The Ricoh GR III in 2024 - Perfect Everyday Camera Or NOT?

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[btcpyr]

3:34, did you say it has a fairly small sensor? Unless you're used to medium or large format, APS size sensor is not small. No other compact camera that can fit in your front pants pocket has an APS sensor (that I know of).
Yea, battery life isn't great, but you should be getting at closer to 200 shots per battery. You do have to turn off the camera when you're not using it, the startup time is quite quick (less than 1 second).

[pierremairesse]

I have it for a year now and as an amateur photographer it's a very good camera. I can leave a bit earlier for work, stroll around and take a few snap. I really recommend it

[audamus]

I got mine at the end of last year and I'm absolutely loving it. I sold my Fuji X100F for it, because I wanted a small camera with good image quality (at least aps-c) to carry around with me all the time. The X100F was just a little too big for that. The Ricoh on the other hand always stays in my pocket no matter what. I never had problems with battery life either - I have 2 spare batteries and never had a day where I drained all 3. An absolute gamechanger for me was the image stabilization of the sensor. Coming from the Fuji which didn't had that, I must say, it's absolutely amazing. Low light isn't really an issue anymore, because I can just shoot at 1/30 and f2.8. That's another thing that amazes me about this camera - it's tack sharp, even wide open at f2.8. I almost always use the 'positive film' effect. You could even apply it to the raw files via lightroom.

I'm probably getting the griiix as well - I'm just waiting on a new colour or edition to come out (like the diary edition for the normal griii).

[chuckl]

I love my Ricoh GRIIx! One thing you didn't mention is the handy depth of field gauge. It comes in handy for knowing where hyperfocal is set. Even in manual focus you can tap to focus which will set your manual focus distance.

Also, you can actually set the display button on the back to toggle on and off the screen. This will save you on battery life and on actuating the lens. I've never actually counted the number of shots I got, but by having the screen off while I'm walking I would probably end up with at least 30% more shots per battery.

Credit to Lucas from EYExplore for sharing that tip.

[mauriciocatonartabe]

been shooting ricoh for years, I love them

[-grey]

I bought one a few weeks ago, there are a lot of hidden usability features that I think all cameras should have. Even just Snap Distance Priority mode is a game changer. It's easily the fastest camera I have ever used in terms of adaptability. The Product and UX designers really deserve a raise.

Also the quality is insane. I have been shooting Fujifilm for about 7 years, thinking that they were the peak of aps-c image quality. Ricoh here is astronomical.

[Silveradoroad]

Amazing camera in a small size! The best

[nathanvrvrt]

To be honest, having the griii street edition and the griiix both no problem.with battery life. The camera startuptime is super fast so you also put it off. For 1000 euro's there aren't allot of great lenses plus apsc camera this compact. A ricoh gr is for a small bunch of people and thats great! It's an awesome camera

[beni_films]

Honest reviews like this are very helpful. The amount of details you covered is insane

[PaulTakesPhotos]

Take the time to let the camera grow on you. My initial observations and experiences with the GR3x were similar... I use it as my everyday snapper, not bothered by the missing viewfinder or lack of flip screen. Battery life for everyday is great, for entire day shooting you need additional batteries.
I love the image quality and the fact that you can take it anywhere. Be careful for dust on the lens

[ElmoChan]

If it's your one and only camera, then yes, all those negatives are to be considered. But for me, I have my main camera and the Ricoh serves as my EDC. If I know I'm going to do a heavy day of shooting, I bring my DSLR. It's during those days I'm not thinking of shooting and you run across a scene that you say "man, I wish I had my camera with me" is where the Ricoh is a game changing life saver. Due to that, a single battery last me several days. On days I'm not planning on shooting but I randomly come across something interesting, I pull it out of my jacket pocket, power it on, take a couple of shots, power it off, and drop it back into my pocket.

[seenbyroot]

For me its all about having a dedicated camera on you at all times, which this provides. A pocketable 24MP camera. What stops me from everyday shooting is having to haul around my MUCH more expensive and weighty full frame Sony camera + lenses. The setbacks of poor battery and no flip out screen make this camera investment still worth it for the ability to keep sharp as a photographer by getting shots in on the daily.

[anils.rkumar]

This small Monster is Something Special.
i Have 4 Batteries and I'm happy
its not eye-catching I'm happy
its so small im happy
the pic quality is super im Super Happy
the press is ok

[JamesHerlihy]

Great video! Were you able to buy in chicago?

[gdominique]

Pierre, merci pour cette vidéo qui décrit bien le GR, j’ai envie de dire, les GR’s, car le GR III et le IIIx sont exactement les mêmes appareils mis à part la focale de l’optique qui les diffère. Pour ce qui est des batteries, je fais plus de 300 photos par batterie, mais pour cela, je shoote en « single » et j’éteins le GR dès que je ne l’utilise pas. Faut dire qu’il est quasi instantanément prêt (largement moins d’une seconde pour se réveiller) et donc, cela n’est pas un problème. Du coup, il m’arrive fréquemment de faire une journée entière avec une seule batterie. Et puis, le prix des batteries, qu’on trouve sur Amazon n’est franchement pas très élevé et du coup, suffit d’en avoir 4 ou 5 dans la poche pour shooter intensément!
Pour ce qui est des paramètres qui semblent avoir disparu, tu as la possibilité de paramétrer jusqu’à 6 profils d’utilisations via les positions U1, U2 et U3 sur la molette du haut… ce qui te donne d’avoir toujours - ultra rapidement - tes paramétrages sous la main en fonction de ce que tu désires…
Oui, la fonction snap est tellement géniale (une sorte de zone focusing automatisée) que cela devrait être implémenté dans tous les appareils, et surtout les boitiers destinés à la photo de rue!
Tu as oublié (où je n’ai peut-être pas écouté suffisamment attentivement) de parler de l’IBIS (la stabilisation) qui est intégrée dans l’appareil… Cette IBIS fonctionne à merveille et me permet de shooter à des vitesses d’obturation ultra basse sans flou de bouger.
Aussi, le fait qu’il n’a pas de viseur d’intégrer ma appris à photographier autrement et à développer plus de créativité! Surtout que l’écran est génial et ultraréactif sur le plan tactile. Oui, tu as raison, dommage qu’il ne soit pas orientable, à l’instar de celui du nouveau Leica Q3.
Je suis, par ailleurs Fujiste (X-T4 et X-Pro), et depuis que j’ai un GR III auquel j’ai rajouté le GR IIIx - j’en suis devenu fan! - mes Fuji’s ne sortent quasi plus, sauf pour de la vidéo ou des travaux spécifiques qui nécessitent des optiques spécifiques. L’optique des GR est vraiment merveilleuse de qualité, et quel piqué - bien plus encore que l’optique qui équipe le Fuji X100V… Ce petit boitier si compact qu’il rentre dans la poche de ma chemise ou de mon jeans, est souvent également dans le sac des Leicaistes, justement à cause de la qualité optique qu’il Merci encore à toi pour tes vidéos toujours très intéressantes. Bien à toi!
Je rajoute également que la dynamique des fichiers raw est superbe et surtout les .dng produits sont super facile à traiter, bien plus facile que les raw (raf) Fuji issus du capteur xtrans... Aussi, la colorimétrie des simulations (paramétrables) me plait bien mieux - au final - que ceux produits par mes Fuji's! Du coup, je shoote en raw + jpeg et souvent, j'utilise les fichiers couleur à partir du jpeg! En fait, c'est selon le besoin et le niveau d'exigence désiré. Aussi, une vitesse minimale d'obturation est parfaitement paramétrable en ISO Auto... et mieux que cela encore, en activant la fonction "Correction IL auto" qui permet au GR de modifier la valeur Av/Tv automatiquement pour maintenir une exposition correcte (peu de gens connaissent cette fonction), ce qui fait que si une vitesse minimale d'expo est sélectionnée via la fonction ISO Auto, l'appareil est capable d'outrepasser cette vitesse minimale pour la descendre et assurer une bonne expo. Ceci est un automatisme incroyablement efficace en cas de changement brutal de lumière! Il y a plein d'autres subtilités qu'embarque le GR... pour les découvrir, il te faut bien plus de temps à l'avoir entre les mains et l'utiliser de manière plus intensive. Mais, franchement, c'est un bijou! Ah oui, j'ai aussi oublié la superbe qualité de l'objectif en fonction "macro" qui permet des trucs vraiment très sympas!

[donalone]

I lived in Chicago for 7 years. Watching your video brings me back some memories.

[indrajitdas]

That Chicago film simulation was dope. Loved it. I have a Sony a7iv but I don’t have the skills to edit those pics to that standard. I can see myself using this camera very often. Plus it’s easy to carry and hike.

[photostuff]

It does have a minimum shutter speed setting. You need to spend more time with this camera. It's a very powerful machine and much better at producing SOOC images than Sony. (I owned 4 Sony cameras and the jpg output is very limited). If you only shoot RAW, then that's not an issue, but I think the Ricohs have some of the best Monochrome output of any camera manufacturer ... and... the sensor is so good, you can shoot Infrared without removing the cut-filter from the sensor.

Batteries are small and easily carried, so just get get more (imagine if you were shooting film :). Third party batteries are fine. I have 5 batteries I share between the GRiii and the GRiiix.

Get a cover to keep the dust off. The GC-10 and GC-12 are best. The rear dial needs to be protected from dust. I prefer to shoot on Aperture Priority or Manual with auto ISO and a minimum shutter speed set (which I lower for night scenes). This way, I don't adjust the ISO very often and I don't have to use the back dial. In full manual you will have the ISO setting on the back dial, and it will be a problem if you get dust on the contacts. Dust on the sensor can be an issue for any camera, but it's a bigger problem for fixed lens cameras because it's not easy to clean. If you do get dust on your sensor, just shoot at F8 or below that and it won't be visible. I've been using Ricohs since 2019 and haven't had any dust issues.

There are many features these little cameras do better than everyone else and some things that are not so great. Not because they're poorly designed though. They're not great at things they were never intended to be used for. Pro sports photography, wildlife photography, videography . I've owned Fuji, Panasonic, and Sony cameras, all with several lenses, and none of those can compete with and beat the Ricoh at its own game.

[fredbour.]

Read p64 of the manual... of course you can select a minimum shutter speed! Mine is on 1/125.
D'ailleurs, ce réglage est dans le même endroit des menus pour tous les appareils que j'ai pu utiliser (nikon, fuji, ricoh, ...)

[Dwaindibbley]

Hi and thankyou for sharing your views. I bought one when it was first released and must say, I struggled with it. Fixed lens, no tilt screen. But I defo loved the ergonomics of it.
I went for a weekend away so decided to take just that. Give it all my focus and not be distracted by my other gear.
Best thing I ever did. I still agree its not the best, but what is. My main worry, as with 100v, is the fixed lens. Restrictive at times but forces you to think in other situations. I luckily came across a good priced second hand sony rx100iv. I thought my answers were met. I tend to be out more in the country, not in built up areas. Although an amazing edc, I still turn to the gr more. I now carry both though so defeats the one edc carry camera. Oh well, can't win them all.
Thanks again