Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat camera if it fits your needs
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2019
Those interested in the Ricoh GR series of cameras know of its place in the industry. It's not your choice to shoot professional sports, it's not your choice to film cinematic video, it's not your choice when you want ultra high ISO performance, and it's not your choice if you need pinpoint tracking. Let's get that out of the way. Let's also get the fact that it doesn't have a flash, the battery life is subpar, and that it doesn't have TAv, doesn't have the exposure comp rocker.
For all it doesn't do/can't do, it has a lot going for it. It's a super small package, has a fantastic APS-C sensor, and the layout and button placement is top notch. The touch screen is pretty nicely implemented, not as good as the Canon/Panasonic touch screen implementation, but better than Olympus and Sony. I'm a long time fan of the GR series, had the original GR (released in 2013) on 3 separate occasions. Each time I sold it because I thought it was unnecessary, but kept on going back to it. Skipped the GRII because it wasn't that much better than the III (thought I did buy it two weeks ago to hold me over for the III).
The AF is definitely improved over the original and the II, but still not what I would call a speed demon. And Ricoh knows this and you should too. The inclusion of phase detect has made it slightly better, but because of the layout and the lens moves back and forth to acquire auto focus, it's not the fastest out there. But other fixed lens cameras share similar tendencies such as the X100 series, the X70, and others. Snap focus is the highlight of the GR cameras and the inclusion of the touch to focus makes it much easier to use. Being able to choose touch to move AF, touch to move focus points and also AF, and also touch to move focus points, AF, and fire is a good touch. The GRIII's attention to detail and features eliminates most of the "Why doesn't this work in this mode?" that other cameras suffer from.
Yes the battery life stinks. Rated at 200 shots, after you cycle a few times, you'll get that number if you shoot normally (take a few shots, power off, power on, take a few shots, power off, etc). After consistent use the body will heat up more than the old one, you could tell that it's a power hungry beast. I've gotten as few as 110 shots/clips and as many as 320. But there are lots of generics that are compatible, much like the older GR/GRII which you could use several different branded batteries, just look up for GRIII compatible batteries (I believe ones made for the Olympus TG Tracker are compatible).
The lens is super sharp. Macro mode is improved to as close as 6cm. Sharp at 2.8, gets better at f4, but I have no issues shooting at 2.8. The X100/X70 at macro range is soft, and doesn't get sharp until 5.6 or so, but the GR is fine at 2.8.
Video quality isn't the best, but it'll do in a pinch. IBIS helps with video greatly over the II. Certainly not my first choice since it only does 1080/60 not 4k, and no mic/headphone jacks, but again, it'll do for casual clips of my kids. Anything more serious I'll use my a7III.
Picture profiles are really nice, not as well known as the Fuji film simulations, but useable. Like the fact that it outputs DNG natively.
The fact that you could have such a powerful little camera in a small package allows me to carry it around in small bag, use the wrist strap, and not worry about carrying a heavy bag. As long as you know the limitations that it has going into it, you'll be more than happy with the end result. Do I wish it was cheaper? Who wouldn't. But I could see this being my daily carry and use. It is improved over the GRII in most ways. Startup is faster, AF point movement is faster, the use of face detect in standard shooting mode and not just auto mode is great. It doesn't have a flash (which I never used), it doesn't have TAv, it doesn't have a exposure comp rocker (which I never used and accidentally hit a lot of times). I have the A7III but I've used it less and less and have used the GR series more and more lately. No, this isn't the camera to rule them all. But for what it does, in the size that it does it in, it's a great option.
