Ricoh GR III: Ricoh’s Compact APS-C Camera Finally Gets In-Body Stabilization And More

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Like many, we enjoy the portability of compact cameras, but find it hard to live with the image quality you can squeeze out of 1-inch and smaller sensors.  Luckily, there have been a few compact offerings housing an APS-C sensor, allowing us to shoot images comparable to DSLR quality without the cumbersome size. It’s one of the reason why Ricoh’s GR line has grown to become a cult favorite and, this year, it’s getting a refresh in the form of the Ricoh GR III.

That’s right, the pocket-friendly APS-C shooter is back with a new model, which brings several notable improvements over its predecessor. Seriously, it’s quite the big step up over the GR II, making this a camera owners of the previous model might actually want to trade in for.

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The Ricoh GR III has a new 24.2-megapixel APS-C sensor, which it pairs with a fixed 28mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens and the outfit’s GR Engine 6, allowing it to produce 14-bit DNG and JPEG stills, as well as full HD video at 60 fps. The lens can focus at close distances of up to 2.4 inches in macro setting, while sporting an all-new design that makes it 1.5mm thinner than the model’s previous iterations. There’s also two crop modes, 35mm at 15MP and 50mm at 7MP, that allow you to simulate the appearance of images captured using longer focal lenses, along with higher ISO support, ranging from 100 to 102,400 (a big leap from its predecessor’s 25,600 ceiling).

A first for the line, this newest iteration comes with sensor-shift stabilization that allows for up to four stops of compensation, courtesy of a three-axis shake reduction system to help render sharper handheld shots even at slower shutter speeds. According to Ricoh, this stabilization has been optimized specifically for the integrated lens, rather than adapted from a larger camera, allowing them to make it as compact as possible to keep the camera’s size in check.

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The Ricoh GR III sports a redesigned control scheme in the rear to promote a more secure and more comfortable grip (via a larger thumb grip), while allowing easy access to the physical controls. Speaking of controls, the camera offers multiple dials, as well as a programmable ADJ lever and function button, to go with the touchscreen interface on the 3-inch LCD panel (yes, the GR series finally has a touchscreen).  It has 2GB of integrated storage, with an SD card slot for expanding the amount of media you can capture.

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Other features include a built-in mic (no word on whether there’s input for an external one), built-in Bluetooth LE, built-in Wi-Fi, a USB Type-C slot (supports both charging and data transfer), and a 1,350mAh battery. No word on how many shots you can take between charges, though. Oh yeah, it no longer has that pop-up flash that you never bother using anyway, so you can just mount your own flash via a hot shoe connection.

Scheduled for availability mid-March, the Ricoh GR III will be priced at $900.

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23 Responses

  1. The problem with cameras like the Ricoh GR III is that they make it very difficult, if not impossible, to get a good blurred bokeh background. You either need to be directly in front of the subject and us macro mode, but that still doesn’t work. You shouldn’t be using macro mode anyways when you are shooting portraits.

    This camera is good for the photographer who wants a camera to stick in his pocket for the times he doesn’t want to carry a heavy DSLR and lens around.

    My iPhone 10 is much easier to get bokeh on than a small camera like this.

    I am interested in how well the in-camera stabilization works, especially compared to a similar camera with the Canon G7 X Mark ii.

    1. If you want great bokeh then stay away from pint and shoot cameras. The iPhone X does make great Bokeh, but it is actually just an illusion and created in camera and not from the lens. It is simply a filter added to the image. It does lool great, but not truly bokeh

    2. It is very difficult to get bokeh with a smaller camera like this, but the tradeoff is that it is much easier to carry with you than a DSLR.

  2. The Ricoh GR III is an upgrade in some ways over its predecessor, the Ricoh GR II. In other ways, I much prefer the older model.

    The improvements are many including the Ultrasonic dust removal. The dust removal is a feature that is much needed on cameras. Canon has failed to implement something so cameras such as their G7x get ravished by dust that easily penetrates the lens area.

    Hopefully, the shake reduction in the camera works better than the the GR2.

    The negatives of this camera are primarily the lack of flash. This camera is $900, and I can pick up a similar camera with the G7X Mark II for $500 brand new that has a built-in flash. The GR II has flash, so it’s mindlessly stupid that they removed for the updated version. It will work with the Pentax flash, but that’s an additional cost and could have easily built a simpler flash into the camera. I cannot see many Youtubers or vacation vloggers using this because of the lack of flash.

    They removed the flash to make the Ricoh GR III camera smaller than the prior version, but they crippled it in the process.

    1. Not everybody wants internal flash. If you are someone who prefers external flash and a small body, then the Ricoh GR II could make a lot of sense. Not all cameras like these are sold to amateurs, there are professionals who use these like specialty cameras and it works perfectly for their needs.

    2. The Canon G7 X Mark ii is an amazing camera, but dust always penetrates the lens and it has no external mic plugin. For the price though, it seems a much better value than the Ricoh GR III.

      You definitely won’t be seeing many Yutbers using the Ricoh GR III for daily vlogging. At the price of this, I think you’d be better off going with the Canon G7X Mark ii or just get a DSLR. The Entry-level Canon Rebel is much more versatile than the Ricoh GR III and also a lot cheap

  3. If the camera is smaller and they removed the flash, then why does it weight a tad bit more than the GRII?

    1. They added new stuff inside for better image stabilization, and that’s why the weight is slightly higher. Well worth the trade-off if you ask me.

  4. Does the GRIII focus faster than the GRII? If is is not faster then I wuld avoid it. It gets really annying, esoecially when attemting macro shots.

  5. There are less assignable buttons on this camera. I prefer to have more choice in assigning buttons without being forced into using the touchscreen to change into the mode I desire. No way I would buy the GR III, especially for the $900 they want for it. I will happily pick up another GRII now though since the price on those will start dropping when people begin selling to buy the GR III.

    1. Price on the used market for the GRII will jump higher than it is now once people realize that the GRIII took away all the features that you used to have with the GRII.

  6. I have no idea why this camera exists. For average consumers looking for a point and shoot, this is too expensive. You can get similar features in other brands for these “prosumer” higher-end point and shoot cameras. For the professional looking for quality pics from a point and shoot for an easily portable camera, it may be worth it, but I can’t really see professional photographers who are used to the versatility of DSLRS being happy with this camera. Who is the intended consumer for this camera? I really do not know and I don’t think that Ricoh/Pentax understands it either, which is really unfortunate.

  7. I can get bokeh with my GR II, but you do have to setup for it. For portraits, you can get bokeh with the subject directly in front of the backdrop, but with higher-end point and shoots like these, you need to have the background as far away from the subject as possible. It may not work well for bokeh in the studio, but for street photography, the GR II is amazing for bokeh with the backgrounds distant from the subject. I am excited to see the update to this camera. I am most interested in the improved camera stability.

  8. The Ricoh GR III is different enough from the GR II that they should have given this camera a different model name. The Ricoh GR III does have some positives too it, but its also missing some vital features.

    Lack of flash is something that makes it unusable for me. I prefer to use off camera flash, but I cannot always take my flash with me. I just want to stick the camera in my pocket when I go out, and then if anything interesting occurs I will pull it out. Oftentimes I require a flash and use the built-in flash. You can always find a camera in my pocket, but you can never find an external flash unit on me.

    I am also surprised that this version has less programmable buttons than the other one. This is just another way that they crippled the camera from reaching its full potential.

    1. This isn’t just a mid-tier point and shoot, but a mid-tier point and shoot camera designed for real photographers. You don’t need to be a professional to use the Ricoh GR III, but you shouldn’t be griping about this camera. Everybody here is complaining about the lack of flash. How many pro photographers use built-in flash regularly? An external flash is where it is at, and the Ricoh GR III works well with the Penta external flash unit. If you are not buying this camera because it doesn’t have a built-in flash, then you probably are not the type of photographer who would be able to fully utilize this camera to its optimal use.

      1. There is a lot of demand for cameras like this that can take high-quality pictures but pack away inside of your pocket. There are some “professionals” who will utilize a camera like this on occasion, but the vast majority of professionals are using DSLRs. A camera like this is most often used by the Instagrammer who is looking to increase the quality of their images once they realize they have outgrown their cell phone camera.

  9. The Ricoh GR III has trouble focusing quickly in low-light situations.

    The camera is not weathered sealed and it is easy for dust to enter the lens. They choose to go with the retractable lens so the camera would be easier to carry, but I would prefer they used a non-retractable lens to avoid the dust on the lens problems. The Ricoh GR III is often used for street photography, so not being properly weather sealed makes this camera easily damaged from regular use outside. They did add the ultrasonic vibrations so the camera can shake off dust, but it is far from perfect and dust will still get stuck inside your lens.

    I like that the lens ring is removable, so you can add on the wide-angle lens for wider shots.

    The Ricoh GR III has a lot of benefits over the Ricoh GR II, but I would rather have kept my Ricoh GR II. I was shocked when I discovered that they had removed the focus lock button on the Ricoh GR III. That was the feature used by many street photographers, and now it is gone. Why do we pay more money for this camera that has many positive things removed from it? They should have just taken the Ricoh GR II, slapped in the new features, added better weatherproofing, and left all the buttons and rest of the design alone. It’s a shame because Pentax could have hit the market strong, but instead, the Ricoh GR III will be a low-sales camera that is mainly used by smaller nices such as Lego stopmotion movie makers.

  10. The Ricoh GR III will be my new street photography camera when it arrives. I going to pre-order it off of Amazon when it is available and cannot wait.

    The lack of internal flash does not bother me because I rarely use flash, because the majority of all my shots are daytime street photos. If I got brave I could use an external flash for my street photography as the legendary Bruce Gilden does.

    The GR Engine III will help to drastically reduce noise in darker shots.

    I am curious as to why almost every camera still offers VGA support. Does anyone still shoot VGA? If so, why?

  11. The Ricoh GR III looks like a great pocket camera. A Large sensor and works great in low light conditions. There is a lot to love with this camera.

    In order to use the GR Digital III files, their website says you need to use a Windows Computer. Why no support for Apple? My guess is most people with Apple computers will be editing with Adobe or something else MAC compatible already.

    The price is really great for what you get, but for much less you can get an entry-level Canon Rebel DSLR. It won’t be as portable in your pocket, but you can always buy a multitude of lenses and filters which cannot be used on the GR III point and shoot camera.

    1. No person should use the image editing software from any camera manufacturer. They are always too buggy. Anybody who needs to edit their images are already using Lightroom or something similar.

  12. The GR III does have a big increase in the sensor resolution. The video specs are severely lacking though. I can’t see anybody buying this for camera primarily for video except for vloggers. For video, I am not impressed at all with this camera, but this camera shines on the image quality side of things.

    I bet the GR IV will have the flash back because I can see a Ricoh losing a lot of sales to other brands because off the lack of flash in this.

  13. Leica sells an $8,000 camera with no flash. You often don’t need flash depending upon the type of photography you do. I own a Canon G7X Mark ii and use it for star photography. The Canon G7X Mark ii has a built-in flash, yet I never use it. When I first bought the camera I tested the flash out, and haven’t used it since. Nice to have? I guess, but I don’t use it. My point is, don’t rule out the Ricoh GR III just because it doesn’t have in-camera flash. For star photography, my G7X Mark ii will work much better than the Ricoh GR III, but if I was doing street photography I would much rather have the Ricoh camera.

    I like that Ricoh didn’t just add in-camera stabilization, but they allow you to choose from 4 different settings depending upon your needs.

  14. I am hoping they do a firmware update real soon on this camera. The problem is that when you use the “touch screen” to snap a picture, it is required to focus first. They need to have an option where you can focus the camera on something viewable on the screen, and then touch anywhere on the screen to take a picture without it refocusing again.

    Might be the best value street photography camera on the market right now!

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