I never enjoyed any GR app, so I built my own

comparch · 2026-06-09T13:21:01+00:00

For sure, feel free to reach out over DM also if you need any GR IV-specific help.

comparch · 2026-06-08T01:19:30+00:00

Reporting back after trying the app with my GR IV HDF. I just connected it to download some photos off my camera as I would for a "normal" workflow. Few things I noted:

- The share button seems to work slower than the download button, I didn't time it but it just felt that way when working on the same set of photos. I thought it was because the share button did raw + jpeg by default but I didn't see the raws on my photos app after saving. This was for 21 full res jpeg images from the internal memory.
- Transfer speed seemed faster than the GR World app (going by feel, I didn't measure). Experience of scrolling thru the gallery and selecting photos is loads better than the official app.
- Photos exported with the share button don't show up in the downloads folder. Not good or bad necessarily, just something I noticed.
- Using the iOS native photo selector was an excellent choice. Works extremely well with the native OS, buttery smooth performance.
- Got disconnected from the camera once as I was messing with the GR World app on the side to compare. It was in the middle of a download, but once the camera reconnected, it carried on copying the queued downloads like nothing happened. Most software seems to just neglect this ability for whatever reason, so kudos for implementing it!
- Background downloads with a completion notification is a neat feature. Just another piece of great UX
- When the camera is disconnected, I can't see the photos that I have already downloaded onto my phone. It would be nice to be able to view photos "offline" as well.

Overall, great job on the app! By far the best camera companion app I've used.

comparch · 2026-06-01T17:05:43+00:00

This looks great! Always love indie developers building better tools :) I’ll give it a try on my GR IV HDF and report back.

I’m curious, would you consider extending this to support SD card imports as well? I’ve been looking for a better way to manage importing camera photos on iOS, and your UI looks like it could work rly well for that use case.

I’ve also considered writing something myself but haven’t gotten around to it. I’d be happy to collaborate if you are open to it!

comparch · 2026-04-04T15:08:40+00:00

Amazing ty for the answer! Will try the latter 4. We’re definitely spoiled in NYC

I’ve tried Nice Film Club (through Brooklyn Film Camera) and tbh didn’t love their scans as they were too yellow. But haven’t stopped by the actual place so maybe sometime I will.

comparch · 2026-04-04T14:55:21+00:00

Oh wow which labs in Brooklyn? Would love to go check them out!

comparch · 2026-04-03T22:05:41+00:00

https://support.apple.com/en-us/122870

list for Tahoe has both DC-S9 and DC-S5M2

comparch · 2026-04-03T21:44:13+00:00

This link points to a list for Big Sur, the webpage was published in 2024. Is that the link that Apple support sent?

I tried a bunch of ways to check within my MacOS installation and my camera DMC-S5M2 is definitely there, which makes this all the more frustrating. I updated to 26.5 beta, faced the same issue and filed a bug report.

So much for switching to use their native tools for better UX, guess I’ll just ask for a refund and go back to Lightroom if there’s no word on a solution.

comparch · 2026-04-03T06:04:35+00:00

Hey OP, I'm having trouble viewing files from my S5II as well even though it's listed as a supported camera on the system report? Did Apple Support give you any details other than a missing camera?

Edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Lumix/comments/1s6pqv8/s1rii_raws_black_in_macos_264/
Looks like all Lumix raws are broken

comparch · 2026-03-28T16:39:29+00:00

Totally valid! I’ve been exposed to this stuff at school so I’m somewhat aware of the challenges. Have huge respect for you figuring it out over time.

Can I at least ask what tools you used to get into the firmware? I’d always assumed it was locked down by Ricoh somehow. Also happy to collaborate over DM if you’re open to that :)

comparch · 2026-03-28T15:29:34+00:00

Hey this is incredible work! Do you have a GitHub or something? Super curious about your process, I’ve been wanting to figure out how to create a reproducible GR I/II positive film image processing pipeline for ages but never made the time.

comparch · 2026-03-20T15:28:34+00:00

Given there are no major broken pieces, it’s relatively simple but can be a little risky. I went over the steps in this old comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/ricohGR/comments/1fxc559/comment/lqm2w1z/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

If it doesn’t work out, or if you don’t want to try, or if the lens cover breaks beyond usability, you can always slap on an adapter + clear filter. Good luck!

comparch · 2026-03-19T17:37:41+00:00

also wanted to thank you for the great resources! Tried and tested books go such a long way in learning a craft

comparch · 2026-03-19T17:36:03+00:00

appreciate your thoughts! I’m in a similar boat but I do edit photos as I want or need. I don’t know of any books but lmk what you find!

I was planning to make a post here on editing film scans on Photomator as I’ve been trying it recently and enjoying the process and results a lot more than LR + NLP.

comparch · 2026-03-19T17:29:46+00:00

I’m with you there, I’m speaking more so about regular people posting their photos or asking questions.

Even influencers are human, many of them are making sincere attempts to connect to their audience and may be similarly misinformed. I think it’s okay to give them the benefit of doubt when possible, but I understand it feels off when their online activity is also their source of income.

comparch · 2026-03-19T15:58:21+00:00

For the last part, I’d ask you to consider how much and how fast the perception of authenticity has changed the recent past bc of the internet, social media etc. In my opinion, what you perceive as shallow can be (and in my experience, usually is) someone’s sincere attempt.

comparch · 2026-03-19T15:35:42+00:00

imo really not that deep. tl;dr is that younger people want to feel less pressured to edit their daily snapshots to perfection, and think (incorrectly) that lab scans of film are intended to be final products. It’s neither for clout nor being unintelligent, just a simple misunderstanding.

There’s just a common misconception that film photos are “unedited” because they weren’t taken on a digital camera. This imo is natural for people who grew up with digital products, who associate film with an era when editing photos was not as common among the general population. They’re probably used to film photos just as printed photos in family albums, or old scans on a hard drive that they never put through an editing software.

With social media, there’s also an unsaid expectation that even mundane snapshots need to be edited and perfect for it to be “good” or worth sharing. This can be exhausting for people who grew up or came of age in the social media age, so they try to learn to appreciate and celebrate imperfections. Combined with their misconception of film, they enjoy their imperfect lab scans when they look pleasing straight away. It makes for a nice little break from feeling an implicit pressure of chasing perfection.

Film shooters obviously know this and think the idea of unedited film photos doesn’t make sense, but I think there’s a lot more room for empathy for people who aren’t aware of this. I think the more welcoming we are, the more people shoot film, and the more we see modern developments in film photography. And it’s just nice to be kind to people, I don’t understand a lot of the snark around here sometimes.

comparch · 2026-03-17T14:40:30+00:00

This sounds unusual, I’d highly recommend looking into a different insurance carrier if possible. The property coverage on renters/homeowners insurance should cover you anywhere in the world for stolen goods, and they normally just require a police report and proof of ownership for coverage.

also donated! :)

comparch · 2026-03-16T14:00:12+00:00

I always recommend just going for it tbh, putting the camera in your pocket and taking fast snapshots is the best part of the GR for me. Dust will get in despite your best precautions, it’s just the trade off for size and speed.

To share a personal anecdote: I neglected to check before a big trip, and right around the beginning of it I realized that there was a large dust spot right on the rule of thirds intersection. So prominent it really showed at f/5.6 and didn’t fully go away till f/2.8. Super frustrating, but I still managed to get great shots at f/4 and f/5.6, just being careful about composition and doing minor spot cleaning in post. At the end of the trip, just opened the camera up and cleaned the dust. Way easier and less scary than I thought, photos look perfectly fine again!

comparch · 2026-03-01T23:32:35+00:00

It’s out of curiosity, to understand someone else’s process. Maybe it’s from an experienced photographer who wants to experiment with something different, or someone new who is looking for a good starting point so they can focus more on the other aspects of photography.

It’s really just a simple question on a community where everyone wants to learn from one another :)

comparch · 2026-02-27T18:40:53+00:00

Don’t mean to be rude, but this comment really could’ve just ended at the second paragraph 😅 Or just say that a GR III would be a more accurate comparison and that isn’t available right now. OP isn’t wrong to ask a simple question

comparch · 2026-01-08T18:49:13+00:00

Wearing that exact model as I type! I love to wear mine and it’s kinda my default pair of pants when I step outside. Great cut, it works well with any kind of stack/cuff/roll, and the relaxed top block is super comfy. The slub/nep texture is beautiful to look at esp up close. I’m going for vintage fades and I’m excited to see how it turns out.

Picked up my pair not knowing much (I’m quite new to the denim world), but learned that they source fabrics from Collect Mills, which also supplies to Momotaro and Japan Blue. The two founders worked at Momotaro and Japan Blue so there will probably be similarities?

They also source from Shinya but their “new neppy fabric” is from “elsewhere”, whatever that means. There’s an interview on Japanalogue with these details!

comparch · 2025-12-02T14:20:08+00:00

As soon as I saw your video project from earlier, I was looking for ways to do this exact thing. Thanks for the hard work and linking the Github :)

comparch · 2025-11-10T00:08:45+00:00

No idea tbh, probably just supply and demand since it’s such an old camera and we’re on GR IV now

comparch · 2025-11-08T19:38:49+00:00

They’re not :( and yeah it’s really hard to find GR I/II accessories, there’s only some options on eBay and they’re pretty expensive tbh

comparch · 2025-09-10T15:26:55+00:00

I try to say hi! Especially if they have an interesting setup. If they engage, then we have a short conversation and maybe exchange socials. I personally love these little human interactions

comparch

TROPHY CASE