Any Ricoh GRIII users here?

If so I'd love to hear your feedback - and see some pics!  

I'm in need of a new pocketable "on-route" camera.  I just killed off my nearly previous "on-route" camera, a decade-old Canon g7x and the social media darlings have made these things more viral than a Stanley mug which means to replace it I'm looking at $1300 on the resale market.  Same with the similar Sony.

The grIII looks interesting but most of the reviews I've seen online are geared toward street photography and kids who want to take artsy photos of ramen or some shit.

Is the grIII durable-"ish"?  Can you actually operate it with gloves on?  I'm not too worried about the fixed focal length as most of my shots are on the medium-wide side anyways.  I'm a litte worried about the lack of built-in flash - I actually used it a lot on the Canon.

For context I already have a really nice mirrorless setup but I need something I can take up a route.  

dood get a gr/grii. lens is great, built in flash, durable. you can snag them for a couple hundred bucks so it’s not as serious if you thrash them around. don’t get them wet.

only reason i can see getting a griii is if you want the 40mm version. i don’t particularly care about megapixels or specs, which i know some people do. if that’s important to you i suppose the extra money would be worth it. i really like the $$:quality ratio of the gr/grii and think its a perfect on-route camera. 

these are all from a gr. mp wouldn’t let me post full qual

I tried the GRiii for a few weeks, but I couldn’t get past not having a viewfinder. Shooting it like an iPhone was not for me. I ended up with a Fuji X100 and I bring it up climbs with me. 

Thanks for the info Cole and Jeffrey.  The used P&S camera market is batshit crazy right now - $800 is about the going rate for a used GRii.  

Jeffrey Lash wrote:

I tried the GRiii for a few weeks, but I couldn’t get past not having a viewfinder. Shooting it like an iPhone was not for me. I ended up with a Fuji X100 and I bring it up climbs with me.

The X100s are nice cameras, but they’re definitely not truly pocketable like the Ricohs are, which kinda puts the GR in a class of its own as far as size + image quality goes. They also have a unique feature that allows you to pre-set your focal distance and take pictures very, very quickly.

I wouldn’t say they are particularly durable, however. You might want to get a rubber skin for it or something to protect it from the rock. You can also get external viewfinders for them if you want. 

I just got a GR3x to learn how to use for travel photography and an on-route camera. In hindsight I think for shooting on-route the GR3 would have been better because it’s easier to shoot wider shots at the belay. That being said the quality is insane and I put it in my chest pocket, shoot on aperture priority and works with gloves on. Some test shots/edits for you from the GR3x below  some are screenshots so a little quality might be lost.

Jake907 wrote:

Thanks for the info Cole and Jeffrey.  The used P&S camera market is batshit crazy right now - $800 is about the going rate for a used GRii.  

jeez

I would get a RX100 (iii or later) over a GRIII for a few reasons, price and versatility mostly. I have been looking at the Ricoh’s, but the end of the day I’d rather spend that $800 to $1k on a fast prime to put on my A7C or Nex7. I get the “fitting in your pocket” idea, but in my experience a small mirrorless with a small prime is just as usable (and arguably more fun to use) as the point and shoots. With that said, i absolutely loved the shit out of my RX100

i have both the rx100 and the ricoh and far prefer the ricoh. its way quicker to turn on and be ready to use and the controls on it just feel so right to me when shooting manual whereas the rx100 feels much clunkier in manual exposure mode. plus the bigger sensor is nice. but if the ability to zoom is important to you (its not to me, i love the 28mm equiv focal length) then the rx100 can definitely be more versatile. 

This is an interesting discussion... I own a RX100M3 and although it takes very good pictures, I've never really enjoyed taking pictures with it. The labyrinthine menu system, clunky manual controls, lack of touchscreen and the slow and fiddly process of getting it out, waiting for it to turn on, and popping up the EVF are really not very enjoyable. I'm seriously considering a GR III now, or waiting to see if there is a GR IV later this spring. For those of you climbing with one, are there drawbacks? I am somewhat concerned about lack of weather sealing, especially dust when climbing in the desert.

Max R wrote:

This is an interesting discussion... I own a RX100M3 and although it takes very good pictures, I've never really enjoyed taking pictures with it. The labyrinthine menu system, clunky manual controls, lack of touchscreen and the slow and fiddly process of getting it out, waiting for it to turn on, and popping up the EVF are really not very enjoyable. I'm seriously considering a GR III now, or waiting to see if there is a GR IV later this spring. For those of you climbing with one, are there drawbacks? I am somewhat concerned about lack of weather sealing, especially dust when climbing in the desert.

As other have stated, Ricoh is a fixed focal length and price. It also does not have EVF (I’ve found necessary for super bright conditions). It’s marginally larger, but with that comes a larger sensor though. I also wouldn’t expect a GRIV anytime soon, definitely not by spring. They just released their new HDF version of the III. First quarter of 2026 would be my guess.

I’ve also shot with Sony for 15 years now and still get stumped by their menu system. I don’t get it lol 

If weather sealing is a concern I’d look at the Olympus OM’s. They are a joy to use and have amazing weather proofing. 

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

I would get a RX100 (iii or later) over a GRIII for a few reasons, price and versatility mostly. I have been looking at the Ricoh’s, but the end of the day I’d rather spend that $800 to $1k on a fast prime to put on my A7C or Nex7. I get the “fitting in your pocket” idea, but in my experience a small mirrorless with a small prime is just as usable (and arguably more fun to use) as the point and shoots. With that said, i absolutely loved the shit out of my RX100

Even the smallest prime+mirrorless combos are still too big for a real "pocket" camera. The g7x I killed was 0.5 size.  My Olympus OMEM52 with a 15mm prime is closer to a 3 Camelot size. The olympus has done a lot of routed with me and takes great photos but it's too big for a lot of situations.  The g7x on the other hand takes pretty damn good photos, and it's small enough that I could take it with me everywhere 

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

As other have stated, Ricoh is a fixed focal length and price. It also does not have EVF (I’ve found necessary for super bright conditions). It’s marginally larger, but with that comes a larger sensor though. I also wouldn’t expect a GRIV anytime soon, definitely not by spring. They just released their new HDF version of the III. First quarter of 2026 at the earliest would be my guess.

I’ve also shot with Sony for 15 years now and still get stumped by their menu system. I don’t get it lol 

If weather sealing is a concern I’d look at the Olympus OM’s. They are a joy to use and have amazing weather proofing. 

If Olympus made a real high end p&s camera I'd be all over it.  I've dragged my various OMD bodies all over the place.  I have there little  Tough camera too but the photo quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Jake907 wrote:

Even the smallest prime+mirrorless combos are still too big for a real "pocket" camera. The g7x I killed was 0.5 size.  My Olympus OMEM52 with a 15mm prime is closer to a 3 Camelot size. The olympus has done a lot of routed with me and takes great photos but it's too big for a lot of situations.  The g7x on the other hand takes pretty damn good photos, and it's small enough that I could take it with me everywhere 

Depends on your pocket    I get what you're saying though. FWIW my old Nex-7 + 20mm prime fit quite easily in a jacket pocket...not so much a jean or pant pocket. To me the term "pocketable" is relative to how easily I can take it with me. There are few scenarios for me today that I would take my RX100, and not my A7C...when I was younger and doing more alpine endeavors then I would tend to grab my RX100 over my Nex-5 or Nex-7. To me the RX100 is the camera I keep with me no matter what, it's my "center console camera" whereas my A7C is the camera I take with me no matter what if I plan on shooting anything. It is worth making room for over any P&S imo

GRIII is my go-to camera if I am going to be leading.  

I put it in a water resistant zippered pouch and keep it in my jacket pocket (if it's cold) or put it in a small padded case and strap it to my harness (if I'm not wearing a jacket.)  

Excellnt image quality in a very tiny package.  

I was also looking for an on-route camera, as the interchangeable-lens mirrorless I have now is just too big. The one thing that kept me from the Ricohs was the fixed focal length. I found that 28mm wasn't quite wide enough for big landscape shots at belays, and while 40mm could work for capturing followers, it would be even worse at belays. The Canons and Sonys seem kinda dated now, with small sensors that handle iso poorly.

Well, good news: rumors are Canon should be coming out with a new compact point-and-shoot soon (Powershot V1). 24MP MFT-ish sensor with a zoom lens (no exact specs). Should be announced sometime in the next month or so.

Maybe this will trigger Ricoh to announce the GRIV too? Online rumors seem pretty skeptical though

Michael M wrote:

I was also looking for an on-route camera, as the interchangeable-lens mirrorless I have now is just too big. The one thing that kept me from the Ricohs was the fixed lens. I found that 28mm wasn't quite wide enough for big landscape shots at belays, and while 40mm could work for capturing followers, it would be even worse at belays. The Canons and Sonys seem kinda dated now, with small sensors that handle iso poorly.

Which Canon's and Sony's are you referring to as dated? Additionally, unless 24mm is wide enough for you, I doubt any P&S will alleviate this issue. 

Well, good news: rumors are Canon should be coming out with a new compact point-and-shoot soon (Powershot V1). 24MP MFT-ish sensor with a zoom lens (no exact specs). Should be announced sometime in the next month or so.

The V1 definitely sounds promising. The MFT 3:2 ratio sensor seems interesting, as it's marginally larger than the MFT. Looking forward to the comparison of this next to the Ricoh's, both physically and optically. 

Maybe this will trigger Ricoh to announce the GRIV too? Online rumors seem pretty skeptical though

I also doubt a GRIV gets announced/released soon. Ricoh just came out with the HDF version of the GRIII so it would be unusual for them to announce the GRIV. My guess is that if nothing is announced next month at the CP+ then we will have to wait until holiday '25 or first quarter of '26 for an announcement. 

Michael M wrote:

I was also looking for an on-route camera, as the interchangeable-lens mirrorless I have now is just too big. The one thing that kept me from the Ricohs was the fixed lens. I found that 28mm wasn't quite wide enough for big landscape shots at belays, 

If the 28mm is not wide enough for a shot I want, I just take several shots and stitch them into a panorama in photo enditing software.  

Editing software is so good these days that it's pretty easy to do.

Like this:

Or this:

Official specs and photos of the Canon V1 came out today... bit of a disappointment. It's positioned as a vlogging camera so it's real chunky and has cooling fans.

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

Which Canon's and Sony's are you referring to as dated? Additionally, unless 24mm is wide enough for you, I doubt any P&S will alleviate this issue. 

I meant the Sony RX100 series and Canon G5X/G7X. 24mm would be a step in the right direction, but was hoping for something closer to 18. I am still in denial cause the V1 has a 16-50, so it is possible...

Kai Larson wrote:

If the 28mm is not wide enough for a shot I want, I just take several shots and stitch them into a panorama in photo enditing software.  

Actually I haven't tried this yet because I was worried about artifacts with moving things like people, interesting idea. I'll try next time and see what happens. If it works I might just pick up a GR3 myself.

Michael M wrote:

Official specs and photos of the Canon V1 came out today... bit of a disappointment. It's positioned as a vlogging camera so it's real chunky and has cooling fans.

Well I figured that was obvious, photography is dead...at least as far as P&S's are concerned. Canon just tries to match Sony’s move at this point. In this case the V1 is just Canon’s answer to the ZV-1. 

I meant the Sony RX100 series and Canon G5X/G7X. 24mm would be a step in the right direction, but was hoping for something closer to 18. I am still in denial cause the V1 has a 16-50, so it is possible...

In terms of when they were last released, perhaps. But the RX100, at least, has always been far ahead of its time and is certainly not outdated in terms of technology or quality. There’s still not a P&S out there that surpasses it if strictly comparing stills. 

As far as 16-50mm on P&S's....possible, yes, but for a dedicated photography P&S a 16-50mm lens isn't practical. Trends are shifting thanks to Tamron, but it'll always be a 24-70 or 28-100 type of range for any P&S dedicated to stills. This is also why Kit lens on mirrorless and DSLR’s are typically of the same variety. Like I said though, Tamron has shown that “weird” zooms can be popular though. As is evident by the well received Sony 20-70mm f4 and 24-50mm f2.8