As some of you know, I bought the GR III again. This time a Diary Edition.
I think at this point no one can accuse me of not giving the camera a proper chance! I bought it new and sold it 3 times in total, including this one.
Because yes, I sold it again.
I will try to keep this post brief and I will point you to the previous ones in case you want to know my detailed opinion on the GR III:
A few more words about the Ricoh GR III
Dust in the Ricoh GR II & my opinion about the GR IIIx
So, here’s the update.
The GR III Diary Edition didn’t overheat and didn’t become too hot to handle, like the previous two I owned (plus one that I borrowed from a friend).
So, this kinda proves my point that the heating depends on quality control, since different copies presented different intensity of warming.
I used the three cameras in the same environment, with same temperatures and in a similar ways, so the difference in heating can’t depend on me.
The last one just got warm instead of hot, and I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed. So, why did I sell it, if one of my main issues was seemingly gone?
To put it briefly, I didn’y enjoy using it. I tried, I really did. But in the end I understood I don’t like to use that camera.
The GR II has been (and still is) a truly inspiring camera for me. I love its out of camera colors and the look of its files, both jpg and raw. Its ergonomics is perfect and I find it to have a solid build.
The dust does enter, so I do have to open it and clean it from time to time, and that’s about it.
I just don’t like what they did to the GR III. Of course this is all subjective, and I am glad if you think differently and you enjoy your GR III.
Many seem to love the GR III, and there is no shortage of YouTubers professing their love for it. I especially noticed a trend of ex Olympus and Panasonic ambassadors now publishing many videos about the GR III.
But for me, The GR III lost what made me love the GR II.
For a start, I realized it is just too small for my taste. The GR II was a perfect compromise of handling and size, at least for my hands .
I also found the GR III to feel more delicate and fragile than the GR II: holding both, I could feel the GR II was more solid and it inspired me more trust.
Yes, we are talking about feelings here, because they are important, arguably as much as technical data, and sometimes even more.
Another big issue for me was with colors. Ah, the colors!
I felt in love with the GR II because it gave me exactly the colors I wanted.
I know that using the Positive Film I do get that look, so I pick the camera instead of another. The same goes for the Hi-Contrast BW.
With the GR III they changed everything and these color effects are gone, replaced by a more intricate color system that allows for lots of configuration but that gives me no out of box joy.
And yes, I tried lots of custom made combination of settings, and even if I got the occasional nice shot, I found the system to be sort of unreliable: the settings that worked in a lightĀ situation would produce different results in another, while the GR II Positive Film would give me the same aesthetic no matter the situation.
And this is something my clients and friends noticed as well.
Not being photographers, they didn’t delve into color science discussions, but instead commented simply and directly: the colors aren’t as nice as those of the GR II.
I donāt want or need to fiddle with color settings on the camera or adjust parameters like white balance compensation just to achieve a consistent look. Sure, I can do it if I want, but Iām not interested in doing it out of necessity.
The Pen-F offers a very good color in-camera customization, and I can use it for fine tuning the Color Profile 2 I mostly use, but I don’t have too: colors are already great, and customizing is just a creative choice.
My Ricoh GR II workflow is fast, immediate. I have no time to waste choosing and perfecting the settings for getting the colors I want depending on the scene and light.
For this reason, I ended up shooting the GR III in DNG and editing mostly in Dehancer or Photoshop in LAB mode. See? The joy of shooting and having that “wow moment” when seeing the photo and showing it to the client was gone. Because that “wow” is what happens with the GR II.
Clients love to see the colors as we shoot with the GR II. With the GR III I had to show them a bland preview and promise for a different edit later. If I want to shoot that way, I pick up one of my Nikon cameras and the 28mm 1.4 and I just shoot raw.
The GR II is a different experience. That camera is unique. The GR III is a very good compact digital camera, but while they added stabilization, resolution and more, they lost what made the GR II special. In my opinion anyway.
I ultimately decided I didn’t enjoy using the GR III and I sold it, using the money for donating to various Ukrainian organizations and individuals: at least something good came out from all that!
I am definitely not buying another GR III. I will keep my GR II and maybe try to find another used one that still works.
My GR II has some shutter issues (the dreaded black screen on startup, that goes away only after shooting a first blank photo) and I think it will soon stop working, so I am also looking for a place that can replace the shutter.
I’d like to stress out this blog is not about convincing anyone to like or dislike anything. It only presents my own point of view, reasoning and feelings about topics.
Many are in love with the GR III and found no issues with it. Things went differently for me, and being a long time GR user, I thought it would be a good idea to update my thoughts about this, after a third attempt at liking the camera.
There are rumors about a new Ricoh GR IV coming out in 2025. I don’t find them especially trustworthy but that’s what rumors are. I personally don’t expect Ricoh to go back to the GR II design and colors.
My opinion is that if a GR IV will happen, it will essentially evolve the direction of the GR III. Maybe a 33mp or 35mp sensor, maybe a slightly better battery life, maybe better video, some AI subject recognition nonsense. If that’s the case, I guess my love story with the GR will end at the GR II.
We will see!
Please consider helping us.
As many of you already know, I have been hosting a Ukrainian refugee family since the beginning of the war. They stayed here for more than 2 years and many of you helped them: I am very thankful to all of you.
They have now moved back to Ukraine, because the little baby needed to meet her father. The little one arrived here when she was 1yo and leaved when she was 3yo, and she had to meet her father, because he is in danger of being called to war. It’s heartbreaking.
They are trying to stay over there, knowing that if things become worse again, they still have a place to run to, here.
If you still want to help, you can donate to the same link.
I will forward all the money to them. No matter how much you donate, you could still do a big difference in their lives. Especially now that finding job became much harder and everything is uncertain.
Thank you from the deep of our hearts.
Hi Andrea,
I’m so happy that I still have the GRII (and one extra that was never unpacked, brand new) so GRIII was never on my mind. The cameras I own are all pre 2017. Another benefit from that is that I can still use LR 6.14 and not having to pay for a yearly subscription. After that it went downhill in my opinion. Thanks for another great blog.
Dear Susanne, I am so happy you still read my blog! Camera brands and software houses are surely trying to milk photographers as much as possible. I rarely have the feeling a company is invested in helping photographers find joy and get the most out of their money, and I believe it could be possible to do it and still exist in this business. It sometimes seem we live in some collective hallucination, where companies decide we all want AI, or we all want touchscreen like on the smartphone, or whatever is trendy at the moment, while there is very little will to innovate, to take risks, and to think about what could actually benefit the life of a photographer. Projects like the Ricoh GXR or the Sigma DP line are among the last attempts at trying something new. But I am digressing! Thanks again for reading, and for commenting.
Dear Andrea,
I am following, you’re work since quite some time.
I enjoy your enspiring photography and your partly philosophically posts.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your experience with the GR III. I went through the same learning curve. I loved my GRIII for its simplicity and its solid built.
However, after the GR III was for over two years on the market, I sold the GR II in ebay an bought a GR III.
What can I say. I had the impression, that the lense of the GR II was sharper (maybe a very good copy) and the RAW files showed more flexibility. Yes, with the GR III there was a slight gain in ISO, but nothing dramatic. After a while I swaped the GR III for a GR IIIx, because I thout it has to do with shifting my preference towards a more longer field of fiew. Anyway, using the GR III never felt like using the GR II. Eventually I sold it and dived into the world of MFT (Lumix GX9 and a couple lenses). Great camera and great system, but ISO was a bit limiting when I was shooting street in snap focus mode.
I sold all my MFT stuff again and endet up with a Sony a6000 and a6300 second hand in good contion. The one is paired with a 20mm f2.8 (30mm FF equiv.) and the other with a 18-135mm zoom (28-200mm FF equiv.). This set is small enough to cary it in a small bag and very versatile for street. I got two cameras (both with shuttercount < 3000 accutation) and the two lenses in good condition at the same cost of a new GR III.The Sony menue is somewhat creapy, but after two days I got used to it.
In my FF gear I went also through a long learning curve.
Started digital with Canon and swaped to Nikon in 2016 because for my wild life photography the ISO flexibility of Nikon was way better.
In parallel I used a second Hand Leica M9 for my other work.
In 2019 I bought a second Hand Leica SL 601 and sold my Nikon Gear and the Leica M9. With the SL I could use my M-Lense and cover my wild life photography. The Leica SL 601 turned out to fullfill all my needs and I could do a lot of projects with it.
Than I made the mistake to swap the SL 601 in 2022 for a second hand SL2-S.
What happened? It turned out, that the SL2 was not as solid build as the SL 601. The IBIS lead to blurry images due to "shutter shock effect". And after 8 month of use, the rupper lining teard off.
End of story, I sold the SL2 and got a second hand SL601 instead and I am happy again. I life with a little less ISO performace, but have again the relyabel tool I appreciate so much.
Leica became now a life style company, which works perfectly fine for them. The company made last year the highest revenue in thei history.
What can I say. I am happy with my 10 year old cameras. They doing the job. They where developed in a time, when the design departements in this companies where focusing more on the needs of a photographer.
I forgot to mention that I worked for a couple of years with a Sigma DP2 Merill. An amazing camera with amazing results. I was hoping for the Sigma full frame foveon sensor camera, but it never came. Shame!
Please apologise my long comment.
I wish you and your beloved a merry cristmas and a happy new year.
And I wish your ukraine guests peace for their country.
Kind regards,
Josef Schoenlinner
PS: please apologies my rather mediocre english, but my italian is much worse š
Thank you for your comment and for sharing your story, Josef! It was very interesting to read. I have never used the Leica SL system. It’s good you found in the 601 a camera that supports your creativity.
I agree with your sentence “I am happy with my 10 year old cameras. They doing the job. They where developed in a time, when the design departements in this companies where focusing more on the needs of a photographer.”
This is the core issue I think: camera brands are working more for the market and for profits than for photographers. I understand they are for profit companies and they need to do this, it’s all fair, but I can see the tendency of turning cameras into electronic devices with planned obsolescence, and a constant push for upgrading, instead of building solid and well thought tools for creating photography. A prime example is the refusal of Nikon and Canon to put IBIS inside their dSLR line: Pentax showed it is possible, and it would have made a big difference, especially with high resolution bodies. But Canon and Nikon decided they had to run after Sony and start making cameras that look more and more like TV controllers.
Your English is absolutely understandable, and mine is not that much better š
Thank you again for reading and commenting the blog!
Lol, camera manufacturers love people like you. You are not a photographer, you are an obsessive gear nerd. Concentrate on making photos and stop changing your gear. You gear isn’t the problem, you are. I use a D700 in 2026. That is a 12MP FF camera that is nearly 20 years old and gives me everything I need.
It’s strange how what should be objective is so subjective :-). I’ve been using GRs since Day 0 (film GR1, no letter), and I can honestly say my favourite is the GRIII. Note though, I shoot raw only – I’ve tried colour profiles and none deliver what I want. I find the usability of the GRIII perfect (well, apart from no EVF), although I had serious doubts that they’d gone to far, and I thought I’d miss the mode switch (I didn’t). Build quality, well I’ve carried the GRIII & GRIIIx on hikes in very poor weather, protected only by the pockets on my backpack waist belt (the GRII wouldn’t fit into this pockets). They’ve got soaked, knocked about, and they were fine with it (well, ok, the GRIIIx had a bit of a sulk for a few hours in awful weather in Iceland. But it recovered). For image quality, for what it’s worth, I see little difference with the GR / GRII. And what is see holds up happily against my Hasselblad X1Dii. The IBIS is hugely useful to me. I wouldn’t go back to the GRII. But thanks perhaps to options such as these, I sold it for almost as much as I paid for it. Thanks Andrea! š
Hi David! That’s why I stressed the fact that this post portraits my personal opinion, sensations and thoughts š
I am well aware many others are enjoying the GR III, and I am happy for them. After extensive testing and all the best intentions I realized the GR III was a bad camera for me, for all the reasons I described, and I am glad I got rid of it and I won’t have to use it anymore. Again, that’s my personal experience.
Thanks for reading and commenting the blog!
RICOH GR III HDF your opinion about the filter
Hello! I have never used the HDF version. I generally try to avoid shooting with a baked in look I can’t remove later. Simulating a diffusion filter is not too hard in Photoshop, but removing it once it is there is extremely hard or impossible. I think losing the ND filter for the HDF makes few sense, but that’s just my opinion of course!
“My GR II has some shutter issues ” – My GR I had something similar (the shutter was stuck closed, resulting in black screen after startup, until first photo) and after some time the lens stopped retracting completely. But the fix was simple, the ribbon/flex cable wore out, got it replaced for cheap and it’s still working without issues years later.
It’s known issue and any camera repair shop should be able to fix that, there are even replacement parts on Ali. You can just google ‘Flex Cable RICOH GR’.
It’s like $10 or so.
Thank you very much for your comment. I have found a video that shows how to disassemble the camera until it’s possible to replace the flex cable. It seems more complex than opening it for cleaning the dust, but I may still give it a shot. Here in Italy I found no one able of repairing the GR, so it’s up to what I manage doing on my own (or sending it to another country, which seems too pricey). I will post about it if I succeed!
What a great read your blog is – I just burned through all your articles on the GRIII. This series is bringing up a lot of feelings. I started out in the GR series with a GR II when I picked one up second hand in New York before moving abroad for the first time. Wanted something that didnāt scream TOURIST. And wow how I loved that camera ā¦ I took that thing everywhere and was always amazed how good and crisp those photos were – coming out of that small body and all. I had the camera for about 3 years. I cracked the LCD screen once and replaced it myself – but later it started to have problems with the retractable lens and wasnāt as reliable anymore. Ultimately I lost it at my grandpaās funeral š . I went some years without a camera when I decided I wanted to get back into the game. Iād seen the GRIII was out by this time and it thought maybe some of the issues in the GRII (low light issues, auto-focus struggles, image stabilization) could be solved while maintaining what I loved about the GRII. So fast forward before heading on another trip out the country I bought the GRIII second hand for $550 – heavily discounted because of the faulty jog wheel. No big deal – thereās a touch screen, directional pad and contact clear temporarily fixes the jog wheel. I since have used the GRIII as my main camera. But I must say – I donāt use it with the same āartistic abandonā as I used the GRII. For one , it feels a bit more delicate (not that itās not durable – I literally carry it in the side pocket of my backpack most of the time) but something about the ergonomics and build makes it feel a little less āoff roadā and more āluxuryā. The removal of the flash!!! Why would they do that?? Also in the last year – the retractable lens has developed āstutteringā issues where it gets stuck and resets during the booting process (I guess similar to the life of my old GRII). Really downgrades the ability to get a quick shot. On the good side, the dust on the lens hasnāt been a thought of priority for me. Low light shooting is probably better – and I maybe have slightly better focus on the GRIII by tapping the touch screen to focus . However in the last months I have started to miss the GRII and yearn for another one. So I began to search and found one (from NY) last week for $550 in great condition <4000 shutter count. And soon as I got it in my handsā¦.man I felt what I had been missing from the GRIIIā¦..FUN. Idk the GRII is just more fun to shoot, feels better in the hand, has longer battery life and a better button layout. As for picture quality – Iāve been wonderingā¦..WHAT is the difference between the GRIII & II? How could I describe it ? – I mean the difference is super subtle. The GRIII does take great photosā¦..BUT Iāve finally decided that what the GRII has is āEDGEā. It has attitude – right out the box – it has soul for lack of better word. Ricoh really dropped a classic with that one – a camera with itās jersey in the rafters. The GOAT in my book. Iām so excited to have it back in my collection with the GRIII, GRDIII but im already shooting waaay more than the others. The only thing for me left to do now is buy an extra one so this stays in the collection for life.
Thanks for sharing your story, Lonnie! I agree with pretty much everything you said. I also felt the GR III was more delicate and I could not use it the way I used the GR II. I don’t know what causes that feeling. Maybe a different selection of materials. Maybe the rattling of the stabilizer. Maybe the different size and grip. Or a combination of many reasons. I simply did not enjoy using it and I always felt I had to babysit it, while the GR II seems rugged and it is so comfortable to hold!
I wish Ricoh could do the bold move of going back to the GR II design, but I don’t think it will happen. The GR III is a popular camera, mostly because it is the only modern camera in that niche (pocket size camera with APSC sensor) so I think Ricoh will evolve that design instead of going back to the GR II and improving it where needed. I doubt the flash will come back, because I don’t think Ricoh will make the GR bigger than the III. They will probably update the sensor, and I don’t know what else can they do the GR if they don’t accept changing its body and make it bigger again, like the GR / GR II were. They will maybe work on software and add some AI stuff, I have no idea.
I think it is a shame they moved away from the GR II design. People loved it for a reason. And the fact that they could not bring the Positive Film from the GR II to the GR III is also weird. They knew people loved it. I understand they maybe wanted to tweak it at first, but they must have realized how much the original one was missed, and they still din’t add it even with a firmware update. I don’t think Ricoh listens to consumers. They have their own idea, maybe they are marketing driven, I don’t know. So the next GR will reflect that, and not what so many consumers are asking since forever: dust proof design, flash, original Positive Film, faster autofocus, easier and more reliable connection with smartphones, better quality control. Instead, they went for a higher megapixels count, a more digital and bland photo look, removed the flash, made the camera smaller, kept their bad quality control. I really don’t think they listen to consumers!
I think the difference between GR II and GR III when it comes to the look of the photos is this: the GR II produces unique looks that are very recognizable. My clients are not photographers and they recognize the shots made with the GR II and ask for it. The GR III on the other hand is a good digital camera, that produces good digital photos, but that could have been taken with any other camera. So there is no reason I pick the GR III over other cameras.
Thank you again for your comment and for reading the blog! It is nice to see people find it interesting!
Stesso feeling. La mia gr2 la uso dal 2017 , ininterrottamente , lavorando uso la d850 , ma mi ĆØ capitato di fare editoriali con la gr. Dopo lāennesimo danno fatto alla gr, un cavo rotto con conseguente perdita dei tasti posteriori mentre richiudevo post pulizia sensore, ho deciso di comprare la 3. Oltre la mancanza del flash ho patito lāergonomia della macchina e si, anche io , il mio positive della gr2. Dopo 2 settimane ho venduto lan3 e ho ordinato in Cina i cavi per riparare la mia che mia continua ad accompagnare nel miei viaggi e lavori.
Abbiamo in comune anche la D850! La GR III ĆØ stata davvero una delusione, ci ho provato tre volte e tutte e tre l’ho mandata indietro/venduta. Peccato le GR II in buono stato siano destinate a divenire sempre piĆ¹ rare. Ć forse illuminante vedere come nei siti d’usato ci siano bizzeffe di GR III ma solo raramente GR II e perlopiĆ¹ in cattivo stato. A breve anche a me toccherĆ sostituire un cavo interno, secondo me sta per abbandonarmi!
After one weekend away from my gr2 because it died on me after 3-4 years of run and gun shooting it various conditions, i got a gr3 to upgrade in MP but man you really lose the magic, that highlight roll off, the quick exp comp button the rugged feel i think is the money maker that paired with no ibis gives it a truly get up and go camera, vs the gr3 where it is luxury, the 2 is definitely an artistic workhorse for me where i found the 3 a casual fun camera
Hi David! Yeah that’s what I also think š Today they will release the Ricoh GR IV but I don’t expect it to go back to the greatness of the GR II… we will see! Right now it seems an update to the GR III.
The issue is the MP count. 24mp is too much for APS-C sensors. Even FF the sweet spot is between 12 and 20MP. To me, images shot on cameras will a lower MP count are much more pleasing.
Yeah I think the 16mp on the GR/GTII were already more than enough.