Ricoh GR III (Finally!)

[tkbslc]

I stockpiled gift card money for Amazon, hence I'm saving over $100 by that means, and I get 5% back on my Amazon Visa. Being a cheapskate as I go about buying an expensive camera.

Yeah, I'd wait too!

 

[agentlossing]

Here's a user review that feels a good bit more genuine than the ones extrapolated from a very brief PR meet and greet styled shoot: https://www.craftinglight.com/blog/2019/3/hands-on-with-the-ricoh-gr-iii

He's got some cool images, the files look to be pretty versatile! Yet another report of so-so AF, I'm really wondering whether firmware will be deployed to address this, like it was with the 2013 GR. Regardless, I don't consider super fast AF to be essential for my uses, as I still prefer to use M4/3 for street shooting. The GR is more of a snapshot, carry-everywhere camera. Plus it certainly incorporates ways around the AF.

 

[joma416]

I haven't been reading every review so maybe this has been covered by someone I missed. But one thing I am finding a bit strange is that most of the samples I am seeing are mostly raw files "processed to taste" or unspecified jpeg's. One of the big positives of the GRII was popular jpeg options such as positive film and high-contrast B&W. It doesn't seem like anyone is posting various samples of the different jpeg options yet. I'll be curious to see those.

Another thing I find kind of funny is that the initial response to the price was quite negative (including my initial feelings) and that has calmed down quite a bit with the recent release of the Leica Q2. I find that pretty amusing.

 

[agentlossing]

I haven't been reading every review so maybe this has been covered by someone I missed. But one thing I am finding a bit strange is that most of the samples I am seeing are mostly raw files "processed to taste" or unspecified jpeg's. One of the big positives of the GRII was popular jpeg options such as positive film and high-contrast B&W. It doesn't seem like anyone is posting various samples of the different jpeg options yet. I'll be curious to see those.

Another thing I find kind of funny is that the initial response to the price was quite negative (including my initial feelings) and that has calmed down quite a bit with the recent release of the Leica Q2. I find that pretty amusing.

I've seen a good amount of JPEGs, although not a lot that are utilizing the effects (they're called image controls or some such now) but I think people focus more on absolute image quality, lens performance etc, so are heavily focused on raw image data.

You're right about the price! I think people need to chill out about the cost of a premium camera when the other options, excepting the half-baked XF10, are all a lot more expensive!

 

[tkbslc]

Google knows I participated in this thread because they recommended me this Youtube video, which was actually a very good review, demo of the GR III with lots of shot samples:

Recommend opening on Youtube so you can watch it large for the photo samples.

 

[sprocket87]

Google knows I participated in this thread because they recommended me this Youtube video, which was actually a very good review, demo of the GR III with lots of shot samples:

Recommend opening on Youtube so you can watch it large for the photo samples.

Nice, thanks for the link. 1440p version is available also.

 

[Karl_Jr]

Here's a user review that feels a good bit more genuine than the ones extrapolated from a very brief PR meet and greet styled shoot: Hands-on with the Ricoh GR III

Wow! What a brilliant photographer. This guy can make any camera sing. He is using this focal length skillfully

 

[sprocket87]

Good video, the close up shots of the camera UI in use are fantastic and totally mouth-watering. The sample photos aren't really inspiring me for the most part... since he did a street shoot everything was at f/8 and mostly ISO 5000-6400, so not really showcasing the full IQ capabilities. Plus YT vids obviously don't highlight photo quality that well.

That little FlashQ is pretty darn slick though!

 

[agentlossing]

Yeah, for about $69 I think I'm gonna pick up one of those flash units, I've been on the lookout for an easy off-camera flash solution, obviously other than an off-camera slave since the GRIII ruled that out. The FlashQ does away with the extra size requirement of conventional off-camera triggers when you have to place a receiver on the base of the flash in addition to the part that goes on the camera hotshoe. From what I've read they have a bit of a slow recharge time, but I don't use flash enough to care very much about that.

I like the YouTuber, I've only watched a few of his videos, but he seems to have a pretty good sense of what makes good street photos. Also seems like a nice guy, like someone I wouldn't mind shooting with - he's quick to point out that he's a street newbie, doesn't have the attitude of some other street photographers.

 

[agentlossing]

Photographyblog has their review up: Ricoh GR III Review | Photography Blog

Doesn't tell us a whole lot we haven't heard, but they seem to think face detect AF works a little better than single-point AF, which would be odd if it's true. I do want to see the different AF modes thoroughly tested to see if some have better performance than others. They also reinforce the fact that battery life is pretty abysmal.

 

[Serhan]

GR III vs m43 low light af:

 

[tkbslc]

Yikes! That was painful to watch. The m4/3 cams only had f3.5 lenses, so less light to work with and it still wasn't even close.

 

[agentlossing]

That hilariously slow focus pulling can't be how the camera is designed to respond, there's no way. I've never seen a camera do that. I'm starting to seriously think the firmware updates are going to come hard and fast for this camera - at least I hope they do! The issue with the camera getting warm in use is also concerning to me, but it's not one everyone is reporting.

I recall reading on the GRist blog that they took a lot of time agonizing over how to maximize image quality. Seems like a lot of the other things have come together in less painstaking fashion.

I'm still not really worried - Ricoh know how to make cameras, and I doubt any of the components in this camera are low-quality. It's not built to a low price point. It's just a matter of making all the components work together ideally.

 

[tkbslc]

Well there is always snap focus, right?

 

[davidzvi]

There is another video showing it in better light, but still would be an issue for me and no better than (maybe worse than) my Fuji X70.

 

[T N Args]

When he taps the nearest toy dog, the camera always racks focus in the wrong direction first, then corrects.

Isn't that exactly what PDAF is not supposed to do?

 

[agentlossing]

Mine should arrive Monday, Amazon charged my credit card so I take that as a sign that it is more than a fairy tale.

 

[Ale]

Well there is always snap focus, right?

Of course. That is one of the best features on the GR. Wish mi omd had it.

It´s the best for street shooting.

 

[sprocket87]

Mine should arrive Monday, Amazon charged my credit card so I take that as a sign that it is more than a fairy tale.

WELL???!?

 

[agentlossing]

Got it yesterday, haven't had much of a chance to put it through its paces yet. I have a day off tomorrow, though, so I'll make sure to make an outing of it

Initial thoughts: the body is noticeably smaller in the grip area, both front and back. Fingers touch the outermost part of the lens assembly, and I haven't gotten totally comfortable with where to put my thumb yet, but these are both very minor things. Definitely not ergonomically bad, just a little different. Ridiculous people elsewhere have been complaining about the IBIS clunk (it's very minor, not much different than an M4/3 body), as well as a slightly wobbly rear 4-way controller and slightly offset looking lens barrel. I can see both these things, but they don't appear as defects to me, just quirks. Overall the body feels a bit heavier and more solid than the GRII, definitely a premium product.

It's not without some annoying parts, though. For one, the only customization for the exposure controls offered is in M mode, where you can swap shutter and aperture between the front dial and rear ADJ toggle. In M, exposure comp is hardwired to the rear wheel (not the ADJ toggle which is marked with an exposure comp icon!). In Tv and Av, the front dial controls the main control (shutter or aperture), the ADJ does exposure comp (okay, that's what it's labeled for) and the rear wheel does NOTHING! Can't be set to directly control anything. You can change ISO with it with an extra press left, but only if you've left that programmable button set as ISO. On a camera that is supposed to be so customizable, I need to be able to swap dials around as I wish. There are very comprehensive customization options offered in some areas, but not others. For example, high ISO NR can be customized to every single full ISO stop, between off, low, med or high. So if you want only medium NR on ISO 1600 only, you can do that. Image control replaces effects for JPEG styles, and has a lot more options to fine-tune files, which is great. However, something like bracketing does not even have a menu item devoted to it, instead being accessed from the Drive menu, with only two settings (EV between shots, and order of EV). So bracketing only works for exposure values. It feels half-baked.

I strongly suspect that some aspects of the camera didn't get finished in time for release. Keep in mind that very little was said about the camera until just before release, and things like max ISO were TBD until just before launch. By the designers' own admission, the camera was designed first for ultimate image quality, and they admitted they took longer over this than they expected to. However, most of my quibbles can be easily fixed via firmware (we know the grain effect for image control will be added in an update) and I really suspect they will be.

Another item that has been commented on is the way the camera sometimes heats up near the top right of the LCD, under the thumb. I have noticed this a little, and whenever I did, I popped the battery out to see if that is what caused the warmth. The battery has felt a bit warm in these cases, but not warm enough to transfer enough heat to the outside of the camera body. So I don't think the battery is the culprit, but perhaps the power transfer where the battery terminals mate with the internal circuitry. I suspect the power draw is ultimately the reason for the camera warming up. It's certainly not alarmingly warm, in my case. Less warm than my smartphone often gets.

I'm surprised that people have complained abut the IBIS clunk, but I haven't seen anyone ringing the alarm bells about the IBIS sound! It's fairly loud if you put your ear near the camera, similar to the Panasonic GX85, but it somehow sounds less refined than the Panny. Kind of squeaky rather than a quiet hum. Also, it seems the stabilization effect is constantly on, rather than just during half-press and/or exposure. You can hear adjustments being made when you move it around. This is even though the LCD doesn't appear to be super stabilized. I strongly suspect the IBIS unit could have some fine-tuning applied that would save battery life.


Oh, yeah. Complaints about the AF speed. In general I've found it to be pretty fast, a definite step up from the GRII. When I've been able to defeat the AF system has been in extremely bad light. Like, light bad enough that the LCD barely shows details that can be seen while focusing (the LCD gain in low light cuts out during focus, like most cameras). In conditions like this you will not get focus 99% of the time. Picking up my GX85, I was able to of course nail focus regardless, but that is because the GX85 focus is flippin' awesome. You buy a Panasonic system if you want extremely good single AF in low light, full stop. In nearly every situation where I would actually want to take pictures, the GR III is good, in the lowest lighting it hunts, and when it hunts it racks focus once fairly fast, then moves into the extremely slow focus rack that's been shown in videos. There is a definite limit to the lighting that AF will function in, and I think I just have to learn where that cutoff is.

Image quality is screaming, bloody good. Even with the added resolution, the lens is razor sharp. I don't know how they do this with such small amounts of glass. High ISO looks great, though I haven't analyzed files in detail yet. In the end, this is a camera made for IQ above all else. In a tiny package.