A fresh start

A new system and a fresh start. These past two years I had a News Years resolution to do less, and play more. What I didn’t realise was that what I stopped doing was what brought joy to my life. And playing games isolated me more and removed me from responsibilities. So like a good person in a capitalist society I purchased a new/old camera.

I’ve been a Leica man for every. And I’ve been a 50mm lens shooter for as long as I’ve picked up a camera. With a short dabble with a 28mm lens that was unsuccessful/unenjoyable. So I’m ditching the full frame M and Leica glass for something a little more humble. The GR IIIx, it’s a 24MP APS-C CMOS Sensor. With a 40mm f/2.8 lens equivalent.

So why this camera and why now? Well, I haven’t picked up my Leica in a year, it’s just sitting in my camera cupboard. I stopped carrying it mainly because of my New Year’s resolution to stop and chill. Picking it up again, it’s big, it looks like a camera. In our day and age, everyone is using phones to take their pictures, using anything larger than a cellphone, you stand out. So I decided it to use the Ricoh GR. The GR is compact, smaller than a cell phone and with the X editing it’s very close to a 50mm lens.

It’s time to stop with all these resolutions and rules and start just being and expressing again so I can feel like myself again. Really quickly here are my thoughts on the GR system compared to the Leica. The GR is compact, and the glass isn’t as good, but only pixel pushers can tell that. It doesn’t shoot any higher than 1/2500 of a second, but has a built-in ND filter to compensate for that. Ergonomics are great, but not so great for big hands. It’s prone to dust as it’s a fixed lens that doesn’t take filters without accessories. Plus the battery life is ass. It’s a trade-off, lest flexibility and lower quality for size. But with a smaller form factor comes more stealth, and more accessibility when it comes to handling and ease of use.

So goodbye old self, hello world. I’m back and ready for self-expression and creativity.