This is my review of the Ricoh GRIII a pocket sized powerhouse that was introduced in 2019. In this review I’ll tell you about my experience with the GRIII and if it can be a good option for you.
Why the Ricoh GRIII
I’ve went back and forth many times before buying the GR III. My main camera’s are big and bulky units that aren’t always a pleasure to lug around for a whole day. Mainly when I’m going out and photography isn’t my main goal I tend to leave the big camera’s at home. So for several years I’ve been trying to find that one small camera that will be enough of an upgrade compared to my iPhone, while being small enough to take with you all the time.
I’ve tried the Sony RX100V (and even the quirky RX0 mark II), but found the images out of the 1 inch sensor too flat and not enough of an upgrade compared to my iPhone. I’ve tried the Nikon Z fc, which is a fun camera, but doesn’t fit in my pocket. I even tried an old Sony A7 with a 28mm f/2 prime. But that doesn’t fit in my pocket either. So the advantage over taking my main camera isn’t big enough.
But then I remembered that back in the day I had a Nikon Coolpix A. A small(ish) camera with APS-C size sensor and a 28mm (equivalent) f/2.8 lens. That was a fantastic little camera, but the auto focus was very slow and annoying. But I had loads of fun with it. So if only there was a brand making a small, APS-C sensor camera with a 28mm equivalent lens….
Most important specifications of the Ricoh GRIII
- 24 megapixel APS-C size sensor without AA filter
- 18.3mm f/2.8 lens (28mm full frame equivalent)
- Minimum focusing distance in macro mode 6 cm
- Hybrid auto focus with phase and contrast detection
- Built in sensor stabilisation with dust removal and AA filter simulation
- Touchscreen
- USB-C port with in body charging
- It also does 1080p60 video
See Ricoh website for the full specs.
The body and build
The Ricoh GR III is almost comically small when you take it out of the box the first time. It is just over 10 cm wide and 6 cm high. And the depth is just over 3 cm. That makes it smaller but a little deeper than my iPhone. The body is made of magnesium alloy making it both durable and light weight. The whole camera with the battery and SD card weighs just over 250 grams.
I’ve bought the Diary Edition, which is a special version that comes in a warm grey tint with dark brown rubber parts and a silver lens ring. The Diary Edition was a limited version that came in a kit with a special case and strap. But because of the success of that version they’ve made it a normally available version, but only missing the case and strap. There are other special editions with different colours, but I very much like the soft grey finish.
The body of the Ricoh GR III doesn’t have weather sealing, so you have to be careful when using it in rainy conditions. I did put a screen protector on the back screen so I don’t have to worry about scratching it when putting it in a pocket.
Controls of the Ricoh GRIII
You might think that a small body like this has limited control options, but you would be wrong. On the top you have a small on/off button (that subtly lights up in green when the camera is on – you can turn that off for stealthy operation), the big shutter button and the PSAM wheel (or M, TV, AV, P in Ricoh terms). All controls (minus the wifi/ video button), both on the top, front and back are on the right side of the camera making it easy to use one handed.
On the front and top- back you have two control dials. When in A mode the front dial controls apterture. The back wheel is more of a toggle since you can’t fully rotate it but just move it left to right. That controls exposure compensation by default. You can also click on the wheel to reveal some use settable menu options (I have it set to AF control and image control as my first options). The only thing you can’t add to this quick-menu is the ND-filter setting. That would have been nice.
On the back you will find the other controls like the programmable FN button, playback button and the control wheel with direct access to ISO, macro white balance and drive mode. Below that are the menu and display button to complete the control layout.
It has to be said that Ricoh managed to give you a lot of options to quickly control the camera, despite the body being so small. You quickly feel that the designers are photographers themselves and that they really understand the need to quickly adapt to changing situations. And even the menu structure is easy to use and navigate. Not up to Leica standards, but I found it easier to learn than Canon or Fuji menu’s.
Speed
The Ricoh GR III is a quick camera in several ways. First is the start-up time. After pressing the on/off button you can make your first image within about 0,8 seconds. And because the lens has a built-in lens protection there’s no need to remove a lens cover. So there’s no need to miss an opportunity waiting for the camera to boot (the Coolpix A was much, much slower).
Autofocus is also quite quick, but there is a caveat. It is quick in good light, quick-ish in decent light and a little slow in low light. I found the AF to be very accurate and tracking and eye/ face detection to work very decent. Not up to to Sony A1 levels, but very workable.
And the camera has a little trick up its sleeve in the form of snap focus. This is user settable pre defined focusing distance that can be set from 0,5 to 5m in 0,5 meter increments or infinity. Once set the camera will default to this focus setting if you depress the shutter release completely without letting the camera focus first. This is very helpful in situations where you don’t have the time to focus first and just want to get the image. It does require you to do some zone focusing and think about where your expected target is going to be. But with the 28mm lens and the aperture closed to f/5.6 or f/8 you do have some wiggle room.
Stabilisation
While I don’t want to discredit all the other features in the camera, this is the thing that has impressed me the most. The stabilisation in the Ricoh GR III is not just a gimmick, but a very effective tool. Even when holding the camera one-handed I can get razor sharp images up to about 1/10th – 1/15th of a second. I like that very much. This, combined with the decent high ISO performance and the f/2.8 lens means you can take very nice images with very little light. Especially for street and travel photography this is fantastic. Images that would require a tripod in the past can now be taken hand-held with this tiny wonder!
Image quality – sensor
The image quality out of the Ricoh GR III is fantastic, in several ways. Let me explain.
First there is the very capable sensor. With 24 megapixels and a decent dynamic range you won’t be scaring any recent full frame sensors, but the image quality is still very good. There is no AA filter built in/on the sensor, so you have access to the full sharpness the 24 megapixels have to offer. I’ve set the auto ISO to go up to ISO6400 and have no problem with the images at this ISO. Yes, there is noise but the noise doesn’t look too bad and the JPEG engine in the camera will clean it up for the JPEG images. And if you need better quality you can always use the RAW DNG files and run them through PureRAW. The dynamic range is good so when you have a lot of contrast in the image you can still pull quite a lot of detail out of the shadows. Just remember to keep the ISO as low as possible for this.
Image quality – lens
Then there is the fantastic 28mm full frame equivalent lens. This lens is very sharp and handles flares very well. The lens combined with the AA-filter-less sensor makes for images that are crispy. And I don’t mean sharp for the size of the camera, but sharp. Period. I found that the lens is already much sharper than I ever need at f/2.8 and as you stop down a little it only gets better. Since I like to play with the depth of field I normally set the lens to f/2.8 and left it there. I only close down the aperture when I need more depth of field, but never felt the need to stop down to improve sharpness.
With a 28mm (eq.) f/2.8 lens the depth of field isn’t very small, so normally there aren’t too many options to blow the background out of focus. But the out of focus area’s look good for a wide angle lens. Don’t expect creamy bokeh, but it isn’t distracting either. And when you do get close to your subject you will get some good looking out of focus area’s and the transition also isn’t bad either. So while you probably won’t buy this as an alternative to your Laowa Argus f/0.95 lens, the bokeh is pretty decent for what it is.
Image quality – film simulations
And the last thing we have to talk about is the JPEG film simulation modes. The camera (in 2025) comes with several pre-sets for the JPEG’s. You have the standard colour, vivid and standard black & white. But you also get 3 very nice other Black & White profiles that are soft B&W, hard B&W and High Contrast B&W, And there are the positive and negative film simulations, which are my favourite color profiles. You also get some specials like HDR, Bleach Bypass and retro.
And you have the option to save 2 personal profiles. Those can be based on the built in profiles and you have the option to adjust just about everything about it. This is a fun option to create your own favourite style, but you can also download an app with Ricoh Recipes. That comes with profiles others have made you can copy to your camera. I love this option, there is a lot of inspiration in the app that offer great starting points for you own profile.
Built-in filters
The Ricoh GRIII comes with a built-in 2 stop ND filter. That comes in handy when shooting wide open in bright light. In that case the filter is automatically applied when the camera notices the maximum shutter speed of 1/4000th isn’t enough. But you can also activate it manually for creative effects like smoothing out water or blurring people. A fun option to have.
Combined with the very effective stabilisation system we are giving photo accessories suppliers sleepless nights. We don’t need a tripod, we don’t need ND filters, we might even be okay without a bag….
There is also a new model of the Ricoh GRIII, the GRIII HDF. This model replaces the built-in ND filter for a High Diffusion Filter. The effect is about the same as the currently popular black mist filters. The filter diffuses highlights and makes them shine/ glitter. A fun effect, especially for night photography.
Battery life of the Ricoh GRIII
Battery life of the Ricoh GRIII has got a bad rep online. But I have to say I can’t fully agree. Yes, you will need more than one battery when you are shooting hundreds of photos during a full day. But I can easily take 200+ photo’s on one battery. That is with turning the camera off when I don’t need it.
Perhaps if you are an avid street shooter that has the camera ‘on’ all the time not to miss a single shot it’s going to be a problem. But for regular shooting I don’t think it is a big deal. I have 3 batteries in total, so I tend to bring at least one spare. But most of the time I don’t need it at all.
Who is the Ricoh GRIII for?
The most logical answer is: street photographers. And I agree it is a very good camera for that purpose. But limiting the camera to just that genre isn’t doing it justice. I use it as a versatile every day cary (EDC) and family camera and it’s performs very well for that task.
It is small enough to just bring, even when I don’t have photography as my main goal. The autofocus is more than good enough for this use and the face/ eye detection works very good for the occasional portrait.
Ricoh GRIII vs. Ricoh GRIIIx
An important and also difficult choice for many photographers is whether to get the Ricoh GRIII or the GRIIIx. The original GRIII will give you a more wide-angle 28mm lens (full frame equivalent). The GRIIIx has a tighter crop with a 40mm equivalent lens. Which one is the best for you is a personal matter. Many people like and know 35mm, but that is the one option you don’t get with Ricoh.
For me the choice was quite simple. In the past I’ve owned both the Nikon 28mm and 40mm lenses and used them quite a lot. I like both focal lengths and believe they can both be used for allround photography, travel and people. But the 40mm is better when your focus is on people first and the rest second. And the 28mm is perfect for travel and allround and an occasional portrait. Since my goal is everyday life, travels and family photo’s the 28mm is the best for me. For ‘real’ family photo’s and portraits I tend to use my Leica.
Ricoh GRIII vs. Leica D-Lux 8 vs. FujiFilm X100VI
The most important competitors for the GRIII are the Leica D-Lux 8 and FujiFilm X100VI. There are some interchangeable lens cameras that might also be a good alternative, but most of them are bigger. Camera’s like the new FujiFilm X-M5 or the Sony A6400 are about the same size, but as soon as you add even a small lens they won’t fit a normal pocket anymore. And adding interchangeable lenses complicates things compared to just having a fixed lens.
The Leica D-Lux 8 is a very nice little camera. For me it was a serious contender to add to my Leica SL2-S instead of the Ricoh. The D-Lux 8 menu system is about the same as my SL2-S, which is fantastic. It is a little bigger than the Ricoh GRIII, but in exchange it offers a 24-70mm equivalent zoom lens. You do have to accept the smaller Micro 4/3 sensor of which not the full width is used. That will have an impact on image quality (low light) and ‘depth’ of the image that is only partly compensated by the fast f/1.8-2.8 lens.
The FujiFilm X100VI is also quite a lot bigger than the Ricoh GRIII (and also bigger than the D-Lux 8). The X100VI has the same size APS-C sensor as the Ricoh, with an impressive 40 megapixel resolution. And the 35mm f/2 lens is one stop faster than the Ricoh. The size is a clear negative, but the sensor and lens are a plus compared to the Ricoh. You have to decide for yourself if that is worth the extra size and the extra 600 or more Euro/ Dollar investment.
Conclusion
When you are looking for an everyday carry camera, something small for travelling or documenting life the Ricoh GRIII is an option you shouldn’t overlook. The build, the menu system and controls and size make it a camera that is a pleasure to use. And, perhaps more importantly pleasure to have in your pocket when you leave your house.
And the fun continuous when you look at the results. The Ricoh GRIII offers high quality images, that are sharp, have depth, lovely colours. And the images look way better than your average phone photo. For maximum results you can use the DNG RAW files, but with the image settings you can also create great looking JPEG out of camera. So editing is optional but not needed to enjoy your photo’s.
Interested in buying a Ricoh GRIII for yourself? In the US: Get it at Adorama. In Europe: Get it at Camernu, Cameraland or Amazon.de
