Ricoh GRIII

Trøllkonufingur, Faroes February 2020

Ricoh is a brand within the Pentax stable and is well known for the quality of its cameras. I bought a GRIII to have as my "go-anywhere" camera, on the principle that the best camera to have is the one in your hand. It has an 18.3mm focal length lens, which is nicely wide enough to cover almost any opportunity. The sensor is a 24 megapixel APS-C and the camera is fitted with in-body image stabilisation and a fast, clever hybrid contrast and phase detection autofocus system. Like the Fuji X-series mirrorless cameras, it also lacks an anti-aliasing filter on the sensor and thus renders high quality detail.

Robert Watson-Watt, Brechin, November 2019

The GRIII is built on the brand loyalty established by Ricoh with the earlier compact film cameras and the first two iterations of the digital GR. It has become a favourite of street photographers, so much so that in 2020, they released a special "street" version with a gold lens ring. I lost my original black ring and replaced it with a gold coloured after-market copy so I could be like I am down with the street kids.

Trælanípan, Faroes, February 2020

The image quality of this little camera always surprises me. It's not that I'm a slow learner, but for the little sensor and tiny lens, the images this portable pocket machine produces are just remarkable. The only problem I have with the camera is that my wife has discovered how good it is. If I could have one camera, and one camera only, I think my GRIII would be it.