Ricoh Ricoh GR III

Update: showing as shipped! I will say this for Precision Camera, Ricoh's repair center contract in the US, they turn things around pretty quickly. As long as it has a fully functioning wheel when I get it (probably a week out with ground shipping from the east coast), I'll be happy. Well, not GRIIIx happy, but happy.
 
Got my GRIII back, fairly fast turnaround from Precision Camera, with a replaced rear dial. One of the last images on the SD card once I put it back in yielded this jpeg after in -camera editing. Pushing the limits of shadow raising from what the camera can do, though the RAW file would have more latitude, especially to pull down the highlights.

R0002857.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Cool metallic things reflecting on the house next door, plus sun flare, plus weeds.

R0002870.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


This was taken with the 35mm crop and then using the crop function adjusted the image angle (fw 1.5 enabled) so a further crop was applied. Although, if you manually put your crop edges too far to the edge of the frame when changing the angle, you can get white nothingness on that edge of your saved JPEG!
 
Fare thee well, GR III. Shipped it off today, to be entirely replaced by the GR IIIx. At least until a new 28mm model comes out. Then, maybe I'll transition back, or maybe it'll make sense to keep both.
 
Hey folks, the latest firmware is out for both GR III and IIIx, it's v1.60 for the former. It adds some nice features so make sure you update when you have a chance. For me, the 3.5m snap distance and the center-grouping of AF points are the highlights, but it has also improved AF speed and accuracy in low light. Seems to be a good improvement. It still slows down, but acquires the actual focus with less hunting when it's dark.

 
The other day, I accidentally dropped my GR III, and the front of the lens popped off. The plastic part that has the lens parameters printed on it, and opens and closes when switching on and off. Interestingly, the frontal piece is a simple little plastic thing, which is quite far away from the optical bits while switched off, so this seems to be cosmetic only. On fact the GR works just fine without the part.

I've dropped my GR I many times. It was bent and had parts broken off, even the lens barrel had a huge dent from I bike accident. Yet optically, it was still perfect. I so far had some reservations whether the GR III was built similarly robust.

After seeing its insides due to my mishap, however, I am somewhat relieved. This will likely be a cheap repair, and the optics are indeed safely stored deep inside while switched off. (I couldn't repair it myself because a tiny spring went missing. Otherwise it wouldn't have been hard.)
 
The other day, I accidentally dropped my GR III, and the front of the lens popped off. The plastic part that has the lens parameters printed on it, and opens and closes when switching on and off. Interestingly, the frontal piece is a simple little plastic thing, which is quite far away from the optical bits while switched off, so this seems to be cosmetic only. On fact the GR works just fine without the part.

I've dropped my GR I many times. It was bent and had parts broken off, even the lens barrel had a huge dent from I bike accident. Yet optically, it was still perfect. I so far had some reservations whether the GR III was built similarly robust.

After seeing its insides due to my mishap, however, I am somewhat relieved. This will likely be a cheap repair, and the optics are indeed safely stored deep inside while switched off. (I couldn't repair it myself because a tiny spring went missing. Otherwise it wouldn't have been hard.)
For reference, the repair cost €113 including shipping, and took a week (in Germany). Pretty reasonable, all things considered.
 
Dropped my Coolpix A and broke the battery door. Plus the focus seems affected! Very sad as It has proven to be my favorite APS pocket camera every since I bought my first one about a year after it was released. Bought a second one a couple of years ago.
Likely will be replaced by a Ricoh GRIII or GRIIIx.
 
Dropped my Coolpix A and broke the battery door. Plus the focus seems affected! Very sad as It has proven to be my favorite APS pocket camera every since I bought my first one about a year after it was released. Bought a second one a couple of years ago.
Likely will be replaced by a Ricoh GRIII or GRIIIx.
There's also the Fuji XF10 if you want to save money. (The GR III/IIIx are much nicer cameras, though, for their much higher price).
 
Dropped my Coolpix A and broke the battery door. Plus the focus seems affected! Very sad as It has proven to be my favorite APS pocket camera every since I bought my first one about a year after it was released. Bought a second one a couple of years ago.
Likely will be replaced by a Ricoh GRIII or GRIIIx.
I think you'll find the more robust RAWs as well as the effective IBIS will assuage your pain! Sad to lose a photographic friend, though.
 
Back
Top