RICOH GR21

A review and photo examples of the Ricoh film camera GR21

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Gallery

The photo examples were digitized using MINOLTA DiMAGE Scan PRO and VueScan.

MARIX ISO100D color reversal film (KODAK E-100)

Rollei retro80s

Review

GR21 is a film camera equipped with a 21mm wide-angle lens released by Ricoh in 2001. I have used the L mount GR21mm in the past, but this is my first time using the camera version. Once I started using the Leica R, I wanted a high-performance compact film. The GR1, which has a 28mm lens, is also expensive to buy in good condition, and I have already used it, so I excluded it from the list. I wanted to use a camera I had never used before, so I chose the GR21. I got curious and looked for it and found it for sale, so I decided to buy it because I happened to come across it.

The GR series uses a method used in several Japanese compact cameras that automatically starts winding when film is loaded, winds all the film into the camera body, and returns it to the cartridge when shooting. Therefore, the order in which the film is shot is different from that of a normal camera. It takes some time to wind it all up the first time you use it, but the winding process is quick as all you have to do is return the remaining part to the cartridge.

When I was winding the film, an E was displayed on the camera’s LCD screen, and I panicked, thinking it was an error, but it was E for the end. This is written in the manual, so it’s my fault for not reading the manual. I was nervous because I thought I had messed up the winding, but that was not the case.

After passing three rolls of film through it, the GR21mm lens is equipped with some noticeable barrel distortion, but it’s not that extreme and is quite practical without correction. When photographing the sky, there is a slight dimming of light in the periphery, but not so much that it makes you feel uncomfortable.

It’s possible that this is an individual problem with the camera you own, but when you look at the results, you’ll often see photos that are out of focus even though they are taken far away. When I take pictures, I want to focus on distant objects, but there is a fairly high probability that a person mark will appear as the focus mark in the camera’s viewfinder. When I notice something, I measure the distance again, but if I’m in a hurry, I just press the shutter, resulting in a blurry photo.
When I have some free time, and I have a clear subject to shoot, such as close-up or far, I try to change the shooting mode myself and fix the focus to whatever I want. Since I shoot with film, I miss the feeling of being disappointed when I see the results, but I would like to avoid that if possible.

I thought about attaching a wipe control or teleconverter to increase versatility, but in normal shooting mode the lens moves quite a bit when focusing, so it seems dangerous because the motor might go crazy. I’m fantasizing that it would be possible to use infinity mode with a fixed lens, but the Nikon teleconverter for compact digital cameras I have has a connection screw diameter of 28mm, so the diameter slightly doesn’t match the GR21’s 30.5mm. I tried looking for a ring to convert from 30.5mm to 28mm, but I couldn’t find any, so I haven’t done it because it requires a roundabout conversion from 30.5 to 37 to 28.

Specification and Competitor

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	←	Rotating circular hole type
Aperture	2.8-16	←	2.8/5.6/8/16
Max Shutter speed	1/500	←	1/750
Min distance	0.35	0.3	0.45
Finder type	Daylighting reverse Galileo method 0.43 times Vertical: 81% Horizontal: 83%	Daylighting reverse Galileo method 0.33 times 83%	real image 0.4 times 85%/3m
Battery	CR2 x1	←	CR123A x1
Recorded Media	35mmフィルム	←	←
Size(mm) W x H x D	117 × 61 × 26.5	117 × 64 × 26.5 （with Lens 38.5mm）	99×59×29.5
Weight(g) Only body	175(No date mode) 177(With date mode)	200	185
Release date	1996	2001	2000.4
Price(Yen/No-tax)	No date type:¥90,000- With date type:¥100,000-	¥138,000-	¥125,000-