GXR P10 Unit Review
GXR P10 Unit Review- (Part I Samples and Initial Impressions, Part II ISO Test, Part III Speed/Buffer, Part IV Macro Performance, Part V VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder, Battery Life, Lens/Test @ 300mm, P10 vs S10 )
June 2010, Carl Garrard (Updated 7-05-2010)
Ricoh GXR Interchangeable Unit Digital Camera System with 3-Inch High-Resolution LCD and P10 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VC Lens with 10MP CMOS Sensor
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Today the Ricoh GXR P10 Unit arrived for review so as soon as the battery charged and I set up the GXR body to my personal preferences, I set out to get a few samples. For those unaware about the new camera unit, the P10 is a 28-300mm f/3.5-f/5.6 lens and Back Side Illuminated CMOS 1/2.3"sensor combo, topped off with Ricoh's newest Smooth Imaging IV Processing Engine. From my understanding this configuration is newly designed and although similar to Ricoh's CX3 in specifications, the lens has been designed specifically for the new unit housing, and the image processing has been fined tuned as well. With the battery charged, I set outside to snap a few shots to see how this combo would do (like you, I've been waiting a long time for this one). |
GXR P10 Unit Review Part I- Shooting Impressions and Image Samples
After I put the battery in the Ricoh GXR/P10 and turned it on, I realized that this unit is quite lightweight yet very well built. The P10 Unit matches the GXR body perfectly in this regard despite the fact that this unit is the most budget priced unit of Ricoh's 3 GXR units thus far. This is no cheap digicam insert, this is the real Ricoh deal.
For peace of mind I attached the LC-2 auto lens cap on the front of it which goes on and auto locks without the need of a button lock that has been used on previous Ricoh cameras. Taking it off is a breeze should you like to use the standard pinch type lens cap that comes with the P10 unit instead.
The GXR P10 unit fired up pretty quickly, and the first thing I wanted to test was the focusing speed as well test the speed of the lens zooming through in and out of the focal range. Both were quite quick in good light, this is a snappy performing little unit that feels like the S10 unit with turbo. For disclosure, I set the P10 unit to multi-pattern metering and spot AF mode.
Can't fault me for this one, but I wanted the first few shots to be over ISO 400 as I am always curious to see the new and improved sensors and processing, high sensitivity is a quick and dirty way to see what's going on inside. ISO 400 to start, I isolated a Japanese tree in my neighbors yard and took the following shot.
ISO 400 is about the limit I'll use a compact at, sometimes I'll go as high as ISO 800, but very rarely. I set the P10 at ISO 400 because I wanted to see what the grain and tonality of the images looked like ( as well as preserved dynamic range). The P10 exhibits very good ISO 400 performance outdoors for a compact.
Tonality is nice, color is preserved, and grain is nice and tight which will probably translate well on a print (as soon as my new ink cartridges come in for my printer I'll tell you for sure). Heck bokeh even looks decent here at 300mm with a bit of halo around the bright spots in the back ground. Not bad at all though, especially for a compact. Some basic sharpening and noise removal and I bet you wouldn't even see any grain on a print.
The P10 comes against some good competition here- my former Canon G10. The G10 was a heck of a good camera in many respects but the Jpegs always looked flat to me and lacked dynamic range badly which are big no-no's in my book. Looking at the image above, the P10 at ISO 400 already has the G10 licked in this area and I'd be fine to rely on it for sale shots. I had to use the G10 in raw to even think about that option. I won't have to with the P10, I can already tell (testing so many cameras, it's not hard to make that determination any longer). Dropping down ISO values means things will only get better in the dynamic range and color department. Good showing already outdoors.
The P10/GXR combo is slightly smaller and definitely lighter than my G10 was, and with better image quality. So this tells me that the P10 unit will be a good replacement for that camera. Add the fact that you have a much more versatile focal length, HDR ability, full manual control over any image parameter including customizing the interface etc.. this is a no brainer replacement in my book. I don't care about the extra 4.7 megapixels either, but if you do.. that's your consideration.
How does the P10 unit fair indoors?
Lets take a look here at a monochrome image I shot at ISO 1600. All settings are base settings and NR was off (including the shot above as well). Typically I'll go one to two stops higher in sensitivity using Ricoh cameras for monochrome images as they tend to render them quite well not having to deal with three separate color channels for exposure at this setting.
The room I took this shot was pretty dim and was a good test for low light performance at this sensitivity setting. For such a small sensor (Sony designed back illuminated however) this is really putting it to the test. Looking at the exposure on the histogram, I could have even bumped this up a third of a stop.
I really don't care how you slice it, this is a great performance for such a small sensor at ISO 1600. I really wasn't expecting this. Yes, there is some evidence of noise reduction even though I had it set to off (Ricoh would have too, there is just no other way around it), and the fine details could be a bit sharper, but we are talking an emergency sensitivity setting here from a very small sensor.
This shot looks good enough to print very nicely at 5x7, and I'd even say an 8x10 would look rather good as well. Not too shabby as they say. I think the P10 unit just might be giving the larger sensored S10 unit a run for its money here.
How does low ISO look?
Good question. The P10 goes as low as ISO 100, which today seems to be more rare on compact cameras utilizing back lit sensor technology (Sony designs the sensors so that the best dynamic range is usually at ISO 200, so one stop down is simulated). A clean ISO 100 shot is the final benchmark for image quality in my opinion. ISO 100-200 is probably the most used ISO sensitivity range setting in all cameras from all photographers of all types. This is the meat and potatoes of image quality testing.
How clean and detailed are the images at ISO 100 then? Here I decided on shooting a fence surrounded by roses and African daisies in a good range of light. This will give me an idea of dynamic range and detail coming from the Jpegs (I haven't tested raw images yet, that will be later on in the review). You tell me what you think.
I set the P10 to 28mm wide f/3.5, ISO 100, -.7 ev, no noise removal, and standard settings on Setting 1 in the menu.
A few more shots will be necessary for me to give my final say, but out of the gate I'm inclined to say I'm impressed. I see very little in the way of noise suppression, accurate color, very good dynamic range, and plenty of detail for prints easily up to 11x14. Yet this is my off the cuff impression so I'll get more into this later on in the review.
Overall a good start for the newest GXR unit in Ricoh's arsenal. Start up is quick (under 2 seconds), shut down is slightly quicker, focus speed is fast and accurate (so far), and zooming is very quick. Note also that the unit is very quiet, a great indoor event camera. After removing the LC-2 (which makes more noise than the lens assembly extending) and turning off the audio signals in the menu, I could hardly even hear the GXR P10 module start up or shut down. Nice!
When focusing there is a small whizz noise, but its pretty quiet. If you need to be ultra silent, just use the P10 in snap or MF mode and wallah! A nearly completely silent digital compact.
Ok enough ranting for now. It's time to test this P10 unit even more for more in depth real life use details. I wanted to ink the initial skinny on this camera as soon as possible for readers here on AMW interested in Ricoh compacts. Other installments of this review will come as quickly as possible (as time permits).
-Carl
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oh yes
I think this will be the next purchase... be much better when i do something really active(skiing comes to mind) and dont want to lug the big cameras out and about. Looks like a real winner for Ricoh...and for us, $500 sounds like a steal. Thanks for sharing Carl.
Charlie
Thanks Charlie
I have a lot more to share about this little guy. I think it's Ricohs best deal so far going price wise. What is becoming more clear to me now is how the system itself is very compact and valuable. For instance, having 3 of the modules on hand, I can change from 1/2.3" to 1/1.7" to APS-C sensor with different focal lengths like lenses, all in a package that would take about as much space as one DLSR and a decent superzoom lens.
It takes some getting used too for me mentally to think of this system as a system and not just a compact. It's pretty marvelous actually.
Carl
raw timings
Carl,
Thank you for all your work on this review.
What is the shot to shot time like in the raw format. Is it something that can be used without a long wait while the buffer clears or is a shoot one or two and then set back and contemplate your next attempt at a capture?
wj
Raw Test
I just tested the P10/GXR with Raw and Jpeg recording on continuous. It shoots 5 raw and jpegs (fine quality jpegs at that) in about one second then it takes about 5 seconds to clear, this is a fast performance in my opinion, very fast. In fact that beats most entry level DSLRS on the market.
Carl
thanks again, those are good
thanks again, those are good timings.
What about just shooting a single raw shot? Could I plan on click reframe, click reframe, etc or does the writing interfere with that flow?
wj
Yes you could
The buffer hangs in there well for that kind of shooting. Single shot Raw to shot time is about one second.
Carl
lc2 mounting
well Carl,
although I had the p10 package on order I was going to cancel the order and see how others felt about it (although your assesment had me pretty excited about it). I failed to cancel so it is now setting on my desk. I was trying to figure out how to mount the lc2......I do not see any means of removing the 'ring' around the lens (short of a screw), do you have any ideas?
wj
Yep you just twist it off
grab it and gently twist it off :) no lock on this model like other Ricoh cameras.
Glad you ordered it, share your impressions if you like :)
C
lc2 mounting
thanks, I was afraid to break first and ask afterwards. The lc2 is now mounted.
I plan on shooting it this weekend with the intent on determining if it can replace my G11. Being pretty familiar with the cx interface the GXR is the 'same' but different. This is all good from my point of view. I've come to the point with the G11 that the rather slow response has me longing for something quicker. If the image quality (DNG) is close to the canons (cr2) up to iso 800 then the g11 goes away if on the other hand the gxr/p10 falls short by very much I'm afraid I'll ship the Ricoh back and await a better G11 successor.
wj
Thanks Carl
Thanks for a very informative review. The RAW files have been very handy in seeing how well the P10 might suit my needs. I can see the GXR system becoming part of my kit pretty soon!
Thanks again,
James
Ricoh P10- Hi James
I've got to admit I'm impressed with the Raw files from the P10, and the Jpegs look better than the CX2 I think. Taking the P10 out for more testing today. Should be able to add more to the article soon.
Carl
different eyes see different things
Hi Carl,
Isn't it funny, I think my CX3 ooc jpg look better than the p10 ones I've been semi pleased with.
btw.....if you find the raw is much better, please share some processing thoughts if you don't mind).
My kitty, Vino
p10, M mode, iso 100, jpg
wj
CX2 vs. CX3
I've not experienced the CX3, I've got the CX2/1. I think the CX3 improved Jpeg output over the 2, so this doesn't surprise me.
Carl
Price is great, but....
Does the kit package deal for $500 have the same GXR body that still sells for well over 500, even 700+, on it's own?
I hope it's just a good price reduction and not watered down in build quality.
I believe it is the same. I
I believe it is the same. I have the $500 kit and played with a A12 kit several months back. I didn't study the (A12) body when I played with it but I don't see, feel and differences.
wj
Thanks WJ. So I assume you
Thanks WJ.
So I assume you like the GXR P10 kit and not sending it back?
Yes absolutely the same body in the kit
..there is only one version of the GXR body, the kit body is identical as is the module.
Carl
QUestion:
Hello Carl, thanks for everything so far. Can you tell me, do you get the scene modes, i.e. - Miniaturize, High Contrast B & W etc. from the CX3 with the P10 unit.
cheers, Terry.
Hi Terry, I'll jump
Hi Terry,
I'll jump in.
Scene mode on P10 gives:
Movie
Sports
Nightscape-tripod
Zoom macro
Portrait
Landscape
Skew correct
Dynamic Range
Hope that helps.
wj
Scene Modes
Thanks for that wymjym, I was thinking about getting the CX3 as a first camera before Ricoh anounced the P10. It seems like you get get all the features of the CX3 in a better handling body and with the option of adding an EVF.
Thanks, t
P10 comparisons to CX-series a bit disheartening...
Your review had me itching to bite the proverbial bullet and order the P10 before the end of the first page. However, once the comparisons to the image quality of the P10 and CX-series surfaced, my excitement fizzled. While I have not had the chance to experience one of the CX Ricohs first hand, I have come quite close. The reason for not trying one out was due to not so hot reviews of the overall image quality from a few reputable sources, as well as reviewing numours user submitted samples.
There's only one other review of the P10 out there that I can find, and that place seems to be rather generous when rating cameras - especially where image quality is concerned - so I am not able to get a clear idea as to how good the P10 really is when it comes to the visuals. I respect your reviews, Carl, as they are chock full of detail and ooze of camera expertise. This, I should add, is what disheartens me, or rather, confuses me. Not a fault of yours, but of my inability to figure out whether the P10 is worth getting.
I mean, let's say the CX3 really is an image quality champ, and I have no need to buy other lenses should I choose the P10. Given the latter, why would I want to spend a bit more for the P10? Features and handling are great, but image quality is paramount. Now, the idea of buying additional lens boxes for the P10's body is definitely an intriguing factor, but the cost of those additions is rather extraordinary. I mean, the A12 kit is nearly twice the price of the P10, and the CMOS S10 kit not that far off. And the A12 lens box alone is hundreds more then that P10 kit. It almost seems Ricoh is pratically giving away the body with the P10. Or is it the lens they are giving away in hopes of luring others into upgrading over time? See, I'm so confused!
Anyway, enough of my banter. I really do appreciate your review, even if it doesn't sound like it. I have read your other reviews and look forward to reading (and rereading) them in the future.
Hey there- P10 comments
Thanks for your comments on the P10. I see you are still trying to work this one out (whether to buy or not).
Of your comments this one stood out to me:
"Given the latter, why would I want to spend a bit more for the P10? Features and handling are great, but image quality is paramount. "
I take it that image quality is your ultimate need in a camera. Without knowing what your expectations are for image quality in detail, I can't help you more.
The P10 has the best image quality that I've seen in a sensor this size with this much resolution that I can recall when using the raw files at base iso to ISO 200. That includes the lens as well. So for it's sensor size/class, I think the P10 rules the roost.
The next step up in sensor size would be say a 1 1/7" sized sensor (or 1 1/8"). Thats a different class.
The P10's strengths are its wide focal range, fast AF (and accurate), and image quality in Raw up to ISO 800. Bottom line, you just have to be in the need for a versatile compact that at the end of the day gives great image quality as long as you don't need high ISO applications. If that's not your need then you should look elsewhere- but you will sacrifice something.
Each sensor size/class comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
I think the P10 would serve best as a travel camera where its wide focal range and very good image quality would make one feel like they are getting away with something- where by leaving all the big heavy gear at home yet stilll being able to take home some remarkable images.
Carl
S mode with P10
Hey Carl,
I was trying to force some long exposure, low light shots while in S mode the other day.
It seems that my P10 unit defaults to auto ISO and cannot be changed, this might not be too much of an issue in some shooting situations but I can set the shutter to XXX/sec and get a totally black image because the ISO doesn’t get bumped up to 400, 800, 1600, 3200.
My question is,
Can you change the ISO when shooting in S mode? (with P10)
Does your GXR-P10 automatically make ISO adjustments that would allow you to shoot in dark environments?
Thanks for your time.
wj
update
Well it looks as if Ricoh has just issued a new firmware which handles my concern.
http://ricohforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=4992
wj
GXR P10 + HA-3
After reading Carls marvelous review on the GXR camera. I just had too buy one and now I find my self looking at a wonderful little camera with so much going for it. Now I can go almost anywhere without being cluttered up with a lot of gear. Really looking forward to using this big hearted little beauty. At this moment I am thinking of buying a HA-3 adapter and hood but I am not sure if this will fit on the P10 28-300mm lens. Could any one help me on this one ?
Peter.
GXR P10 + HA-3
Nobody came back on this one so I decided to get a HA-3 adapter and try it for myself.
The end of the lens at 300mm stuck out slightly.
So I then put on a 43mm to 46mm step up ring on to the HA-3 and of course it extended it more.
So I then went on to Ebay United Kingdom and found a guy selling Olympus TCON-14. 46mm fit conversion lens that is 1.45 times magnification. This if my calculations are right is 435mm and it says it doe,s not reduce the aperture.
To my amazement it worked and it only cost me just over £18. for a brand new lens and postage included and it also came with a 43mm to 46mm step up ring as well. So now I have a spare step up ring as well.
At the time of writing he still had about 7 lenses left and they are boxed as new
So I am now looking for a 46mm 0.6 wide angle lens as well and I believe Jackar make one and I have used a Jackar wide angle lens before and had very good results indeed.
Peter.