Ricoh macro, please explain focusing and sharpness problem

[macroman]

hi, this is my first post here so please help if you can. i photograph gem stones and i use i ricoh g4. the sharpness is teriffic, however sometime purple gemstones end up with crimson highlights which are not actually in the gemstone. i have tried the gx (5mp) and the problem is that it does not focus as close as the g4 (my gemstones are placed on a small stick and not onflat surface). Sharpness is still good but i have to move the gemstone alot further back for it to get a focus lock. thu the gemstone is to small to crop as you get pixellating. the crimson problem is not there though.

i have also tried the r1 and r2, both have good color reproduction however the picture is nowhere near as sharp as the g4. settings on all cameras is set to sharp.

is this beacause the lens system in the r2 is a 5 times optical zoom , and the g4 is a 3 times zoom?

if anny one can help, thank you

i am looking to buy the gx8 when it comes out 3 x otical with the new focusing system.

[snappy]

The purple cast you mention is a problem with all cameras.
The colour purple is so close to ultra violet light it is a probelm for all cameras to reproduce.

Most film and digital cameras try to capture a narrower spectrum of light. The lens barrel in the G4/G4wide is a different spec to the R1/R1V. Perhaps the G4 Lens is better but the zoom length would not be an issue.


My advice, save your money, don't buy the GX8, it's just a tarted up GX. Buy the GX because it will be sold off cheap when the newer and crappier GX8 hits the market.

[maxpixels]

Please attach a few of your photos on the board so we can 'see' the problem.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Maxpixels