Background

When I traveled to Orlando for my friends’ Jack and Jill in January, I was delighted with the chance to capture the memories with my Sony A7II which I have been using for as long as it’s been out. I brought only my 28mm F2 and while I was able to capture some photos I was happy with, my back and feet were not particularly happy with the weight. I began to long for a compact camera that would be easier for me to carry around on a daily basis. When I go walk my dog or if I just go out for dinner, wearing a camera on a strap or lugging around the system in a bag can be quite cumbersome, and just the act of having to take the camera out is too slow and deterring to capture the moments that arise in the blink of an eye. I’d carry my Sony everywhere with me but found that I was rarely using it in my day to day.

Below are some samples I took with the Sony in January, for reference:

So then comes May when I’d have the opportunity to return to Orlando for their actual wedding followed by 4+ days of Disney Parks. After some extensive research I decided to test out the Ricoh GR II and the Fuji X100F. The Fuji was by far the more attractive camera to me. In fact, I had only planned to get the Fuji at first, and ordered the Ricoh only because the Fuji was on backorder for weeks. 2 days before my vacation I managed to pick up the Fuji as well from Amazon Warehouse Deals open boxed for 100 dollars off. Some of my other considerations were the Sony RX100 series and the Fuji X70. I passed on the Sony due to the smaller sensor and my preference for prime lenses. As for the Fuji X70 I thought it would be somewhere between the Ricoh and the X100F in terms of both size and IQ, and it was also missing a built in ND filter.

Fuji X100F

I’ll cut straight to the point and say this: the Fuji X100F is the better camera. The high ISO performance is almost as good as my full frame Sony, and the build quality with the retro design is sublime. It kind of looks like a Leica (not that I’ve ever used one). The screen on the back is the best out of my 3 camera’s and the hybrid viewfinder is so much fun to use. This is a camera that really inspires you to shoot.

One of the reasons I was so attracted to Fuji are their renowned film simulations. It is a huge benefit that they collaborated with Adobe to make their color profiles accessible in Lightroom. It’s not a jpeg only feature like the filters of basically any other camera company. I can shoot raws and apply the Classic Chrome filter, which is my favorite of them all. I found Classic Chrome especially pleasing for my indoor shots. Often I find that skin tones, at least Asian skin tones, would be too yellow or over saturated. Classic Chrome helps mute those colors to an extent. Yes, I know that these color profiles can be simulated with some work in Lightroom to begin with, but when you’re going through thousands of photos and you’re a casual like myself having a 1 click solution is pretty convenient. I shot the entire wedding (not as the wedding photographer, just a friend) with the Fuji X100F mostly because it looked classier alongside a suit, but I also knew that the Ricoh would not cut it for my indoor/evening shots. I get usable shots up to 6400 with the Fuji and an extra stop from the aperture (f2 vs f2.8). That’s 2 stops better than the Ricoh if you consider 3200 the maximum usable ISO for it (I do). For example, the last shot above I don’t think I would have been able to capture with the Ricoh.

I’ve already said the Fuji is the better camera and that it’s the most fun and inspiring to shoot, so it’s a pretty easy decision right? Not quite. The truth is, the Fuji isn’t really any more portable than my Sony, nor is it better. It doesn’t fit in my pocket, I still need to carry it with a strap or a bag, and it ended up being much heavier than I thought it would be. The whole reason I was looking for a new camera was that I want something smaller and lighter to live alongside my Sony. The X100F is a camera that I’d be using instead of the Sony in most cases. Furthermore for 1300 dollars, I could spend a week in Hawaii. As much as I love this camera, it’s not the most practical as a secondary camera.

Ricoh GR II

The first thing I thought when I unboxed the Ricoh is “Damn, this thing is light“. Not only that, but IT FITS COMFORTABLY IN MY POCKET! In the pocket, it barely feels heavier than my phone. Even though it’s smaller than the Fuji, it feels MUCH more ergonomic in the hand. The grip is extremely secure and with the low weight and price, I am not afraid of dropping it at all. Did I mention that all the controls are accessible with one hand? I ended up taking the strap off and took it with me on a roller coaster, as seen below. The Fuji and Sony are too heavy and expensive for me to consider doing this.

Both cameras have a built in ND filter. I believe the Fuji has 1 more stop (3 vs 2), but the Ricoh has a handy Auto-ND setting. Often with the Fuji I forget to turn it on and off when moving between indoor and outdoor environments, which was very common at Disney parks. With the Ricoh, I rarely had to worry about my settings. Both cameras also feature a leaf shutter. I don’t do much flash photography at this time so I can’t take advantage of the flash sync speed, but both cameras are ninjas in terms of shutter sound with the Fuji having an edge. The Ricoh sounds like a mouseclick, but the Fuji is practically silent, even without going into electronic shutter mode.

At first I hesitated on buying this camera since it’s quite dated. The sensor is the same as the GR I from 2013 and I prefer the 35mm equivalent focal length of the X100F over the 28 of the GR. What pushed me to get it is that I feel being able to take a camera with an APSC sized sensor out of my pocket is insanely cool and convenient. At under 600 dollars I could buy the GR II and sell it for it’s eventual successor for less than the price of the X100F.

The autofocus is decent under good lighting conditions, but in low light it lags behind the Fuji. From what I know the Ricoh only has contract detect autofocus whereas the Fuji has contrast and phase. Many GR owners purchase the camera for it’s snap focus feature, which can be considered a form of zone focusing. I have not had a chance to take it out for any street photography yet so I can’t speak too much for how well it works in practice.

Comparing the images I get between the two cameras, the Ricoh is sharper but the Fuji gives better colors off the bat and gives me some cleaner files. The Fuji will naturally give more shallow depth of field due to the longer focal length combined with it’s larger aperture, but it’s not so much that you should be buying the Fuji just for that. One thing to note is that when I was looking at the images in camera the Fuji images looked MUCH better due to it having a much superior screen, but when I loaded them up in lightroom and applied some presets on top, the difference was much smaller. In fact, lightroom edits are much more prominent on the Ricoh’s DNG files. I’ve heard that lightroom does not handle Fuji’s RAF files optimally, but I haven’t had a chance to switch over to Capture One at this time to verify.

The Decision

It ended up being a clear decision that was tough to make, but I will be returning the Fuji X100F and plan on upgrading to the GR III or Fuji X70 successor whenever they’re released. It is tough because I enjoy shooting the Fuji most out of the 3 cameras, but it is not the most practical choice for me. I own the Sony since it’s the best camera of the 3 and I have a lot of vintage lenses for it that I enjoy using. The Fuji and Sony would also cannibalize each other’s use cases due to comparable performance and dimensions, but I’d lose out on flexibility and IQ with the Fuji. If I were to only own one camera and lens, I’d probably choose the X100F. For a single compact camera, it is the right combination of image quality, looks, convenient focal length, and size. Fuji just does so many things right and I know I’ll own one in the future.

The GR II, on the other hand, is a camera that I’d throw in my pocket when I go about my daily life, something I can easily take everywhere and as such, I can get pictures with it that I can’t with any other camera. I know I won’t get the shallow depth of field that I love with my full frame lenses, but not having it forces me to use composition to isolate my subjects and train me to become a better photographer. I only hope that the next generation will have better low light performance (my dream: f/2 AND better high ISO performance) and this will be the perfect camera for me.

Perhaps I can use the cash I get back from returning the Fuji to spend a weekend in Palm Springs 🙂

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Fujifilm X100F 24.3 MP APS-C Digital Camera – Silver
Fujifilm X100F 24.3 MP APS-C Digital Camera – Black
Ricoh GR II Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black)
Sony Alpha a7II Mirrorless Digital Camera – Body Only
Sony SEL28F20 FE 28mm f/2-22 Standard-Prime Lens for Mirrorless Cameras (SD Card Bundle)

Notes

Fuji X100F:

Pros

Cons

Absolutely love the colors and built in film simulations. The fact that I can load them as color profiles in Lightroom when editing the RAWS is a really nice touch from Fuji/Adobe Build quality is superb and it just looks attractive. I feel like a wannabe Leica user (not that I’ve ever used one). Hybrid Viewfinder Built in ND and Leaf shutter Dead silent shutter 35mm Equivalent, F2, Good high ISO performance (somewhat usable shots up to 6400) 24MP Faster Autofocus

Not significantly more portable than my Sony since I still need a strap or bag. There is no Auto-ND setting that I could find, which the Ricoh GR has. I often forget to turn it on/off when moving between outdoor and indoor environments When I am in auto Shutter speed and have my aperture wide open, the shutter only goes up to 1/1000. The max should be 1/4000. Not sure if this is by design or if it’s configurable. Incredibly Expensive, especially for a secondary camera. Cost about as much as my vacation I am having trouble uploading the .RAF files to Google Photos. There are many photos that I don’t bother editing because they’re not that great, but I want to be able to see EVERYTHING on Google photos. I’ve heard that Adobe handles .RAF files sub optimally, but I don’t have another editor like Capture One to compare with. Not the greatest grip, especially with the weight. Would not trust myself holding it on a roller coaster for example. Can’t use with one hand, although the manual dials are really nice.

Ricoh GR II:

Pros

Cons

FITS COMFORTABLY IN MY POCKET!!!! Featherweight 28mm equivalent Built in ND and Leaf Shutter with Auto-ND Snap Focusing (google it) Sharper lens than the Fuji, especially wide open and close up Extremely affordable. Very good grip. Along with it’s affordable price and light weight, I’m not afraid of dropping it. I ended up taking the strap off and held it on a roller coaster with no fear. The camera is designed to be used in one hand. Every button and thumb rest is in a very well thought out location. Shoots RAWS in DNG format.

Weak low light performance. F2.8 and usable shots only up to ISO 3200. Poor low light autofocus. Dated Sensor and lower Megapixel count (16MP) Negligible subject isolation unless really up close Shutter is quiet, but still a clicking sound Lack of a viewfinder or articulating screen (I would consider the Fuji X70 if you want this). Less attractive design (could be a Pro to some people) Lower max shutter speed No MF focus ring.