These are all the Ricoh GRDs which I’ve gone through since 2009.
The most recent casualty is the camera in the foreground. My second GRDIII, it met the corner of the metal business card holder I keep in my camera bag at the wrong angle on January 3rd. It was still able to take pictures well enough that I was able to use it for a little while longer but it’s entirely busted now. I didn’t even get a full year out of it. It was a replacement for the camera in the back row with the shattered display took a fall in April of 2013. The other two cameras, both GRDIIs, simply crapped out after what I thought was normal use. This is one reason why I’ve never been interested in shooting with the film GR1 cameras- they break down just as easily from what I hear.
Why keep going back to Ricoh? I like the simplicity and compactness of the GRD. Even the weird-ass color palate they give. Plus they are readily available on the used market now- you can pick a GRDIII up at Map Camera almost any day of the week for about $200. At that price they’re basically what, less than 2 bucks a day if you get a year out of them? No big loss. GRD IVs go for $300. I do like the GRD5 but doubt it would last much longer than the others. Digitals are the real Disposable Cameras. Leica won’t even service their M8 bodies anymore, I’m told.
I’ll get another Ricoh here soon but in the meantime I’m using my iPhone 5s for this blog in addition to my Instagram stream. I don’t really like it as a camera but finding out last week that the volume buttons on the side let you take a photo has improved my opinion of it.