Review: Ricoh GR III for Travel Photography

Released in 2019, the Ricoh GR III built upon the success of the 2015 Ricoh GR II and the 2013 Ricoh GR. Loved by travel photographers for its combination of compact size, good features and an APS-C sensor, the Ricoh GR III should be high on the list of any travel photographer. 

When you choose your ideal travel photography camera, how important is its size? Since the shift from DSLR to mirrorless, portability has become a key consideration for many travel photographers—with good reason. It’s all about balancing the benefits of size, image quality, features and price. 

On a trip to Spain and Portugal, MPB resident photographer Ian Howorth put the Ricoh GR III to the test. Thinking of getting the Ricoh GR III for your travel photography? This review offers all the information you’ll need to make that decision for yourself.

As one of the most popular compacts around, the Ricoh GR III seems to fulfill almost all the requirements of most travel photographers. It’s lightweight, compact and filled with features—not to mention boasting excellent image quality from its mirrorless sensor. 

The Ricoh GR III is a tiny camera that fits perfectly in your pocket. At 109x62x33mm, it’s similar in size to a mobile phone. 

The GR III also has a fantastic APS-C sensor, which competes with ‘serious’ shooters from Fujifilm. The GR III has a maximum ISO of 102,400, shoots four frames-per-second at shutter speeds up to 1/4000th, and its integrated lens offers an equivalent focal length of 28mm.

One of the GR III’s best features—as with previous GR-series models—is that you can shoot in both RAW and JPEG. 

Happy with the images as you’ve shot them? Just publish the JPEGs. Prefer to work on them a little in post? The option’s there with your RAWs. 

With phase, contrast, manual and touch focussing modes, and image stabilisation too, the Ricoh GR III packs everything in at a weight of just 257g.

Key Specs

Usability & Handling

What holds the GR II back as a truly all-purpose shooter? Ironically, it’s also what makes it special. The lens. 

The Ricoh GR III, like all GR models—from the film days, all the way to this latest model—use a 28mm-equivalent prime. As the focal legnth is quite wide, it takes a little more perseverance to isolate your subjects and make them look good in the frame. The 28mm focal length requires you to move more. 

When you’re using a 50mm lens, it’s closer to the human field of view. At 50mm, your subject will look similar to your eye’s perspective and position. With a 28mm, your subject might be easier to lose in the frame. This is due to the perspective of the lens. 

So, you’ll just need to move yourself more. Nevertheless, the 28mm lens is a great compromise for a body housing an in-built lens. 

Considering the camera’s size, the menu system and navigation are excellent. Having a dedicated button for all the main functions just wouldn’t have been possible, so the dials and wheels on the Ricoh GR III make the best use of space.

Largely, all the main functions can be accessed on the outside buttons and dials. You'll need to use the in-camera menu system for anything like JPEG presets, custom functions or preferences. 

Overall, the main functions are well thought-out and maximize the space on the compact camera.

Speed

The Ricoh GR III is quick. Very quick. This is one of the most important reasons why it receives so much interest from street photographers. The power-up lag is minimal, with almost no delay between spotting your subject, turning on the camera and getting your shot. 

You probably know that moment. You turn off your camera to conserve battery, only to miss a shot due to slow start-up speeds. But the GR III can fill you with confidence— it’s pretty much always ready to shoot. 

Image Stabilization

Fortunately, the GR III doesn’t have to work as hard as other camera-and-lens combos. This is because—generally speaking—the wider the focal length, the easier it is to eliminate shake. As the GR III has a 28mm-equivalent lens, it’s inherently easier to control camera shake.

The Ricoh GR III also offers an impressive four stops of image stabilization. So, the GR III should allow you to go four stops beyond the usual longest shutter speed of 1/30, when shooting hand-held. On paper, that means 1/2sec. In practice, however, you may struggle to get blur-free images if you shoot held-held at shutter speeds longer than 1/10. 

Autofocus

Autofocus on the Ricoh GR III is equally impressive. But, depending on how you shoot, you’ll need to carefully consider ‘how’ you want the autofocus to work for you. 

Street photographers might want to use zone focussing for the security of getting the shot without an autofocus misfire. 

Travel photographers may enjoy the rear-screen touch autofocus function, which lets you focus precisely where you select with your fingertip. While this is nothing revolutionary, these autofocus modes are useful additions. 

As is now standard with most mirrorless cameras, you can focus manually with focus peaking. It’s always nice to get visual confirmation that you’re nailing your focus.

Imagery

The amazing thing about the Ricoh GR III is how little it compromises. The GR III bridges the gap between a point-and-shoot travel camera and a larger, more ‘purposeful’ camera.

The size of it just affects your state of mind, rather than being an issue with the camera. This becomes evident when we look at the images it can produce—punchy and contrasty, with a definitive vibe that can be edited in-camera. And the RAW option is there to edit your images afterwards, too.

Composition

What about the lack of a viewfinder? After all, the pop-up electronic viewfinders on Sony compact cameras are great, and easily hidden away by pressing them down.

But composing on a large rear screen was surprisingly easy and intuitive. You do feel slightly amateurish in using the rear screen. But ultimately, all that matters is getting the shot. And the Ricoh never seems to disappoint.

However, harsh sunlight can sometimes create glare on the rear screen. This glare can make it tricky to compose your shot—or, for that matter, see anything on the rear screen at all.

Though the 28mm lens might seem a little too wide, it was a good compromise. Most travel photographs will involve some vistas—beaches, areas of outstanding natural beauty—so it’s crucial to have a lens wide enough to capture your environment.

ISO Performance

ISO performance is also great. Pushed to 3,200, ISO yields great results with a level of noise that feels more like pleasing grain. You could shoot at a higher ISO and stop down, which may add a little more texture to the otherwise clean images.

Dynamic Range

Dynamic range also impresses. The GR III’s dynamic range isn’t as high as one of Sony’s mirrorless wonders, for example. But the stronger contrast might be preferable in adding more drama to an image. 

Should you prefer a flatter look, there’s still plenty of latitude to lift shadows safely. This is certainly true when shooting at normal ISO values, between 100–400, where the highest image quality is available.

Metering

The GR III’s metering is pretty accurate, but tastes differ from user to user. You can dial up or dial down your exposure using the handy exposure compensation dial. This allows you to override the camera's meter and tell it to expose a scene more in line with your tastes.

Black-and-white Conversion

Black-and-white conversion on the Ricoh GR III is excellent, with the in-built presets loaded onto Lightroom. 

The presets are easily customisable and offer a great starting point to create your ideal black-and-white look.

Lens

The GR III’s tiny 28mm-equivalent lens is utterly wonderful. Sharp as a tack, it even manages great performance fully open. It does vignette a little, but it’s easily corrected with the correct camera profile loaded onto Lightroom.

Long Exposures

It’s really easy to capture long exposures with the Ricoh GR III. Simply mount the camera onto the tripod and set the self-timer for two seconds to delay the shutter. 

Would the image above have looked better on a larger camera, perhaps a full-frame camera? Maybe. But that image doesn’t exist. And the one with the Ricoh does. It's impressive that such a small camera, intended for radically different photography, was able to handle the situation so easily.

Verdict

 The GR III completely redefines what is possible in such a small form factor. While Ricoh have been making their GR series for years, this latest version has pulled everything together beautifully and given us a camera that can truly do almost anything you ask of it. 

Pros

• Lighting fast startup speed

• Pocket-sized camera

• Great 28mm-equivalent lens

• Good low-light performance

• Useful features for its size

Cons

• Fixed 28mm focal length might be too wide for some

• No viewfinder

• Framing with the rear screen tricky in bright light

• No built-in flash

“The best camera is the one you have with you” is a cliché, but it couldn’t be truer of the Ricoh GR III. Particularly for travel photography, the GR III is a camera you’ll carry with you all the time. It’s super easy to carry. Put it in your pocket or your bag, or keep it around your wrist with the included strap. It will always be ready to roll. 

Sure, there are a few compromises with the GR III. For example, due to its minute size, the handling could be better. The lack of a viewfinder is the GR III’s main disadvantage. 

For some travel photographers, another minor drawback of the GR III might be the lack of a built-in flash. It would be amazing to see flashes on the digital GR series, as they appeared on Ricoh’s film GR cameras.

But considering its lightning-fast start-up speeds and real-world features, the GR III ticks many boxes for travel photography. The 28mm-equivalent lens is amazing and renders sharp yet organic-looking images. 

If 28mm is a little too wide, Ricoh has an alternative option for you. The Ricoh GR IIIx has a 40mm-equivalent lens, which should make things a little easier if you prefer a tighter field of view. 

Overall, for a camera that will always be with you, the Ricoh GR III represents phenomenal value.

Looking for more travel photography content?

This article is part of the MPB Guide to Travel Photography, our comprehensive look at the travel photography genre with advice, recommended camera equipment and interviews with some of the most exciting travel photographers today.