRDIV).

[garry71]

I'd like to see a 35mm version as well.
No excuses these days for not having an electronic viewfinder. Dump the flash if necessary, to make room.
Include a battery charger (one of the reasons I didn't buy the GR)
The other reason I didn't buy the GR was the Effects button on the side put me off it. Miniature? I thought it was supposed to be a serious camera?
Any chance of a dedicated B&W version?

[joaoantunes]

Thank you for the replies.

From what I read about the camera, what I would really want in a new version, most of all, would be better sealing, because of the dust problems that seem to come up. Otherwise the camera seems perfect for my use - ideal size, fast focus, good image quality.

[thelps]

Personally I don't care about the 24Mpixel, wifi and gps. 16Mpixel is good enough for this type of sensor. I hope for new lens like the 35mm f2 or f2.8 because the 28mm ricoh's compact series are a bit boring. Time to change it imho.
Another thought.. AF should be improved togheter with the M mode (selectable auto iso like GRDIV).

Kaver,
While I don't necessarily disagree, I look at it more of what Ricoh will DO.
Sure, I put out a wish list like others, but my speculation is more about what we will likely see.
Once released its partially a product of what the design lead and team want and what will sell.

The old Ricoh site was great when they produced some pages of the design engineers and their commentary.
You got to put face and text to the man who designed the thing.

[dennisonb]

So I just bought a Ricoh GR this week, and I've been more or less happy with it so far. I upgraded the Firmware to 4.0 today (It sold with 2.0 firmware) so I have yet to see if this makes much of a difference.

So far the quality out of the camera is fantastic- although the focus isn't nearly as accurate as I had hoped (maybe the 4.0 firmware will fix?) and I'm hesitating about keeping it for this reason. It's not nearly as fancy as the current crop of compacts on the market, but it seems like the IQ still is fantastic. I hear the Fuji X100T calling my name, but being able to keep a camera in ones pocket is a big deal for me.

The idea of a new GR this year is also weighing a big on my mind, as features like wi-fi I actually do need (and was planning on getting a Eye Fi card for this reason). I don't want to wait around in speculation of a new GR in just a couple months from now, but I also don't want to feel like I should have waited. There are a lot of pictures to take between now and when a new one might come out.

Any thoughts?

[an8x]

So I just bought a Ricoh GR this week, and I've been more or less happy with it so far. I upgraded the Firmware to 4.0 today (It sold with 2.0 firmware) so I have yet to see if this makes much of a difference.

So far the quality out of the camera is fantastic- although the focus isn't nearly as accurate as I had hoped (maybe the 4.0 firmware will fix?) and I'm hesitating about keeping it for this reason. It's not nearly as fancy as the current crop of compacts on the market, but it seems like the IQ still is fantastic. I hear the Fuji X100T calling my name, but being able to keep a camera in ones pocket is a big deal for me.

The idea of a new GR this year is also weighing a big on my mind, as features like wi-fi I actually do need (and was planning on getting a Eye Fi card for this reason). I don't want to wait around in speculation of a new GR in just a couple months from now, but I also don't want to feel like I should have waited. There are a lot of pictures to take between now and when a new one might come out.

Any thoughts?

I was, and to some extents still am, disappointed by the autofocus on the GR. Especially when coming from the GRD IV. But also as you mentioned, the IQ is really superb. The cmos sensor, lens and absence of anti-aliasing filter is a lethally sharp combination!

I use an eye-fi card with my GR and I find that it does the job well enough to excuse the lack of built in wi-fi. There is a nack to making it work reliably though!

The digital Ricoh GR series have always been desirable cameras and hold their value relatively well, if you did decide to sell it if a new one was to come out soon.

[andreaplanet]

* External charger can be bought, got a nice clone for a good price.
* Buttons can be reassigned, so the Effect button can be anything
* Autofocus is improved with the new firmware feature High Speed AF.

What to wish from a new camera? mmm...
* Some minor improvements in the UI, for example better manual focus handling, +- button configuration, etc.
* Improved sensor for low light
* Electronic viewfinder (even remotely via WIFI using an external accessory for weird camera positions)
* New focal lenghts... something longer or even more wide.

[dcb]

of course there are a few things not perfect with the GR: AF in low light and higher iso levels for me. but the size, lens, interface and level of control can't be beat. ricoh generally gets this camera right every time. my guess is they concentrate on AF and ISO for the next version. i agree that 24mp seem likely but that challenges iso capability, right? the fastest lens/sensor combo they can manage and still keep the thing pocketable is their main challenge imho. if they ever were to grow it beyond a pocket, there are too many other options that would reduce their strong but limited following. wish they would provide a bit more insight on what they are thinking and working on. regardless... here's to a new GR in 2015!