Ricoh GR: Lens

Lens Characteristics in Short | A Few Technical Data | Lens Reviews | Some Quotations Regarding the Lens (From Reviews) | References

Archive

On this page, I would like to discuss one the specific characteristics that lead me to buy the Ricoh GR, namely the lens. I investigate what the available test results and the reviewers say, and I also offer links to camera reviews.

Lens Characteristics in Short

The Ricoh GR features a fixed Ricoh GR 18.3mm f/2.8 (28 mm equiv.) lens (7 elements, 5 groups (2 aspheric elements), 9 diaphragm blades). The camera offers two crop modes: 35 mm and 47 mm (equivalent), which, of course, reduce the Megapixel count considerably (10.3 and 5.6 Megapixels). At least, the 35 mm option is useful at times. In addition, a wide conversion lens GW-3 for 21mm (equiv.) is available (requires lens hood and adapter GH-3).

Figures: Ricoh GR in the "on" state - from the front (left) and from above (right) - you can see how much the lens protrudes in the "on" state.

Manual distance is set by pressing the macro/up button and turning the up-down dial, which I find cumbersome. There are no marks on the lens, but the camera displays distance and depth of field indicators on the LCD screen.

The lens also does not have a filter thread. The lens hood and adapter GH-3, which serves for attaching conversion lenses, can also be used for attaching filters and close-up lenses.

Find more technical information about the lens below.

A Few Technical Data

Data	Ricoh GR	Comment
Lens	Ricoh GR lens, 18.3mm f/2.8 (corresponds to 28 mm in 35 mm format) 7 elements, 5 groups (2 aspheric elements), 9 diaphragm blades	A wide conversion lens GW-3 for 21mm (equiv.) is available (requires lens hood and adapter GH-3)
Zoom	Crops modes (35 mm, 47 mm equiv.); digital zoom: none	The 35 mm and 47 mm (equivalent) crop modes use less pixels (10.3 and 5.6 Megapixels).
Filter diameter	None	Use the filter adapter GH-3 to attach filters and close-up lenses
Aperture range	From 2.8 to 16 in 1/3 EV increments
Distance setting range	Macro: 10 cm (3.9") to infinity; otherwise from 30 cm (11.76") to infinity	The camera has a "macro" setting (button)
Smallest object field	Approx. 11.2 x 7.5 cm (according to own tests - do not take this too seriously)	Magnification: 0.2 (without close-up lens)

Sharpness Data

See Lens Reviews below.

Lens Reviews

dpreview.com

On the "Lens Test" page (page 9) of its review of the Ricoh GR, dpreview.com reports results based on a "classic" DxOMark test. Here are some findings:

f/2.8: Center: 2500 lines ; 1/3: above 2000 lines; 2/3: slightly below 1500 lines; corner: even more below 1500 lines
f/4 (best result): center: 2700 lines; edges: slightly above 1500 lines
f/8: center: slightly above 2000 lines; corner: 1500 lines
fF16: center: 1400 lines, corner: 1100 lines

Test summary:

Sharpness Sharpness results are hugely impressive. The centre of the frame is exceptionally sharp at F/2.8, and while the corners don't reach quite the same giddy heights, they're still very good indeed. There's barely any improvement on stopping down, with the lens delivering exceptional results from F/2.8 through to F/8. Diffraction starts to soften things a bit at F/11, but even F/16 should be perfectly usable when extreme depth of field is required.
Chromatic Aberration Lateral chromatic aberration is extremely low, and most unlikely ever to be visible in real-world shooting.
Vignetting Vignetting is pretty low, at a maximum of ~0.8 stops wide open. This will rarely be noticeable or need correction in normal use.
Distortion Distortion is essentially insignificant. ... it's unlikely ever to anything worth worrying about.

The dpreview.com results suggest not to go beyond f/8 for best image quality, but even f/16 seems still to be acceptable.

dpreview Studio Shot Comparison Tool - Old Version

Like the Sony RX100 M1, the Ricoh GR was tested with dpreview's old studio shot comparison tool.

Ricoh GR: www.dpreview.com/reviews/ricoh-gr/14
General access to the old studio shot comparison tool: www.dpreview.com/reviews/studio-compare (select the Ricoh GR as primary camera, e.g. Sony RX100 M1 as secondary camera; the successor model is not available in this tool)

The results are meant that you make up your own opinion on the lens...

dpreview Studio Shot Comparison Tool - New Version

The Ricoh GR II, which has the same lens as the GR was already tested with the new studio shot comparison tool (but there is no longer a "resolution" test):

Ricoh GR II review (test chart page): www.dpreview.com/reviews/image-comparison/...
General access to the new studio image/shot comparison tool: www.dpreview.com/reviews/image-comparison (select the Ricoh GR II as primary camera and, for example, the Sony RX100 M1 as secondary camera - the Ricoh GR is not available as a choice)

Again, the results are meant that you make up your own opinion on the lens...

DxOMark

Ricoh GR: Tests and Reviews (DxOMark): www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Ricoh/GR
Ricoh GR Lens review: High imaging performance at a more accessible price: www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Ricoh-GR-Lens-review-High-imaging-performance-at-a-more-accessible-price/Ricoh-GR-Lens-performance
Ricoh GR Lens mounted on Ricoh GR: Tests and Reviews (DxOMark): www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Ricoh/Ricoh-GR-Lens-mounted-on-Ricoh-GR__874
Ricoh GR Lens mounted on Ricoh GR: Measurements (DxOMark): www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Ricoh/Ricoh-GR-Lens-mounted-on-Ricoh-GR---Measurements__874

On the first "performance" page, a summary of the lens's performance is given:

With a DxOMark score of 21 points, the GR lens is an excellent performer overall, with low levels of both distortion and vignetting – often weaknesses in wide-angle lens like this. Sharpness at 13P-Mpix is high too, considering the maximum is 16P-Mpix, but while still reasonably well-controlled chromatic-aberration is slightly higher than we would expected for a prime. Optically then, with no real cons to speak of, this is a very good lens (unless of course you were looking for the flexibility of a zoom though that would necessitate a very much larger lens design).

On the "measurements" page, I find the "DxOMark score map" and the "Sharpness field map" most instructive. On the latter, you can vary aperture (f-number) and focal length. There you can investigate how diffraction sets in at larger f-numbers and also where the lens performs best (between f/2.8 and f/8, in my opinion...).

The DxOMark results also suggest not to go beyond f/8 or f/11 for best image quality.

BTW: It took me some practice to use these pages and to find what I wanted...

Some Quotations Regarding the Lens (From Reviews)

Ricoh GR review at Imaging Resource:

Overall: Sharpness and contrast are very good at f/8 across the frame, and chromatic aberration is quite low. Performance in the corners looks to be very good, with just a hint coma distortion. There is some corner shading ("vignetting"), but it's fairly minor.
Geometric Distortion: Very low geometric distortion. Barrel distortion is ~0.1 percent.
The Ricoh GR's lens produces only about 0.1 percent of complex (wavy) barrel distortion, which is very low, especially for a wide-angle lens. Uncorrected RAW files exhibit the same low distortion, which is a pleasant surprise.
Chromatic Aberration and Corner Sharpness: Very low levels of C.A. (and the camera suppresses what little there is). The lens produces slightly soft corners when wide open, but corner performance is excellent when stopped-down.
Lens Corrections: The only lens correction the Ricoh GR seems to apply is chromatic aberration suppression, as geometric distortion and corner shading appear to be the same in uncorrected RAW files.

Camera Test: Ricoh GR APS-C Compact (Philip J. Ryan):

In our resolution tests, the GR showed a respectable result with 2425 lines per picture height at ISO 100, for an Extremely High rating. Much of this was retained at ISO 1600, where the camera captured 2375 lines. ISO 6400 brought a drop to 2290 lines - still within our Extemely High ratings band. At the camera's top sensitivity of ISO 25,600, it turned in 2150 lines, which makes for a Very High rating on our scale.

Sony RX100 Review (Angela Nicholson, TechRadar):

Image quality and resolution:

As part of our image quality testing for the Ricoh GR, we've shot our resolution chart. If you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 100 the Ricoh GR is capable of resolving up to around 24 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG files.

Ricoh GR review part II (Harold Glit):

One thing that really shines on the GR is the lens. It is very sharp at full aperture and the corners are already very good at F/2.8. Maybe even more impressive is how well the GR maintains its sharpness over the aperture range.

Ricoh GR camera review (Oleg Novikov):

Sharpness is simply exemplary. The centre of the frame is perfectly sharp starting right from f/2.8. The corners show a bit of softness wide open, but you would not find problems with it unless you are making comparisons with performance at an optimum aperture. Sharpness improves slightly at f/4 and peaks around f/5.6. Diffraction starts to take its tall at f/11, but this aperture is still perfectly usable if you need greater depth of field. At f/16 things get discernibly soft because of diffraction, and I would not use this aperture unless I really have to for the reasons of depth of field.
..., vignetting is very mild (under one stop) and would not be noticeable in real–life images, even those including vast expanses of sky.
If you look very closely at 100% magnification, you may see some occasional hints of chromatic aberration. They are so negligible, however, that you really have to look for them; they would not impact quality of prints even if not removed in post processing, which is easy to do.
The lens produces distortion with a somewhat complex ("moustache") signature, but its degree is so insignificant that you really have to go out of your way to make it noticeable.
Lens flare is very well controlled: while it is possible to induce some minor loss of contrast and occasional ghosting, shooting into bright sources of light is generally not problematic.
Bokeh is a very subjective performance criterion, ... . Bokeh produced by the lens of the Ricoh GR ... is plain gorgeous.

References

The following online reviews of the Ricoh GR typically include a review of the lens, albeit not as thorough as the reviews from DxOMark and dpreview.com.

Ricoh GR Review at dpreview: www.dpreview.com/reviews/ricoh-gr
Ricoh GR review at Imaging Resource: www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/ricoh-gr/ricoh-grA.HTM
The Ricoh GR Camera Review – The new large sensor GR arrives! (Steve Huff): www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/06/07/the-ricoh-gr-camera-review-the-new-large-sensor-gr-arrives/
Steve Huff, USA - Ricoh GR page: www.stevehuffphoto.com/tag/ricoh-gr
Camera Test: Ricoh GR APS-C Compact (Philip J. Ryan): www.popphoto.com/gear/2013/06/camera-test-ricoh-gr-aps-c-compact?page=0,1
A Comprehensive Review of the Ricoh GR (Nick Zantopp): www.itsjustlight.com/reviews/ricoh-gr-camera-review/
The Ricoh GR is a stealth camera (Richard's Notes): www.richardsnotes.org/archives/2014/01/04/the-ricoh-gr-is-a-stealth-camera/comment-page-1/
Ricoh GR review (Pocket Linlt) : www.pocket-lint.com/review/122225-ricoh-gr-review
Review of the Ricoh GR Digital (GRD V) for Street Photography (Eric Kim): erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/06/02/review-of-the-ricoh-gr-digital-grd-v-for-street-photography/
My Ricoh GR Impressions (Wouter Brandsma): wouter28mm.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/my-ricoh-gr-impressions/
Ricoh GR Saga (Matthew Robertson):
- Ricoh GR: Preface: www.thewsreviews.com/2013/09/ricoh-gr-preface.html
- Ricoh GR: Travel: www.thewsreviews.com/2013/09/ricoh-gr-travel.html
- Ricoh GR: Buttons: www.thewsreviews.com/2013/10/ricoh-gr-buttons.html
- Ricoh GR: Experience: www.thewsreviews.com/2013/10/ricoh-gr-experience.html
- Ricoh GR: Quality: www.thewsreviews.com/2013/12/ricoh-gr-image-quality.html
Macro photography with the Ricoh GR V (Roger Packer): rogerpacker.com/blog/macro-photography-with-the-ricoh-gr-v/
The Ricoh GR V: A Compact APS-C Monster (bigheadtaco): www.bigheadtaco.com/2013/07/the-ricoh-gr-v-compact-aps-c-monster.html
Ricoh GR: Why Use Custom Setting Mode? (bigheadtaco): www.bigheadtaco.com/2013/09/ricoh-gr-why-use-custom-setting-mode.html
Ricoh GR Review - Ricoh joins the APS-C format compact party (Angela Nicholson, TechRadar, 8 pages): www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/ricoh-gr-1144784/review
Ricoh GR Review: A Great Starter Camera For Aspiring Pros (Nicholas Stango, GIZMODO): gizmodo.com/ricoh-gr-review-a-great-starter-camera-for-aspiring-pr-513772607
My favorite carry-everywhere camera. Ricoh GR review part I (Harold Glit, thedemandingtraveller): www.thedemandingtraveler.org/2015/04/22/my-favorite-carry-everywhere-camera
Ricoh GR review part II: www.thedemandingtraveler.org/review/ricoh-gr-in-depth-review-part-ii
Ricoh GR camera review (Oleg Novikov): www.olegnovikov.com/technical/ricoh_gr/ricoh_gr.shtml
Ricoh GR: Tests and Reviews (DxOMark): www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Ricoh/GR
- Ricoh GR Lens review: High imaging performance at a more accessible price: www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Ricoh-GR-Lens-review-High-imaging-performance-at-a-more-accessible-price/Ricoh-GR-Lens-performance
- Ricoh GR Lens mounted on Ricoh GR: Tests and Reviews (DxOMark): www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Ricoh/Ricoh-GR-Lens-mounted-on-Ricoh-GR__874
- Ricoh GR Lens mounted on Ricoh GR: Measurements (DxOMark): www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Ricoh/Ricoh-GR-Lens-mounted-on-Ricoh-GR---Measurements__874