The Ricoh GRIII (GR3) FAILED ME.

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[dazzlinghamster]

The dodgy control wheel issue is a fault Ricoh acknowledged and offered a recall to fix. They even published a block of serial numbers effected. I bought one second hand at a killer price, sent it to the Ricoh repair agent in Australia, and had it back within 2 weeks. Now works good as gold.

[dgorenc]

This is why I still rock the XE3 is my go to mini-XPRO solution ...

[longrider]

I shoot that one camera, one handed in aperture priority mode with hotshot mounted thumb rest. ISO is set to 100-1600 and I use the top toggle for exposure compensation

[marvinling]

You are absolutely right and bringing up the worst issue on the GRIII. I had the same issue and concern as you. Hope the GR IV could fix this the biggest, literally the biggest drawback for keeping it away from becoming possibly the best pocket size powerhouse. If it doesn’t break why fix it? I can’t agree more with you. Fix the long plaguing dust issue and this got damn wheel, and take my money. That’s why I go for the Q2. Many would think a Leica is overpriced, but man, if a camera will get the way of changing ISO and manual focus and causes you miss shots, I’ll choose a camera, which is solidly build and reliable, even it’s not pocket size anymore but why carrying a troublesome camera? The shitty experience will causes you shoot less with the camera. That’s why every time if I go out I’ll either take my Q2 or the X100V. If the GRIII could be more reliable and durable, I’ll go for the GRIII.

[benficaM]

the fact that they didn't ship this with a built in flash was a deal breaker for me. because it's such a GR signature look to do flash photography

[doriyancoleman]

smh man, after the second copy messed up too that hurt my confidence on the ricoh. a shame that such a cool concept has a variety of widespread issues.

regardless, great video!

[TRISTRAMY]

I was just about to buy a GRiiiX and am glad i saw this video so that i can at least be pre-warned and have another think, the lack of weather/dust sealing was already a concern. There are a lot of channels on Youtube that claim to be full-time GR users and you'd think at least one of these people would have experienced the same issue. Enjoyed your passion. 😆

[andrewelliott]

Personally - I think that the Gr3 is the perfect graphics machine. Mine's been in heavy use daily for 18 months. No problems whatsoever. Could not be more pleased.*Better add that I do not work for - or represent - Ricoh in any way.

[HenleyBailey]

The scroll wheel issue is very common and a tiny and quick spray of electrical contact cleaner fixes it within 20 second. Mine was broken for around a year before i tried contact cleaner, 20 seconds later it's back to new. I've had mine years and it's working great.

Electrical contact cleaner is non-conductive so no worries breaking the camera. Still take the battery out, just because it's good practice. Shake the can then a quick blip of spray to the outside gap of the wheel, same again for the inside and then use your thumb to spin the wheel for 10 seconds. Put the battery back in and carry on for a few more years before you might have to do it again. It's not a big deal really when you know the fix.

[edgarabito]

I had the same problem with two units, I found benefit by turning the wheel often even when the camera is off (while I watch TV, or while I keep it in my pocket). However, I have an X100V in service, same problem with the rear wheel, the values jumped with no sense. I don't know if that kind of circuit comes out of the same factory, but I also had to replace a control dial on my car...

[SebastijanStanivuk]

I am not surprised if small joystick doesn't work perfectly. I mean its super small camera. Do you have any alternatives?

[IamACanadian]

The way Ricoh seals their cameras is AWFUL 😣 I owned a gr i with sensor dust issues and when the gr ii came out I thought it was fixed and yet my camera spent more time getting sent and in the repair shop due to sensor dust issues than actually taking photographs so I finally gave up and have switched to Fuji xf10 (with their awful focus - just use SPOT FOCUS and problem solved) and will soon be on to the x70 for more manual controls. Love your rant, well said, fan boys can and do ruin a quickly shrinking industry - expect more and get more!

[kangzau]

What a rant! Support! Thinking about getting a GR, this is helpful. Must have a dust protection scheme before buying. It's a dust magnet

[tonykeyworth]

Had this problem with my GRiii ....a squirt of plastic friendly contact cleaner sorted it out. This method was suggested to me ny a GRiii owning friend who tells me it's not a solution but can be repeated to allow the problem to be managed.

[Cinq]

I have been unsung the GR series for the past 5 years. Never had any issue with it. A great compact camera. Less is more

[bernardelliott]

I think this is a common problem with the griii, probably why the two you have had went to mpb. I have found the fuji xf10 does a pretty good job, not so good on the focus setting, but I can rely on it to expose correctly and give usable pictures.

[JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Same thing happened to me but I just tried Plastic Safe Contact Cleaner and it seems to be working now.

[alondusk]

I’ve read that the fix is to spray a little bit of contact cleaner in the space between the scroll wheel and the body and work it around

[albertsmith]

Makes me appreciate the Fujifilm exposure compensation dial. Look down, it's on zero or adjusted to the scene, but it is 100% visible and can be zeroed out with confidence without having to guess where on the wheel the control stopped on.

Guess there is a point of size versus function where the threshold of practical tinyness hits the limit... pocket size means compromise.

Hope you get resolution.

[chrisathanasiadisphoto]

I've had now three GR3s and two GR3xs and never had a problem you speak of but I've heard others complain about it... guess I hold it differently. There are two massive issues with the GR line imo. First is the durability. I've returned five new GRs because they start acting up on me. I will never buy another new one because I'm tired of it regardless of how much I love the camera.The second is snap focus having a slight delay from when you press the shutter and the image captured. Now I just use my cheap GR Digital 4 which is amazing and still produces great photos with a tiny sensor.