New Camera: Ricoh GR II; Re-Reading "The Pencil"

Hello everyone!
Lately, I've been going to a lot of metal concerts, and always end up wanting to take pictures there. The main problem was that my phone camera was simply not good enough to take decent pictures in the low-light environment of a concert venue. In addition, large cameras are typically forbidden at larger theatres/venues, so that would preclude the use of a DSLR. The camera I had already, the Panasonic DMC-LX7, is a small camera, but it's not pocket-sized (jeans pocket, not jacket), and so it would constantly be in my hand, a problem for clapping along or defending myself against the mosh pit behind me.

Hence, I needed a small camera, with a decently sized sensor or fast lens, which could fit in my pocket and be looked at as a "nonprofessional" camera to any bystanders, so that I'd be allowed to bring it in anywhere. This search led me to the single solution, the Ricoh GR-II.

Shooting with the GR-II is awesome, mainly because of its intuitive design and layout of the controls. The camera draws on a heritage that Ricoh has built up over the course of two decades, starting with their GR-series film compacts of the '90s. This one is their sixth digital GR; it's a minor update of the "GR" which came after the GRD (Digital) I, II, III, and IV.

The key feature that sold this camera to me is that it has an APS-C size sensor, much larger than the 1-inch sensor of other compacts such as the Sony RX100 series, or the Canon G9X. Couple that sensor with a sharp f/2.8 18mm lens (28mm equiv. 35mm focal length), and it means that I can comfortably shoot at ISO-3200 without worrying too much about noise ruining the picture. It's got a bevy of other features that take the manual 150 pages to explain, so suffice it to say that for now, I love this camera.

One downside is that it tends to overexpose the scene, at least from what I've seen so far. Hence, I shoot in RAW, and then go back and adjust the exposure and white balance in an editor (RawTherapee).
I am very happy with the results, though, and hopefully you are too!

Below are some photos that I took yesterday. (Uncompressed photos are here and here. The concert pictures are from a show at the Riot Room here in Kansas City, featuring Arkona, Sirenia, MindMaze, and Sicosis. This current tour is Sirenia's first North American tour, and Arkona's second (they are from Norway and Russia, respectively) - and thus I can understand why the crowd went so wild for them! I invited a friend from work who has never been to a metal concert, and he thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

In other news, I've been rereading The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance by Henry Petroski, an illustration of the process of engineering through the lens of the ordinary pencil. When I initially read this book seven years ago, I was entering junior year of high school, not even sure where I was going to college, much less what I wanted to study. Now that I am working, I have a new perspective of the concepts that Petroski, a professor of civil engineering at Duke, shares. My love for pencils and writing instruments has not waned one bit, though, so I am absorbing the book on two different planes of appreciation, making it all the more rewarding. Definitely a recommended read for anyone interested at all in the development of engineering, and of everyday things.

Thanks for tuning in!

Pencil FAQ

If you've ever wondered why pencils are yellow and hexagonal, or why certain pencils have erasers while others don't, check out my new video, the Pencil FAQ. I took submissions from my friends on Facebook, and answered 12 questions about pencils in this video.

uni Kuru-Toga Mechanical Pencil video review

Hello blogosphere,
Here's a pencil that I've used almost exclusively for all my notetaking during my first semester in college. It's held up beautifully over the ~5 months that I've had it, and it's seen some heavy use. In .5mm, it is a great pencil. Below, you can see more about this pencil in the official SuperVpower review of the uni Kuru-Toga!

Pentel 350E mechanical pencil review

My handwritten review. Text of this page after the pictures.

Aside the Pentel GraphGear 1000, the king of all Pentel drafting pencils.

The Pentel 350E—an historical pencil, to say the absolute least. To say a bit more, this is one of the first, if not THE FIRST, mechanical pencils released by Pentel. It kind of reminds me of the Japanese compact cars of the 1960s & 1970s—quaint, but driving them today, while they probably function just as well as they did when new, is kind of a chore, while their historical value is undeniable. They have just been surpassed by subsequent technological advances, making them totally obsolete in comparison to the creature-comfort laden cars of today.

                Onto the pencil. The body, as you can see in the picture, is a maroonish color with the typical silver trim. What is cool, though, is that the body is hexagonal and tapers at the tip just like a woodcase pencil. It’s got a 4mm fixed sleeve, so it’s suitable for drafting purposes. Another thing about this pencil that shows its age is the PENTEL logo—it’s not the familiar Pentel [written in modern Pentel font] we’ve come to know and love. Block letters here for all the lettering on the pencil, including “MADE IN JAPAN.”

                Functionality wise, though, this pencil is not very good. Already I’m feeling the burn of not having any sort of grip area—the pencil is pretty thin and VERY smooth, making it difficult for me to hold the pencil without it sliding and without giving it an iron-like deathgrip. Also, you may have noticed the thin lead advancement button—THERE IS NO ERASER. The button comes off to reveal the lead tube directly. On one hand this is OK because it saves me the disappointment of that TINY easer on modern pencils, but come on.

                To top it all off, the lead tube is micro thin, even for a 0.5mm pencil. So tiny, in fact, that there is only space for ONE lead. Not only do you need to carry along an eraser, but also a spare lead tune! This pencil is truly barebones.

                Overall, I’d give the Pentel 350E 3/5; while it is devoid of anything resembling modern conveniences we take for granted today, like a grip, an eraser, and space for extra lead, it is an historical milestone, and I am glad to have this pencil in my collection.

                

Photos from the Street: a Pencilcast

Two New Pencil Videos

Hi blogosphere,

I just completed uploading two more videos about pencils I have, this time about woodcase ones.

The first one is a basic overview of the progression from Eagle to Berol to Sanford, finally to Papermate, explained with the pencils themselves as guides.

The second is just a view of some of my interesting and/or vintage pencils, including the Mephisto Copying Pencil by L & C Hardtmuth and the Eberhard Faber Mongol 482.

Watch if you so desire. :-)

Estate Sale, Pencils, Film.

As you all may know, I am known as the Pencil Guy at my school. Naturally I was surprised to find an estate sale near my house this late in the season, and even more surprised to find a lot of old pencils! I also sighted a Smith Corona electric typewriter (the kind with typebars, but with an electric carriage return) as well as a Word Processor (basically a daisywheel typewriter with a monitor) also by Smith Corona.
Of course, there were a couple of old film rolls there. I picked up a roll of Kodacolor II, expired in 1977. Interesting. But on to the main course: the pencils! (Film pictures afterwards.) (Click for super-hi-resolution photos)