Digital Camera, Ricoh GR – Lens Issue Repair

April 5, 2023 286 Views

In 2013, a product called “Ricoh GR” made its debut in the world of digital cameras, marking my first steps into the world of digital photography. At the time, I had just graduated from university and was a young professional, so purchasing this digital camera was a significant decision that required a lot of consideration.

After the purchase, I was able to take a wide variety of photos and even uploaded them to my blog. I was fortunate enough to be selected as a “Power Blogger” every year from 2013, when I first started using the “Ricoh GR” camera, until the year before the excellent bloggers were no longer selected. Perhaps it was because the quality of my photos improved when I switched cameras, allowing me to be recognized as an outstanding blogger.

“A Lightweight and Portable High-End Digital Camera”

One of the strengths of the “Ricoh GR” is its lightweight and compact design, making it highly portable. Moreover, with proper post-processing, the results can be comparable to photos taken with a DSLR.

Of course, like most high-end cameras, the quality of the photos can drop significantly in low-light conditions. However, despite being a compact camera, the “Ricoh GR” has a large image sensor, allowing it to produce overall good-quality images.

Due to its lightweight and compact size, I always carried it with me when going out. This allowed me to take high-quality photos at any time, and as a result, I was able to consistently update my blog with posts even without any special events in my daily life.

“Durability Remains an Issue for the Digital Camera”

While I was generally satisfied with the camera, there was one aspect that left me wanting, and that was its durability. After several years of using the device, I suddenly had to say goodbye.

A persistent issue with the Ricoh GR started to emerge, where the lens would not open before taking the first shot, and subsequently, the lens cap would not retract, rendering the camera unusable.

I considered attempting to repair it, but at the time, if I wanted to repair the Ricoh GR with this issue, I would have had to replace the entire lens assembly, which would have cost around 500,000 KRW, roughly half the price of the camera.

With a bit more added to that price, I could have purchased a better, new camera, so I ultimately decided to purchase a new camera and started using the “Sony RX M4” model.

“Ricoh GR Repair – The Camera Returns”

So, for a while, the “Ricoh GR”. disappeared into memories. It became a display item occupying one side of the closet. After a long time, when I happened to think about the camera again and conducted an online search, I came across information that now, for 146,000 KRW, it could be repaired. The place offering the repair service was “Korea Pentax Camera,” located in Euljiro 3-ga, Seoul.

Thus, I visited the Euljiro Repair Center and received a diagnosis that it needed to be repaired due to a “shutter zoom malfunction.” I entrusted my Ricoh GR for repair to breathe new life into it.

They said it would take about 2-3 days to complete the repair and then send it back via courier. It felt like reconnecting with an old friend when I heard that the camera, which had been forgotten and idle, would return to a functional state.

“After Repair, the Camera Returns”

A few days later, I was able to receive the repaired camera. Fortunately, it worked well after the repair. However, it had been so long, and technology had advanced so much in the meantime. Now, even the Ricoh GR3 model is available, and we’re anticipating the release of the GR4 model.

The once highly regarded “Ricoh GR1” model has now fallen behind in terms of the latest technology, and it’s become somewhat ambiguous to use as the main camera.

Although the repair was completed, it ultimately transformed into a decorative item filled with memories, still occupying one side of the closet. Nevertheless, if there’s one difference from before, it now serves as a decoration that functions as a camera capable of taking photos.

“Seoul Euljiro, Korea Pentax Camera A/S Center”

The Korea Pentax Camera Service Center is located on the 2nd floor of the Eulji Business Center building, close to “Euljiro 3-ga” subway station. While the store is not very large, they kindly accept repair service requests.

“Seoul Euljiro, Korea Pentax Camera”