RICOH GR1

The driving force behind the Ricoh camera brand

A review of the Ricoh film camera GR1 and sample photos.

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Gallery

The film used was KODAK Kodachrme 64 (KR64) and digitizing was done with MINOLTA DiMAGE Scan PRO. Scanning was done with VueScan’s Kodachrme profile, with slight adjustments.

External view is taken from the technical bulletin in the reference link.

Lens configuration diagram is taken from the technical bulletin in the reference link.

1．Overview

The GR1 is a film camera with a 28mm wide-angle lens released by Ricoh in 1996.

The film GR series is truly compact, with a lens, flash, viewfinder, and date function (models with and without date are available) packed into a body that is only a few millimeters thick from the film cartridge.

The GR1’s viewfinder is simple and only allows you to check the shooting range, but it does not allow you to check the focus, so focusing is done using autofocus (AF) or manual focus (MF). AF will not go out of focus when there is a clear subject under clear skies, but if you leave it to AF, it may go out of focus in backlit or dark places, or when the subject tends to blend in with the scenery.

Fortunately, since the GR1 is a film camera, the focus does not have to be as precise as with digital cameras, so you may get better results by using MF mode and estimating the focus by eye.

2．Usage

The recording medium for film cameras was film, and it was the same whether it was a compact camera or a single-lens reflex camera. In the digital age, a large lens was needed to create a decent image with a 35mm full-size sensor, and high-end compact cameras (compact is the important part) with 35mm sensors were no longer viable.

The sample photo uses a KODAK Kodachrme64, so combined with the 28mm lens mounted on the GR1, the unique, subdued color and blue color are very impressive.

The GR1 does not have a hood, so when there is a strong light source such as backlight in the direction of the shot, undesirable light may be captured as in the fifth sample photo.

With a digital camera, you can preview the image on the spot, check for suspicious light, and then cut out the light, but with the GR1, which is a snapshot camera, I accepted that as part of its charm.
The GR1s, a minor change to the GR1, allowed the attachment of a bayonet hood. I did not use it with the GR1s/GR1v, but the effect is probably limited with a small hood, and it seems to get in the way when storing it, so I probably won’t use it. Still, you can see used hoods with reasonable price tags.

The 28mm lens of the GR1 is certainly a good lens. However, it is old and some of the quality is forgivable because it is a film.

With the 35mm full-frame sensor of a digital camera, depending on the sensor, undesirable results may appear in the peripheral areas.

It is not so important because there is a genuine L-mount version of RICOH, but when I asked Ms-optics / Miyazaki Engineering if the lens could be removed, I was told that this lens cannot be made into an L/M mount because you cannot simply remove the lens barrel and fit it into a helicoid.

3．Add info.Compact film camera

The GR series is Ricoh’s representative camera, and without the GR series starting with the GR1, Ricoh may have withdrawn from consumer cameras.

The company previously had the R1, a camera of similar size, which had received a certain amount of acclaim, but the GR series was a key player for Ricoh’s cameras in that it was made into a camera that professionals recognized and made it popular among the public.

The MINOLTA TC-1 is also a compact camera that uses 35mm film, but the GR1 and TC-1 are compact cameras with different approaches. The difference is as you can see from the outside, with the GR1 designed to be as thin as possible and the TC-1 designed to be as narrow as possible. They are interesting as the two poles of evolution that created the contradiction of creating the smallest possible camera without compromising the camera’s functions, based on the fixed size of 35mm film.

A variety of film cameras have been released, including the Contax T series, Leica MINILUX, Nikon 28Ti and 35Ti, Fujifilm KLASSE, and Konica’s BIG MINI series.

Canon, Pentax, and Olympus are the three companies that are far removed from high-end compact cameras, but Canon quickly withdrew from the compact camera market and no longer makes them. Pentax and Olympus also pursued their own unique paths, such as with high-magnification zoom lenses.

The current GR (digital) has gone from a 1/1.8-inch sensor to an APS-C size sensor and has remained there.

This is the result of balancing between avoiding larger lenses and image quality.

There is no reason to insist on a 35mm full-frame sensor, but we look forward to the day when sensor technology advances and a full set of digital equipment with a 35mm full-frame sensor can fit into a body equipped with an original GR lens.

Specification

Items	GR1(GR1s,GR1v)	GR21	MINOLTA TC-1
Focal length	28	21	28
Lens Construction	7elements in 4groups	9elements in 6groups	5elements in 5groups
Leaf blade	7	←	Circular rotary type
Apature	2.8-16	←	2.8/5.6/8/16
MAx Shutter Speed	1/500	←	1/750
Min distance	0.35	0.33	0.45
View Finder	Lighting reverse Galilean system 0.43x Vertically: 81% Horizontally: 83%	Lighting reverse Galilean system 0.43x 83%	Real image type 0.4x 85%/3m
バッテリー	CR2 x1	←	CR123A
記録メディア	35mm film	←	←
Size(mm) W x H xD	117 × 61 × 26.5	117 × 64 × 26.5 (Lens barrel 38.5mm)	99×59×29.5
Weight(g)	175(No date / Only body) 177(Add date / Only body)	200(Only body)	185(Only body)
Release date	1996	2001	2000.4
Price(Yen/No-tax)	No date/ 90,000 Add date/ 100,000	138,000	125,000