Thoughts and Update on GR Digital III

Thoughts and Update on GR Digital III
Friday, July 31, 2009

Just received word that Ricoh will be sending me a GR Digital III for review. Although the improvements are incremental, I'm very excited about this camera. Improving the lens speed by roughly two thirds of a stop while improving macro performance - and without sacrificing resolution, camera size, or sensor size (in fact the sensor is a touch larger now) - is quite a feat.

The ability to preset the snap focus distance is another very promising feature. With the kind of depth of field associated with using a small sensor coupled to selectable zone snap focus, there should be very little need for ever using autofocus in situational/street/documentary photography.

We tend to use the word "compact" loosely on this site, and many of the cameras we discuss are really small-bag (eg, E-P1) or big-pocket (eg, DP2) cameras. In contrast, the GRD is an any-pocket camera, and a serious one at that.

For anyone interested, my GRD II review is here.

Comments (7)

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George · 818 weeks ago

Can you ask them if they will be offering a version of the GT-1 (28 -> 40mm) teleconverter for the GRD III?
The 28 is great for all around shooting, but a 40 is better for portraits and landscapes.

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George · 818 weeks ago

Or can the GT-1 be used on the GRD III?

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Luc de Schepper · 818 weeks ago

The Ricoh GRD's are great compact camera's with excellent handling and ergonomics. I owned a GRD2 and liked it a lot. However, the Jpeg output from the LX3 I also own is far superior. In fact, the Jpegs from the GRD1 were a lot better than those from rhe GRD2. For that reason I sold my GRD2. If the GRD3's Jpegs are more or less equal to the LX3 I might consider buying the GRD3 again. However, the forthcoming Panasonic MFT might offer a dramatic better IQ. Choices, choices ...

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Kobe Ken · 818 weeks ago

￥ 73,984 ( $781.11 USD on Aug 2 )
That's the price today on Amazon Japan.... What do you think? Will it be worth it? How will it compare to the Sigma DP2 for about the same money?
The big question for me is 'Can noise reduction be turned off?'
For many people that could be a make-or-break question depending on the jpeg performance.
I have to take a trip in 3 weeks, and I'll be interested in seeing the Duty Free price at Narita Airport where I could have bought a GR DII for 32,000 yen back in February.

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Ayaka K. · 818 weeks ago

Yes, Kobe Ken, noise reduction can be turned off.... http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/support/faq/bp/docs09/E...

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Allen George · 818 weeks ago

I was really surprised to see Ricoh drop the GT-1 - I would have strongly considered the GR-D III otherwise. I tried 28mm and it just isn't for me. 35mm ~ 40mm are much more to my taste.

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Andrea · 817 weeks ago

I found these comparison shots:

http://ricoh-gx.blogspot.com/2009/08/grd-iii-refe...

I must say that the high ISO results look to good to be true. Unfortunately they are not the originals in full size, they look promising, anyway. What do you think?