OP-1 = fuji 100v

a comment I wrote on a YouTube page in response to the deluge of hype regarding this camera;

Ok. Some of you will know of a design company called Teenage Engineering, who are probably most known for their OP-1 Synth. It’s an ergonomic YouTube dream. Cute fun boxes get ticked. A very lusted after bit off gear, and bloody expensive. Well, a few years ago production was halted (company couldn’t source the screen) which sent the s/h market sky-high. Mine cost £600 ish from amazon, official TE site retail £800. Once folk couldn’t buy it anymore the eBay boom kicked up the second hand price way above £1,000.

And would you like to know what happened next?

On Valentine’s Day the company announced; no-one should have to pay xxxx money for an OP-1.
They then released their ‘new’ OP-1 for roughly £1,200. It had a new screen that was still as dull as the first version. Then two years later they released the OP-1field. The same machine but greatly updated. £2,000. Seriously.

If you are going to lay out a pretty high wad of cash for a camera then chances are you already had a pretty capable camera already. You don’t need the fuji. You want it because it looks cool, and that genius blend of retro/modern aesthetics sells the thing over everything else. You certainly don’t need to pay silly money right now. How is it that most of their other camera’s are still available to buy? Don’t fall for this cynical marketing swizzle.

It will be back on sale soon enough, just with a far larger price-tag. Then, a couple of years from now there will be a newer model, even more old-school authentic looking and that will be the video that you just can’t avoid on YouTube.

I have an X100 and an OP-1.
I have an X100F and an OP-1 Field. :grin:

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It’s not so simple.

I have a Fuji X100S. Its colour rendering is unlike my old Panasonic and Pentax cameras, and unlike my friends’ Canon and Sony cameras. It paints light amazingly well, it’s lightweight, and has impressive and true-to-word technical specs for a camera with such unassuming retro looks (subjects feeling at ease matters a lot). X100S is not without issues: the lens is too soft when wide open at close focus, almost unusable for macro; the battery doesn’t last long so I have to carry a spare; its autofocus is too slow for candid photography so I lose too many moments.

If I bought a X100V, it wouldn’t be for its looks (the same), but because I’m tired of missing moments with the X100S, which I got because I wanted to carry a single lens camera more often without the heft, bulk, and logistics.

Unlike the OP1, itself a usable synth, the X100S’s engineering is tight, with non-trivial manufacturing tolerances. Its software is very stable. As a device, it has never overpromised, and boy has it overdelivered, time and again! It’s the one camera I recommend without hesitation to any person – which I couldn’t say about the OP1 as a synth.

The underpowered hardware of the OG OP1 is almost offensive if you’re into complexity or fidelity, reliable timing, or interfacing with the rest of your studio. Its software is buggy. Its hardware reliability is far from the level exhibited by the Fuji gear in question. I take a slight issue with drawing parallels between the two.

Having to replace your OG OP1 is eventually unavoidable if you want a nice reverb, stereo, swappable tapes, wireless midi, stereo audio in, better UI, etc. These aren’t trivial improvements. They are rather attractive features, while at the same time being basics. The OP1f is getting frequent fixes again - the OP1 isn’t.

Meanwhile you can imagine much of the time I now reach for M8 or iPad.

If you gel with the OP1, the Field is likely a decent investment, sadly now at a somewhat exclusive price. If the history of the original is anything to go by, it won’t be a “couple of years” before a newer model appears.

So it’s not as simple as “=”.

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Great reply, cheers Eesn. The point I was trying to make was more aimed at the hype, and how some buy into it more so once the product isn’t easily available…and how a company can use it to their advantage. Hence the comparison. My YT feed is choke-full of bloody X100V videos.

I agree with your points. Love my X100, and the X100F. Some of the best photos I have ever taken though, are straight out of the camera X100 shots. It just has some magic. The ability to close focus 10cm like a smartphone sharp at ƒ/4 gives very soft backgrounds and loads of detail. The 3 stop ND filter built in to all these cameras lets you shoot at ƒ/2 on a bright sunny day with soft out of focus areas. And it fits in the pocket. They’re quite unique little cameras. Certainly at launch in 2010. A pocketable APS-C sensor’d 35mm equiv ƒ/2 camera? Get out.

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I got the first one of thast line. The X10 and the colors are amazing comapred to my A6500 but the resolution of 12MP is barely enough and the viewfinder broke after a few weeks. I still use it as light and fast replacement whenver I dont feel like bringing the a6500 with the lenses.

Same with the OP-1 Its in perfect condition and from time to time it gets me back into making music and I´m fine with every “limitation”.

I found the field interesting but even if I ignore the price tag it wanst interesting to me all that much.

Any past or present owners of the Ricoh GRiii here?

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I was not aware of the fuji x100v it but looks very interesting

Had the original X100 and Ricoh GR. Now I only have a GR IIIx. It’s my dream pocket camera.
Oh I also have the OG OP-1. I bought the field but returned it after a few days. At that time the software was super buggy and I felt like it was just too much money to justify. And I actually prefer the OP-1 from an aesthetic point of view :laughing:

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I’m about to buy the GRiii but I’m getting very strong op-z vibes about this thing. How it doesnt feel very robust, the possible dust issues, the loose jog wheel, the sub-par battery life, dull screen…all things that should not exist on a camera that retails for a grand! ie; what is can do/produce is amazing, what is feels cheap. How was your OG GR after a few years of use? Did it wear down much? I’m also a little concerned about just how light the iii is…it’s roughly the same weight as an op-z…so does it feel solid to you? Cheers.

UPDATE.

Bought one.

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The OG GR was built like a little tank! I bought it used for just 500 euros (I think it was 750 euros new at that time), and it lasted me 5-6 years, yes I had some dust on the sensor but nothing you could see at normal apertures (f2.8-f5.6). It did matter for long exposures where I would close a little bit more (f11-f16) but then again, it’s a problem that is very easy to solve with any photo editor. Finally, after many falls on hard concrete, and with a fatal exposure to tiramisu gooey juice that was leaking from its take out box and sneaked in into the command wheel through the camera case, my OG GR slowly gave up its soul, the lens would not retract at times, the buttons would act weirdly, until one day when it just didn’t work anymore. RIP. I loved that little camera.

The GRIIIx is also very nicely built, the interface is actually very well thought, I don’t feel like it’s too much of a brain drain when I have to venture into the menus. Besides, once you configure your three most used profiles, there is very little need to go into the menus. I kinda like to experiment with in-camera raw processing to try to come up with the ultimate colour profile.

Size wise, I kinda prefer the OG: tiny bit larger, yes, but the inclusion of the flash leads to so many creative uses, aw, I miss it!

But the GR IIIx is also a great camera! I think I am more drawn to the 40mm eq. field of view rather than the 28mm one. I bought the original Ricoh GC-12 soft case for it (one of the most expensive “useless” accessory for a camera I ever bought lol), and it really feels like having my OG-OG film GR1s and its leather pouch. I can put it in my jeans back pocket and forget that I even put it there.
That means a lot to me: I bring my camera everywhere I go without even thinking about it.

I think you’ll enjoy your GR III!

right call. GR has always been a solid compact camera. Plus, after Ricoh bought Pentax (makers of robust dSLRs back in the day), expect that expertise to have gone into their newer models. I too think you’ll enjoy it. Happy snaps!

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cheers!

Not had a camera since my Sony rx-100mk3 was robbed (got mugged twice in one holiday no less!) about four years ago. Pretty funny when you consider that I used to co-own a bloody camera shop!

Seen a lot of video complaints about the detachable ring around the lens being very loose and easy to twist off. I was thinking about using a slither of our old (op-z) friend Plummer Tape if this turns out to be problematic.

The plumber tape bit really sealed this thread together :sparkles:

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