The RICOH GR III is a compact APS-C camera with a fixed prime lens and minimalist design aimed at street photographers. It's remarkably portable and can easily fit into a pocket or small bag, but it may be too small for those with larger hands to use comfortably. Its built-in lens has a 28mm equivalent focal length, which is a wide enough angle to capture everyday moments and street scenes, and it has a crop function for its sensor if you prefer to shoot at 35mm or 50mm. The lens has a built-in neutral density filter to reduce the amount of light entering the camera, and its 24.24-megapixel sensor delivers excellent image quality with minimal visual noise at higher ISO settings; this makes it well-suited to shooting in more dimly-lit conditions. That said, its autofocus system isn't very effective, and it has a very limited battery life, though this can vary with real-world usage. It also isn't well-suited to shooting video, as it lacks 4k recording capability, delivers poor video quality in FHD, and has very few inputs and outputs.
Our Verdict
The RICOH GR III is decent for travel photography. It delivers excellent image quality and performs well even in low light. It's remarkably compact and easy to take with you on the go. It also feels well-built and has a very bright screen that can easily overcome glare in sunny conditions. Unfortunately, its battery life is poor, and its autofocus system isn't very reliable with tracking moving subjects.
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Excellent image quality.
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Incredibly portable.
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Bright screen easily combats glare.
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Poor battery life.
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Unreliable autofocus.
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May be uncomfortable for those with larger hands.
The RICOH GR III is great for landscape photography. It delivers excellent overall image quality and has great dynamic range to bring out a wider range of detail in landscape shots. While its built-in lens has a fixed focal length, it has a wide enough field of view for landscapes, and its built-in neutral density filter can help you take longer exposure shots. It's also remarkably compact, so it's easy to take with you to remote shooting locations. However, its minimalist design may not be the most comfortable to shoot with, depending on your ergonomic preferences.
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Excellent image quality.
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Incredibly portable.
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Built-in ND filter.
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Great dynamic range.
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May be uncomfortable for those with larger hands.
The RICOH GR III isn't suitable for sport and wildlife photography. While it delivers excellent image quality, it has a limited continuous shooting mode that can only shoot at 4 fps. Its fixed focal length isn't well-suited to this use since you can't zoom in on far-away subjects, and depending on what aperture you use, its shutter speed is also limited and may not be fast enough for very quick action.
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Excellent image quality.
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Incredibly portable.
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Feels well-built.
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Poor continuous shooting speed.
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Fixed focal length.
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Unreliable autofocus.
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Shutter speed is limited depending on aperture setting.
The RICOH GR III is a poor choice for vlogging. While it's very portable and easy to carry around, it can't shoot in 4k, and its FHD video quality is underwhelming. It also has a fixed screen, so you can't easily monitor yourself while recording. Also, its autofocus system doesn't support any tracking features in video, making it nearly impossible to keep yourself in focus while vlogging with the lens facing you. It also tends to overheat and shut down when recording continuously for longer periods.
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Incredibly portable.
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Fixed screen.
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Can't shoot 4k video.
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Poor FHD video quality.
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Doesn't support auto tracking.
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Battery overheats easily when recording video.
The RICOH GR III isn't suitable for studio video. While it has an easy-to-use menu system with extensive options, the camera can't shoot video in 4k, and its FHD video quality is poor. It doesn't support autofocus tracking when shooting video either, and it only has a USB-C port, with no HDMI port, microphone jack, or headphone jack. It has a limited recording time limit and tends to overheat and shut down when recording for longer periods.
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Incredibly portable.
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Can't shoot 4k video.
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Poor FHD video quality.
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Doesn't support auto tracking.
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Battery overheats easily when recording video.
The RICOH GR III isn't suitable for action video. While it's very portable, it isn't designed for helmet or chest mounts. It's not rated to be water-resistant either. It can only shoot video in FHD, and video quality is poor overall, although it does an excellent job smoothing out camera shake.
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Incredibly portable.
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Can't shoot 4k video.
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Poor FHD video quality.
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Doesn't support auto tracking.
- 7.2 Travel Photography
- 8.2 Landscape Photography
- 6.4 Sport & Wildlife Photography
- 4.0 Vlogging
- 3.8 Studio Video
- 3.8 Action Video
- Updated Dec 14, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.12.
- Updated Nov 21, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.11.
- Updated Sep 23, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.10.
- Updated Aug 04, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.9.
- Updated Jun 06, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
- Updated Sep 22, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Sep 20, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The RICOH GR III comes in two color variants: 'Black' and the 'Metallic Gray' Street Edition. We tested the Black variant, but we expect the Street Edition to perform similarly.
Let us know if you come across another variant or your RICOH GR III doesn't correspond to our review, and we'll update it.
You can see our unit's label here.
Compared To Other Cameras
The Fujifilm X100V is better overall than the RICOH GR III. Both cameras use APS-C sensors and deliver excellent image quality, but they use different focal lengths that may suit different preferences. The Fujifilm has a 35mm equivalent lens, while the RICOH has a 28mm equivalent lens, though it also comes in a GR IIIx variant with a 40mm lens. Otherwise, the Fujifilm camera offers more features, including a tilting screen, a hybrid viewfinder, a better autofocus system, and better video capabilities. However, the RICOH may suit you better if portability is a priority since it's much more compact than the Fuji.
Test Results
You can see the camera's portability with its lens fully extended here.
- Magnesium alloy body with a minimalist design
- Easy for dust to get through the lens mechanism and into the camera
- Front lens ring is easily detached and may be easily lost or broken
- Mode dial is sturdy and locks into place to prevent accidentally changing camera modes
- Buttons feel solid
- Rear dial feels a bit flimsy
- USB-C port covered by a simple rubber flap
- SD card/battery compartment is covered by a locking hinged door
- RICOH GR III camera
- DB-110 battery
- AC adapter
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Hot shoe cover
- Wrist strap
- User manual
- Camera is compact and may be too small for those with larger hands to hold comfortably
- Unlike many other cameras, the 'Fn' button doesn't bring up the quick menu but rather is a customizable button
- The 'ADJ' button brings up a custom options menu
- Easy to reach buttons on camera with your thumb, and overall it's easy to use with one hand if needed
- Dedicated buttons for shutter speed and aperture make it easy to adjust these settings on the fly
- Need to press 'ISO' button on the rear dial to change ISO
- Fixed screen makes it more difficult to shoot from lower angles and still see what you're capturing
- Extensive menu with a lot of options, but it uses simple language and a simple interface, making it easy to find settings
- Pressing the 'ADJ' dial gives you access to a customizable quick menu, which you can see here
- Can navigate the menu using the touchscreen
- No guide mode to explain settings to novice users
Note: The RICOH GR III has a built-in neutral density (ND) filter for its lens that affects how much light the camera lets in, allowing you to shoot at slower shutter speeds for longer exposure shots or use a larger aperture than you would be able to otherwise.
Note: We experienced a few shutdowns due to overheating while testing the camera's battery performance. You may experience the same when recording video continuously for longer periods, after which you have to wait for it to cool down before using it again.
Note: The RICOH GR III only has one continuous shooting drive mode that shoots at 4 fps, but for consistency, we've simply noted the continuous shooting speed in each field.
Note: The RICOH GR III has a built-in neutral density (ND) filter. We measured the above results with the ND filter set to 'Auto' since that's the camera's default setting. The difference it makes in luminance noise is very minor, but for comparison, you can see the graph achieved with the ND filter disabled here.
Note: When recording video, this camera incurs a 1.2x crop compared to its photo mode.
Note: The recording time limit is either 25 minutes or a 4GB file size, depending on which you reach first.
Note: While this camera supports continuous autofocus in video mode, it doesn't have any automatic tracking features, meaning the user has to manually select different focus points using the touchscreen. In 'Auto' mode, the focus kept chasing and pulsing, and it was difficult for the lens to establish focus.
