Inconspicuous, intuitive, and with great image quality — can you combine all of that into one perfect camera for capturing life on the street? This photographer says yes.
Launched in 2021, the Ricoh GR IIIx is a favorite among street photographers around the world, building on a series of compact Ricoh cameras designed specifically with them in mind. In this video, Roman Fox takes you through what finally made him fall in love with the camera, replacing his Fujifilm as his default choice for when he’s in the city.
Fox mentions two minor gripes that can be addressed, assuming you don’t mind spending a bit more money. Firstly, the lack of a viewfinder is an easy fix thanks to the GV-3, assuming you’re up for dropping almost $250 on a gadget that some would argue is a bit overpriced.
The other thing that Fox mentions is that, unlike his Fuji, the raw files tend to come out a bit too crisp for his liking, giving them an overly digital feel that he then addresses with editing. A solution would be to opt for the GR IIIx HDF, with HDF standing for Highlight Diffusion Filter. The product description on BHPhoto tells us that this “renders highlights with a diffused, soft, and blurred effect for a more dreamlike and ethereal image quality.” Sounds ideal.
Is this the perfect digital camera for street photography? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
It's probably a great camera and I know the whole stealthy black spy camera look is some people's go but to me it's just an ugly black box that I wouldn't want to pick it up. Give me a nice retro look camera that has some vibes to it and yeah I'm a Fujifilm user and this I suppose is in competition with Fuji cameras and I'm sure it's a great camera but I just can't use ugly black cameras not me. It has no culture or character to it and yes I'm purely going on the inside of this camera and the specifications make it a great camera for lots of different uses and I know some people will like the black stealth. Look you either love it or you don't.
I have no doubt that the image quality is fantastic but the camera itself for me is very uninspiring and expensive for what it is. A fixed lens is very limiting, no built in is a big no no for me as well and I don't like add on hotshoe EVF which are too bulky. If Sony can fit a EVF on a tiny RX100, then why can't Ricoh? Also the fixed rear screen is very limiting especially for street photography. I have an old Olympus Stylus 1 which is perfect for street/travel photography, I know it is a much smaller sensor but every camera has compromises and the image quality from the Stylus is more than enough for my own needs and if people were really honest, good enough for most amateur photographers who just post on social media
It's kind of the point that I was making. I would buy a Fuji X 100 camera over one of these. At least it has some soul and fun using it.
All in price of $1500. Perfect for people who think a more expensive camera will make you a better photographer !
The images said everything 🕶️
Absurd comment. What it offers is an apsc sized sensor in a camera that truely fits in your pocket. I have owned a Fuji xf10 for years and love it. A pocketable camera that requires no major compromise on image quality.
I’d give one a go - but only if it had some degree of environmental sealing. Fingers crossed for the imminent GR iv