The smartphone may have replaced a dedicated camera for many, but the Ricoh GR III is here to remind us that’s not universally the case. The latest in Ricoh’s series of super-pocketable street.
King among compactsIt is. It's not so much what it does, but how it does it. Be very clear from the start that this is a highly specialised little camera that will appeal to only a few photographers.
But, for these few, it transcends the normal limitations of pocket-sized compacts with a build quality, feature set and performance that's on an entirely new level. There's some barrel distortion here, but not much. There's little or no chromatic aberration, and our test shot is sharp from edge to edge. This camera's high-ISO performance is good too (click image to enlarge). Let's start with the build quality. The matte black finish is superb, and the body feels absolutely rock-solid. There's no fake chrome trim or shouty stickers here, just a handful of clearly-labelled, properly spaced-out controls.
From the recessed control wheel on the front to the navigational buttons on the back, everything feels tight, precise and workmanlike. The LCD is superb, all 920,000 pixels of it, and the text in the menus is refreshingly small. At last, we have an interface that doesn't look like a kindergarten teaching aid.Now for the features. There's no face detection or scene modes. This is photography reduced to the basics. You can choose from program-auto-exposure, aperture-priority, shutter-priority and manual modes, and that's it. In place of techno-gimmickry, there are some seriously useful old-school options, including an easy-to-use manual-focus option, complete with depth-of-field indicator, and a 'snap' focus mode that takes the photo at a fixed focus distance (2.5m by default) when you stab quickly at the shutter release.
Quick VerdictThe Ricoh GR III isn't going to be for everyone, but for those that do want a compact camera, with high image quality, the Ricoh GR III delivers the goods. The camera is responsive, and delivers excelent detail in images, thanks to the 28mm equivalent lens. Macro focus has been improved and the user interface is easy to use, with the 3inch touch-screen adding to the experience. The fixed focal length may feel limiting to some, and if you're looking for high quality video, then you're best off looking elsewhere. Cons.
Doesn't offer 4K video recording. Poor video quality (and options).
Doesn't offer tilting screen. Fixed focal length is not for everyone. Short battery lifeRicoh has officially announced the Ricoh GR III, after. The GR III is the smallest Ricoh GR camera to be released with an APS-C CMOS sensor. The GR III features a new 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor, with sensor-shift image stabilisation and a number of other updates, including a 3inch touch-screen, phase detection auto-focus, and USB-C connection. The GR III will be available for £799 / €899, and will be available from the middle of March.Ricoh GR III FeaturesThe Ricoh GR series is designed to be portable, with a quick response. In order to give a quick response when shooting the camera offers snap shooting, letting you shoot rapidly without having to wait for focus.The Ricoh GR III offers a new 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor, with phase-detection auto focus.
The camera has built in sensor-based shake reduction, meaning the sensor can move to counter image shake, Ricoh say this gives up to 4 stops of image stabilisation. Thanks to this, Ricoh have been able to add Dust Reduction to the camera, to help remove any dust from the sensor, if dust does end up in the camera. Hopefully it won't be an issue, and if it is, then this should help remedy the problem.Ricoh has also introduced an anti-aliasing filter simulation mode, as the sensor does not feature a built in anti-aliasing filter. If you're concerned about moire in images, then you can use the AA filter simulation to reduce the likelihood of moire.There's a new processing engine for improved image quality, and quicker image processing.Ricoh has a reputation for delivering firmware updates that not only fix bugs or errors, but also add additional features. quoteRicoh have been able to add Dust Reduction to the camera, to help remove any dust from the sensor, however, this hopefully shouldn't be an issue, as the camera doesn't let you change lenses./quote Have you completely missed the dust problem with compact 'pocketable' cameras like the Sony RX100 and Canon G5X/G7XG9X?
The lens extends from the body every time you turn it on, and this sucks air and dust into the body of the camera. And of course the lint from your pocket gets on the camera, and the groves around the lens tubes collect This dust. This is worse than dust problems with interchangeable lens cameras because 1) ILCs do not create a vacuum even when having the lens changed (I just point mine down). 2) you cannot blow out any dust in these extending compacts.
Dust goes in; dust mostly forever stays in.Or is this just me? I wanted a pocketable camera last year. After buying (and returning) a used Canon that explicitly claimed it had no dust and finding lots of dust anyway (thanks blue sky), I decided that I'd need to need to carry such a camera in a dust-blocking bag to make it truly pocketable. This is apparently a design problem that can't be fixed (sort of a HEPA filter around the lens tube). I ended up ordering an Olympus E-PL8 and carrying it with a pancake lens. Quote:Ricoh have been able to add Dust Reduction to the camera, to help remove any dust from the sensor, however, this hopefully shouldn't be an issue, as the camera doesn't let you change lenses.Have you completely missed the dust problem with compact 'pocketable' cameras like the Sony RX100 and Canon G5X/G7XG9X?
The lens extends from the body every time you turn it on, and this sucks air and dust into the body of the camera. And of course the lint from your pocket gets on the camera, and the groves around the lens tubes collect This dust. This is worse than dust problems with interchangeable lens cameras because 1) ILCs do not create a vacuum even when having the lens changed (I just point mine down).
2) you cannot blow out any dust in these extending compacts. Dust goes in; dust mostly forever stays in.Or is this just me? I wanted a pocketable camera last year. After buying (and returning) a used Canon that explicitly claimed it had no dust and finding lots of dust anyway (thanks blue sky), I decided that I'd need to need to carry such a camera in a dust-blocking bag to make it truly pocketable. This is apparently a design problem that can't be fixed (sort of a HEPA filter around the lens tube). I ended up ordering an Olympus E-PL8 and carrying it with a pancake lens. I received mine yesterday and have been struggling.The touch screen I turned off straight away.
The mistakingly-touched overrides any benefit it has, and the UI of the GR series is so intuitive anyway, it's fast enough without the screen.The ADJ direct ISO option has gone! This was an amazing feature Brough in as firmware update to the GRD3 about 10 years ago (ish) and has been on every GR/d since.Fn2 button has gone.Flash isn't a big deal but nice to have.can do without.Start up is noticeably faster.Focus hunts in anything but the best light, in which case it's lightning fast.Hopefully firmware will reinstate these missing features.
Right now, the GRii is the better camera. I received mine yesterday and have been struggling.The touch screen I turned off straight away. The mistakingly-touched overrides any benefit it has, and the UI of the GR series is so intuitive anyway, it's fast enough without the screen.The ADJ direct ISO option has gone! This was an amazing feature Brough in as firmware update to the GRD3 about 10 years ago (ish) and has been on every GR/d since.Fn2 button has gone.Flash isn't a big deal but nice to have.can do without.Start up is noticeably faster.Focus hunts in anything but the best light, in which case it's lightning fast.Hopefully firmware will reinstate these missing features. Right now, the GRii is the better camera.