HERZ Card Case

I placed order for this card case on 2 Sept 2015 on Rakuten. I received email from the seller, Porco Rosso, they told me that my order would shipped estimated on 4 Nov 2015. I'm not aware that I'm expected to wait as this item was hand made. So I gladly accepted it as I'm not urgently needed it. During the waiting period, I almost forgot about it until they emailed me to update that the shipping date had brought forward to 14 Oct 2015 and they did sent on their said date. I received it on 16 Oct 2015 and I'm looked forward to look at it because if the workmanship and quality was acceptable, I would order more from them as they have many more attractive leather products.

It came in well protected by bubble wrap and in a plastic wrapping

Come with an introduction card and tag.

The 2 cards slots case measurement: 11cm x 6.5cm x 4mm. The material is vegetable tanning leather Camel colour. It does not gives off any smell but able to smell the leather when bring it close to my nose (almost touching). The impressed logo and words read "HERZ MADE IN JAPAN". The workmanship is very neat and the quality of the leather is not soft but is not so hard that it can't bend. I'm replacing my current everyday card case with this. I'm expecting the colour will age and give off vintage look at some time. Just like the leather cover of Midori Traveller's Notebook. The more you use it, the more characters it will become.

Comparing the size of my previous Asumederu card case bought from Tokyu Hands a year ago. The size is pretty standard. I prefer to keep my EZ-Link card in a card case. I don't like the idea pulling out my wallet, moreover credit cards these days will cause the tapping machine unable to read the EZ-Link card properly. So most of the time I have no problem keeping this inside of my pants pocket. Overall,  I'm delighted with my purchase.

Update: After 3 weeks of use
I applied Saphir Renovateur a day later and it changed the colour of the leather. I'm totally pleased with the result. See the photos below, you be the judge.

Pilot Custom 74 Blue

I bought this pen and ink together from Japan ordered through Rakuten. It arrived within 5 days.

Pilot Custom 74 Blue with Fine nib= 8,000yen
Pilot Iroshiizuk Ku-Jaku Ink = 1,125yen

Most part of the body are made of resin. Its overall weight is about 20g. Pretty easy to carry. The length is about 143mm and 155mm when posted.

The screw-on cap is about 66mm and weigh about 8g. The clip is an upside down triangle with a ball on the end and has "PILOT" printed vertically at the top. The clip is stiff and feel very secure.

The band engraving reads "* PILOT MADE IN JAPAN * CUSTOM 74"

The Pilot Custom 74 sports a 14k gold #5 size nib and decorated with engraved classic pattern. Compared to the Fine nib on my Lamy Vista, the Pilot Fine nib writes slightly thinner. This pen is make for the Japanese market, hence I can write small Kanji.

It is a cartridge/converter pen, it can take the Pilot's Con-70 (1 mL), Con-50 (0.7 mL) and Con-20 (0.9 mL) along with Pilot's proprietary cartridges (0.9 mL). In the photo above I'm using CON-70.

I have use it for more than 2 weeks and I'm very please with the overall writing experience. I have so much fun writing with this pen that makes me want to keep on writing. It becomes my current EDC pen.

My Old Friend: Ricoh GR (2013 version)

AN OLD FRIEND

I really meant it. I related myself to GR as my old friend. I had stopped taking photograph for many moons. I lost my focus on photography. Something distracted me or I needed a break from holding a camera. I’m not sure too. So when Ricoh finally announced to release the GR. It woke me up. I did not managed to buy it at first shipment. When I received a call from a friend, I rushed for it immediately and finally hands on it. The initial feeling was so familiar. I asked aloud in my heart, where have you (GR) been all this while, instantly I realised it was a more relevant question to myself. It was this camera has helped find myself again like a trusty old friend. Despite my current circumstances, it brought some happiness to me.

INSIDE THE BOX

Ricoh GR
Hot Shoe Cover
Rechargeable Battery DB-65
USB Power Adaptor
Power Plug
USB cable
Hand strap
CD
Instruction Manual

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I have used Ricoh GRD I to IV, GXR and GR1v so I consider myself as long time Ricoh GRD user. When a long time Ricoh GRD user hands on to this camera, immediately noticed the familiar handling and at the same time knowing in mind that the major upgrade inside of this camera was as exciting as rapid beating heart now. It looked more sharper, I meant the edges were not as curvy as GRDs.

The weight was slightly heavier than Ricoh GRD IV after loaded with battery. The camera came with the same battery as GRD III and GRD IV, the rechargeable battery DB-60 for GRD I & GRD II were compatible too. A good news to long time GRD users. Turning on the camera would prompted you to set language, date and time. GR lens barrel was larger in diameter but was shorter in length.

Unlike past GRD models, GR did not shipped with desktop charger. To charge the battery in-camera, it took 5 hours to fully charge whereas desktop charger (BJ-6) took half of the time. Again, existing GRD owners needed not to worry about it.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

Lens:
Focal length approx. 28mm (35mm equivalent) Note that it is mentioned approx. 28mm. I will show you more later. Read on.
7 elements in 5 groups (2 asperical lens elements)
Aperture f/2.8 to f/16

Image Sensor:
APS-C CMOS (23.7 x 15.7 mm)
approx. 16.2 MP
Max Resolution 4928×3264

ISO:
ISO 100-25,600

Focus Range:
Normal: Approx. 0.3m to ∞
Macro: Approx. 0.1m to ∞

Shooting Mode:
Av, TV, TAV, P, M, Auto, My settings 1, 2 & 3

Shutter Speed:
1/4000-300sec, Bulb

Flash:
GN 5.4 (ISO 100 equivalent)

Video Recording:
1920×1080, 1280×720, 640×480

Click here for more details.

TRUE 28mm???

I spotted this difference when I was comparing the photos taken with GRD IV and GR. I noticed the photo taken using GRD IV was wider than GR. Look at the photos and you know what I mean.

Ricoh GR



Ricoh GRD IV



Ricoh GRD III



A quick Focal length comparison:

Ricoh GR: 18.3mm (1.5x crop factor is 27.45mm)

Ricoh GXR A12 28m: 18.3mm (1.5x crop factor is 27.45mm)

Ricoh GRD IV: 6mm (4.7x crop factor is 28.2mm)

Nikon Coolpix A : 18.5mm (1.5x crop factor is 27.75mm)

You might not agree with me on taking 4.7x for 1/1.7" sensor but the photos explained it clearly. :)

UNDERSTANDING GR vs GRD IV

What are the nice and useful features:
It is APS-C sensor in a small package! I really love the photo quality it produces.
The low price tag as compare to its peer. Enuff said.
It has built-in 2 stops ND filter. A sweet new feature.
Usable ISO 1600, at least for me as I like the grainy effect on the photos especially on black and white photos.
Slightly larger hand grip.

What are the improvement Ricoh can provide in their next firmware update:
GR's Auto focus (AF) is slower than GRD IV, it is more obvious when test in low light. Even with the assist AF light on, it does not improve significantly.
GR colours are flat and unpleasing as compare to GRD IV. I guess it could be due to different technology (CMOS vs CCD). I have to manually adjust the color settings to match GRD IV's colour.
GR tends to underexpose a bit. I often found myself increase compensation to +0.3

Ricoh GR



Ricoh GRD IV



OVERALL

Despite some minor issues, I still in love with it. Ricoh's ergonomic design of this new camera is excellent and all the buttons fall on correct places, great for one hand operation. Additionally, the newly added AF mode selection switch are welcoming. The in-camera menu are logical and easy to navigate by using the front dial, back lever, directional buttons and EV compensation +/- button for express browsing. The TAv mode created by genius in Pentax are new to me and yet it will be useful when I get to understand it more.

I always want to write reviews on cameras but I do not know how to. But I still put this one up as I want to share what I have found during my familarisation with this new camera. I hope you find it useful as much as I hope.