Ricoh GR — Repairing the Camera I Used to Carry Everywhere

The camera that drew me properly into digital photography in 2013 was the Ricoh GR. I had just finished university and was starting work. I didn’t have much coming in and each purchase needed a reason. Spending several hundred thousand won on a camera was a decision I took slowly. I can still remember comparing models late at night, reading reviews and looking through sample photographs.

The GR turned out to be worth more to me than it cost. I started posting photographs and writing on my blog in earnest. Having a camera helped me see how much pleasure I took in keeping a record. I can’t say whether it was luck or whether the photographs got good enough to draw attention, but I was named a “power blogger” each year from 2013 until the programme ended. Looking back, the GR was where that started.

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Light Enough to Take Everywhere

What I valued most was how easy it was to carry. The GR was small and light enough for a pocket. I’d take it out with me without first deciding that this was a day for photographs. The results were better than the casual habit might suggest.

The relatively large APS-C sensor meant that, with a little editing, a compact camera could give me files close to what I was used to seeing from a DSLR. It still showed noise in low light, as any camera will when there’s little light to work with. For keeping a record of my days, it was plenty. Carrying it all the time changed how often I took photographs.

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When the Lens Barrel Started to Stick

There was one thing that eventually let me down: durability, particularly around the lens barrel. The camera had worked for years. Then the lens would fail to extend when I switched it on, or the barrel would come out and refuse to retract. Eventually I couldn’t take a photograph at all.

Other GR owners had reported similar symptoms. The estimate at the time involved replacing the entire lens unit for about ₩500,000, nearly half what I’d paid for the camera. Spend a little more and I could buy a new one. I put off the repair and moved to a Sony RX100 IV as my main camera.

The GR became an object that held memories, and stopped being a camera I took out of the house.

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A Second Chance in Euljiro

Years passed with the GR sitting in a cupboard. While sorting through old files, I came across photographs I’d made with it and wondered whether I could get it repaired now. Enough time had gone by for parts and repair options to have changed.

I found that a repair could be done for around ₩140,000 at the Korea Pentax Camera Service Center near Euljiro 3-ga in Seoul. I wanted to see the little camera come back to life and took it in.

The shop described the fault as a shutter and zoom malfunction. They said the repair would take two to three days and they could send the camera back by courier. Those few days felt surprisingly long, like waiting to hear about an old friend.

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The GR Came Back to a Different Place

It arrived a few days later. I pressed the power button and the barrel extended smoothly. The shutter worked again. The whole camera did what it was supposed to do. I still wasn’t sure I would go back to using it as my main camera.

By then the GR III had been out for years and talk had already turned to the GR IV. The first-generation model that had once felt like the obvious choice was now a long way behind newer cameras. It went back into the cupboard.

This time it went back as a camera that could still take a picture whenever I wanted. Memories seem a little clearer when the object that holds them still works.

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Korea Pentax Camera Service Center in Euljiro

The service centre was on the second floor of Euljiro Biz Center near Euljiro 3-ga Station. It was small, with a straightforward check-in and a clear explanation of the repair. It’s an address worth keeping if you have a Ricoh or Pentax camera you’ve used for years.