First Impressions of the Ricoh GR III

In this post, I want to talk about my first impressions of the Ricoh GR III. I've been using it for a while now, and I have to say, there are some really great things about this camera, as well as a few downsides. Though before I get into it, I just want to make a few things clear. I decided to buy this camera mainly as a very casual EDC camera that I can take everywhere, take photos of random things and not have to worry about anything else other than enjoying my time, which definitely play a part in my thoughts of the camera. I’ll be going more in depth with those thoughts. So anyways, now that’s out the way, let's dive right into it.

One important key point that struck me about the GR III is its size and compactness. It's incredibly portable and lightweight, making it perfect for those on-the-go moments. This is a camera I bring literally everywhere with me. It’s always in my camera bag, even if I’m going on a photowalk with my Sony camera, I still have enough room for this camera because it’s so small. I don’t ever feel like I have to choose between bringing the Sony or the Ricoh. I just bring both because I can without carrying too much. Whether I'm traveling, just exploring the city, or just going over to a friend’s house, I can easily slip it into my bag without feeling burdened. It's definitely a huge plus for those who value convenience. But this is obvious with the small size of the Ricoh. Relating the size to the actual process of photographing, I love how “unprofessional” this camera looks. Because it’s a point and shoot camera, you look even more like a tourist who has no idea what they’re doing compared to let’s say a full frame camera set up. This makes me more comfortable to get that much closer to my subjects without feeling like I’m getting into their space. I’m obviously not going to go right in their face with my camera, as that’s not something I feel comfortable to being with, full frame or not, but I can definitely feel the difference in “intimidating subjects between the Ricoh vs my Sony”. Last thing about the compactness and size of this camera. I don’t know about other places, but in Los Angeles, there are so many areas that are private spaces and because of that, if I go into those spaces with my Sony, I will immediately be asked to put it away, making it basically impossible to take photos in those situations. Some examples I can think off the top of my head are California Plaza and malls (except the galleria mall, shouts out to them for being cool with me). But with the Ricoh GR III, I can now go into these areas and get some new photos I wouldn’t be able to get with my Sony.

The other big reason why I decided to buy this camera: the ricoh recipes. With my Sony, that’s the camera I use when I go out for photographing. I’m locked in on photography and enjoying my time, trying to get the best pictures I can and working on my craft, fully focused on the process of photography. But for those photos where I just want to take a picture of a random flower I see when I’m walking around town? Or random pics I have with my friends? That’s where the Ricoh comes in. With those random pictures, I don’t have to worry about editing them. And even if the editing process is as simple as uploading it on my computer and slapping one of my presets on them, I would still have to go through the process of doing that with pictures that I probably would want to delete anyways. A good example of this is when I went camping with some friends last month. We went to Seqouia and I brought my camera to try and get some pictures of our time there. I ended up getting not even one picture because I just didn’t like how strong the sun was when we finished our hike to a waterfall as well as how the light hit the landscape. So besides a couple of random phone pictures, I ended up getting basically nothing in terms of photography, which is fine, but I would’ve liked to get some pics for the memories of the trip. And that’s where this camera would’ve been nice to have at the time. I’d be able to easily use the recipes and just get some quick photos of random stuff like the campsite and such and be able to look at that a year or two later and remember things like “oh yeah, I went here with some friends and had a great time”! Speaking more about the recipes, you can use the ricoh recipes app that lets you select a bunch of recipes within the community and use them for your own photos. You can make your own as well, but I’m really liking some of the ones from the community. I’ve mainly been using the Kodak Print, this harsh black and white recipe, and film look. There are many others so I encourage you to try those out as well! With these simulators, they’ve even given me ideas to add to my own edits in lightroom to try and use so I’m excited to try them out when using lightroom and my own presets.

Now, let's talk about the image quality and capabilities of this little camera. Despite its small size, the GR III packs a punch. The image quality is superb and top notch, allowing me to capture highly-detailed shots. The megapixel count is impressive as well, letting me crop without losing too much, though I obviously can’t crop as much as my A7RV with it’s 61 mp. I can trust on this camera to delivers great results in a number of situations from street to portraits to landscapes and so on. And that’s something I really love about this camera. As I said before, I got this camera to be used mainly as a casual EDC where I can literally bring it everywhere because of it’s size. But in moments when I may not have my main camera aka my Sony with me for whatever reason (even though I bring that camera everywhere with my 99% of the time anyways), this camera will still allow me to get high quality pictures and in the right moments, may even capture a picture I deem worthy of going on my portfolio. Speaking more on the capabilities of this camera, I can’t forget to mention a couple of fantastic functions this camera has. The built-in ND filter is a great handy tool to have. With the built-in ND filters, I don’t have to carry anything extra with me. Because it’s already in the camera, I can put on the ND filters with the touch of a button and with that, I can slow my shutter speed down and go for some long exposures or try anything with motion blur. And let's not forget about the IBIS or in body image stabilization. This makes it easier for you to get handheld shots when your shutter speed is slower like 0.8 seconds or when you want smoother videos without all the gitters. This really comes in handy when shooting in challenging lighting conditions or when I want to experiment with long exposures. And something I found really interesting about the Ricoh GR III in particular is their “snap focusing setting”. The basis of this is you can choose a specific distance and if you’re subject is that distance away from you, let’s say 1-2 meters, when you take that picture, your subject will be in focus 100% of the time. If you stop down to f9 or so while using snap focusing, you can basically take photos without even looking at the camera and get your subject in focus. This has helped many people get those fleeting moments that last less than a second. Sometimes, that’s really all it takes to miss out on a great photo. I’ve tested focusing mode out a few times, but it’s been taking some time to get used to. It’s definitely an interesting feature and I look forward to playing around with it.

Next, I quickly want to touch upon is the overall usability of the GR III. Ricoh has done a fantastic job with the intuitive interface and button placement. It's a camera that doesn't get in the way of capturing the moment, but rather enhances the shooting experience. The camera feels comfortable in my hands, and the controls are easily accessible, allowing me to make quick adjustments on the fly. As small as the camera is, I’ve never had a problem with carrying it in my hands.

And finally, as I’ve said previously in my other post talking about the Zeiss 55 mm lens, I'm a big fan of the 50mm lens for street photography or just in general actually. However, using the 35mm Zeiss lens on my Sony and now the fixed 28mm lens on the Ricoh GR III has really expanded my horizons. 35 mm sometimes felt a little too tight in some situations, but with the 28 mm, I never really feel like I’m too close to anything. Mixed with this newfound ability to get closer to subjects, the lens has been perfect for many situations. And because of this, I'm starting to become very comfortable with wider focal lengths, and it's opening up new creative possibilities for me.

Now, let's move on to some of the negatives. One thing that I found disappointing about the GR III is its battery life, which I’ve heard others talk about as well. It tends to drain quite quickly, maybe quicker for me as I don’t like turning on and off my camera when I shoot. I just leave my camera on the whole time whenever I shoot. I usually get about an hour, maybe an hour and a half at most before I need to switch batteries. So, if you're planning for a long day of shooting, make sure to carry spare batteries. I bought 2 extra ones and I feel that’s a good enough for me. The batteries are super small so it’s not like I have to carry a lot extra. The battery life being bad is a bit of a bummer, but it's something I can definitely work around.

Another downside is the lack of a tilt screen. Now, personally for me, having a small tilt screen would have been a nice addition. It could have provided more flexibility when composing shots from challenging angles or make it an easier experience shooting from the hip. However, I understand that adding a tilt screen might have increased the weight or bulk of the camera by making it bigger, so if that’s a trade-off that Ricoh had to make, then I don’t mind that at all.

For me, despite the drawbacks, I want to emphasize that the positives of the Ricoh GR III far outweigh the negatives. The camera's compactness, the wide array of features, as well as the option to shoot casually while giving me high quality photos packed into this small package makes it a solid choice as my second camera (or third).

I've found myself always taking the GR III around, simply because it's so easy to carry around. I always have the camera around ready to capture whatever is on the street or fun moments with friends and family. The combination of its size and image quality is truly impressive.

So should you buy it?

Well, at the end of the day, you’ll have to decide whether or not the Ricoh GR III is for you, especially if you’re looking at other point and shoot cameras like the Fujifilm X100V. With the Ricoh GR III, it’s priced at $967, while some of the other versions such as the Diary Edition that I bought is priced at $1017. It’s expensive, but as I’ve given all my reasons why I love the camera, I have not regretted purchasing the Ricoh GR III whatsoever.

And that wraps it up for today. I hope you found my first impressions of the Ricoh GR III helpful. If you have any questions or if you've used this camera before, feel free to leave a comment down below and let me know what you think about the camera.