jmcy wrote:
Not going to be redundant and talk about the same pros/cons posted above but something I haven't seen mentioned yet is that the battery life on the GR III is not good. It depends on how you shoot but you likely want to keep an extra battery on you. While it is a truly pocketable camera, take into account pocketing an extra battery, phone, wallet, and keys... at that point might as well bring a small bag and then the size difference between the two doesn't matter much anymore.
GRIII has its merits but it is a crappy camera in many ways. I had it for a while but sold it quickly. I did not like it.
Before GRIII I had used Nikon Coolpix A since 2014. I still have the A and use it occasionally Coolpix A is a much better build better camera with solid ergonomics and good image quality at low ISO. Lens has somehow better redering than GRIII. No wonder Coolpix A prices have gone up considerably in the second hand market.
GR / Coolpix A type of camera is much better for candid type of street photography than (say) X100. I do not do it so much anymore (there images are from 2014-2015). In a pinch iPhone could be used for the same images, especially the portrait, but I do not consider it being the same as using proper camera.
jmcy wrote:
Not going to be redundant and talk about the same pros/cons posted above but something I haven't seen mentioned yet is that the battery life on the GR III is not good. It depends on how you shoot but you likely want to keep an extra battery on you. While it is a truly pocketable camera, take into account pocketing an extra battery, phone, wallet, and keys... at that point might as well bring a small bag and then the size difference between the two doesn't matter much anymore.
Complaining about the battery is ridiculous. Almost all compact cameras have lower battery life because they have smaller batteries because the cameras are small. Duh. Carry a second battery. It's no larger than a book of matches and you don't need to bring a small bag.
jjcha wrote:
I love my GRIII and loved my X100V, but that Sony + Viltrox seems like an obvious solution? Or at least an obvious test drive?
Side note -- shooting 28mm F4.5 is actually pretty fun. I think about half of my shots with the GRIII, X100V (with the wide conversion adapter) and my Leica M10-P were at a full frame 28mm, F5.6 equivalent. Just enough depth of field to be generally useful, but just enough light to let your sensor do its thing, even in low light (assuming you're okay with ISO6400 if you need a shutter speed of ~1/125th).
If you're stuck with one focal length, one aperture, that Viltrox ain't a bad one at all (IMHO)....Show more →
I have not used Viltrox pancake lens, but I have had some other 28mm lenses on Sony body. Viltrox is somehow tempting, but I find the fixed aperture limiting. With full frame I like to stop down at least to f/8 I want everything to be in focus. Not possible with Viltrox.
GRIII and X100V are very different cameras, and so is FF with Viltrox. If you get good results with GRIII and X100V, I doubt that Viltrox will give you much more.
TENOG wrote:
Complaining about the battery is ridiculous. Almost all compact cameras have lower battery life because they have smaller batteries because the cameras are small. Duh. Carry a second battery. It's no larger than a book of matches and you don't need to bring a small bag.
Your take is ridiculous. The small size of the GR III is one of its top selling points but it comes with big tradeoffs as well. By your logic we should dismiss all tradeoffs like lack of EVF because hey, it's a compact camera right? Duh!
You also fail to account for the fact that not all pockets are created equally. Ask a girl if she'd be happy stuffing an extra battery in her tiny pockets along with essentials like a phone, wallet, and keys.
As a past owner of the GRIII, GRIIIX, Sony RX1RII, and current owner of the original GR - the battery life sucks. "Lower" battery life is an understatement. While you personally may not mind carrying an extra battery, it is an inconvenience to me. Have had them slide out of my pocket on more than one occassion while riding the bus.
jmcy wrote:
Your take is ridiculous. The small size of the GR III is one of its top selling points but it comes with big tradeoffs as well. By your logic we should dismiss all tradeoffs like lack of EVF because hey, it's a compact camera right? Duh!
You also fail to account for the fact that not all pockets are created equally. Ask a girl if she'd be happy stuffing an extra battery in her tiny pockets along with essentials like a phone, wallet, and keys.
As a past owner of the GRIII, GRIIIX, Sony RX1RII, and current owner of the original GR - the battery life sucks. "Lower" battery life is an understatement. While you personally may not mind carrying an extra battery, it is an inconvenience to me. Have had them slide out of my pocket on more than one occassion while riding the bus....Show more →
I guess careless people and girls with tiny pockets shouldn't buy this camera.
I have the Samyang Remaster Slim for my a7c II and highly recommend it for the exact use case you are after. It completely changes how the camera fits in a small sling vs the 40mm G that I also have.
I think the lens cap on the Samyang makes the whole package ~1 mm deeper than my x100vi with the Nisi uv/seal filter on it, but the Sony is similarly smaller in height and width measurements, so basically the same size. The IQ is solid, af is too, and it comes with 3 different focal lengths!!!
If push came to shove I’d keep my Sony and the Samyang over my x100vi. I like the OVF and film sims on the Fuji for something different, being the reason for having both.
The GRIII is genuinely pocketable, it has probably the sharpest 28mm lens I’ve ever owned - sharper than my Leicas, the auto focus works well, as does the IBIS, the colors are fantastic, no xtrans weirdness to deal with. It really punches way above its weight, and size. I have owned x100’s also , but not the latest, ended up selling them as they felt like hollow toys.
itzjere wrote:
Would love to hear your thoughts on why
I've owned a couple of the X100 cameras and still own the GRIII. All specs aside, for me, it comes down to if I would take the camera with me or not.
With the X100, there were very few times where if I would bring the X100, I wouldn't have minded bringing my "main" camera (X-Pro, X-H2) instead. OTOH, I'll bring the GRIII even if I don't need/want to bring a camera. It's that easy to carry.
If I could only have one camera and it had to be one of these two, it'd be the X100 every time. Otherwise, the GRIII would be the second camera I'd buy after my main camera.
My pocketable, aging, carry-everywhere Fuji x70 just died and it has been frustrating trying to replace it for all these same points with the pocketable GRIII vs. too-large X100vi (and lack of an x70 replacement). Decided on the small, jacket-pocketable Leica D-Lux 7 (with OIS!) and small included flash and it has been surprisingly fun with a sharp zoom lens and ok DR. New D-Lux 8 is the same m4/3 sensor and lens reskinned, so sticking with the 7 for now. It's the same as the Lumix LX100ii, and there's a iii rumored, but I made the mistake years ago of waiting for a Sony RX1Riii rumored upgrade and we all see how that turned out!
I’ve owned the X100V and currently own a GRIII. My main camera is a Fuji X-T5 with various XF lenses.
My reason for wanting something smaller is similar to the OP. I have a young family and wanted a camera that I could bring everywhere with me because I don’t like relying on my iPhone to take photo’s (even if they do come out decently).
For me, it came down to pocket-ability. I love that I am able to throw the GRIII in my pocket and pull it out when I’m ready to shoot. Yes, AF leaves a bit to be desired, especially when photographing kids who don’t sit still, but I typically take a bunch of photo’s, review them on the LCD screen and delete the images which are OOF. I use recipes because I prefer to not have to post process images on my computer.
If I only had one camera, I would own the X100V/VI and call it a day. I have been thinking about doing just that, but I love my X-T5 too much.
Maybe another data point for you: I've owned the Ricoh GRIII for many years and use it literally every day and have never seriously had issues with the battery life. The startup time is good enough that I just click off the camera when I'm not actively shooting. My usage is almost exactly as you describe: day to day, out and about, caught-my-eye kind of stuff.
That being said: the battery life is definitely bad relative to other cameras I've used. Way worse than my X100V was. But in my experience it's more than usable for your described use case. The bad battery life (and awful AF) are the price you pay for the amazing portability to quality ratio...and I have yet to find a camera that can beat the GR on that front.
tuomkok wrote:
GRIII has its merits but it is a crappy camera in many ways. I had it for a while but sold it quickly. I did not like it.
Before GRIII I had used Nikon Coolpix A since 2014. I still have the A and use it occasionally Coolpix A is a much better build better camera with solid ergonomics and good image quality at low ISO. Lens has somehow better redering than GRIII. No wonder Coolpix A prices have gone up considerably in the second hand market.
GR / Coolpix A type of camera is much better for candid type of street photography than (say) X100. I do not do it so much anymore (there images are from 2014-2015). In a pinch iPhone could be used for the same images, especially the portrait, but I do not consider it being the same as using proper camera.
Thank you for sharing your examples and your experience with the GR. I am starting to see the GR in a different perspective with all the feedback in this thread.
tuomkok wrote:
I have not used Viltrox pancake lens, but I have had some other 28mm lenses on Sony body. Viltrox is somehow tempting, but I find the fixed aperture limiting. With full frame I like to stop down at least to f/8 I want everything to be in focus. Not possible with Viltrox.
GRIII and X100V are very different cameras, and so is FF with Viltrox. If you get good results with GRIII and X100V, I doubt that Viltrox will give you much more.
I think there is a parallel that we can draw from this comparison.. Both the Viltrox and GR are small in size, a good price (Maybe not that GR, but in comparison to the X100), but have limitation and trade offs that outweigh the value it can bring.
rps_23 wrote:
I have the Samyang Remaster Slim for my a7c II and highly recommend it for the exact use case you are after. It completely changes how the camera fits in a small sling vs the 40mm G that I also have.
I think the lens cap on the Samyang makes the whole package ~1 mm deeper than my x100vi with the Nisi uv/seal filter on it, but the Sony is similarly smaller in height and width measurements, so basically the same size. The IQ is solid, af is too, and it comes with 3 different focal lengths!!!
If push came to shove I’d keep my Sony and the Samyang over my x100vi. I like the OVF and film sims on the Fuji for something different, being the reason for having both. ...Show more →
Thanks for the recommendation. Didn't see this lens option in my searches.
robsonj wrote:
The GRIII is genuinely pocketable, it has probably the sharpest 28mm lens I’ve ever owned - sharper than my Leicas, the auto focus works well, as does the IBIS, the colors are fantastic, no xtrans weirdness to deal with. It really punches way above its weight, and size. I have owned x100’s also , but not the latest, ended up selling them as they felt like hollow toys.
I appreciate this feedback. I will be sitting down with my friend who has both soon and looking forward to the side by side in person.
LeonD60 wrote:
I've owned a couple of the X100 cameras and still own the GRIII. All specs aside, for me, it comes down to if I would take the camera with me or not.
With the X100, there were very few times where if I would bring the X100, I wouldn't have minded bringing my "main" camera (X-Pro, X-H2) instead. OTOH, I'll bring the GRIII even if I don't need/want to bring a camera. It's that easy to carry.
If I could only have one camera and it had to be one of these two, it'd be the X100 every time. Otherwise, the GRIII would be the second camera I'd buy after my main camera....Show more →
Thank you for sharing your experience. I can see a world where I own both of these cameras for their own merits.. I also see your point where if you are going to bring the X100, mind as well bring the main/bigger camera.. This is part of the decision paralysis I am trying to avoid. In a perfect world, we would have the perfect system for the perfect situation everytime, but there is enough overlap between the X100 and GR where it's not so simple. To have 3 camera systems wouldn't be earth shattering.. maybe I'll pick up and live with it, and see if there is a growning need for the 3rd..
kalani_kane wrote:
My pocketable, aging, carry-everywhere Fuji x70 just died and it has been frustrating trying to replace it for all these same points with the pocketable GRIII vs. too-large X100vi (and lack of an x70 replacement). Decided on the small, jacket-pocketable Leica D-Lux 7 (with OIS!) and small included flash and it has been surprisingly fun with a sharp zoom lens and ok DR. New D-Lux 8 is the same m4/3 sensor and lens reskinned, so sticking with the 7 for now. It's the same as the Lumix LX100ii, and there's a iii rumored, but I made the mistake years ago of waiting for a Sony RX1Riii rumored upgrade and we all see how that turned out!...Show more →
Glad to see I'm not the only one "struggling" with this decision. And yes, I don't want to sit and speculate on rumors. I'm glad you found a solution that works for you!
nburwell wrote:
I’ve owned the X100V and currently own a GRIII. My main camera is a Fuji X-T5 with various XF lenses.
My reason for wanting something smaller is similar to the OP. I have a young family and wanted a camera that I could bring everywhere with me because I don’t like relying on my iPhone to take photo’s (even if they do come out decently).
For me, it came down to pocket-ability. I love that I am able to throw the GRIII in my pocket and pull it out when I’m ready to shoot. Yes, AF leaves a bit to be desired, especially when photographing kids who don’t sit still, but I typically take a bunch of photo’s, review them on the LCD screen and delete the images which are OOF. I use recipes because I prefer to not have to post process images on my computer.
If I only had one camera, I would own the X100V/VI and call it a day. I have been thinking about doing just that, but I love my X-T5 too much. ...Show more →
Glad to hear I'm not alone and you can share your first hand experience with the GR. To be fair, even our phones don't hit focus all the time, and I'm wondering if this is the expectation I should have with the GR. Any thoughts about switching the GR for an X100? Is the difference between the X-T5 and the X100 enough to have both systems side by side?
Coolpix A is a much better build better camera with solid ergonomics and good image quality at low ISO. Lens has somehow better redering than GRIII. No wonder Coolpix A prices have gone up considerably in the second hand market.
