Ricoh GRIIIx HDF: The Street Photographer’s Review

Last Updated on 08/12/2024 by Chris Gampat

If there was ever a camera series that has ever confused me, it would be the Ricoh GR series. Whenever I speak to the owners of these cameras, their mouths often project vomit disguised as garbled speech to me. And like the contents of vomit, I can often look at it and find traces of fundamentalism and knowledge that primarily stem from social media’s algorithms. Yet still, they defend the dirt they eat. But I’m not alone with this: the rest of our reviews team found major issues with this series of cameras. Don’t get me wrong, the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF is capable of helping you make beautiful photographs — it’s the Ricoh fans that ruin it for everyone else. But in my opinion, this camera is not for street photography — it’s for dreamers.

The Big Picture: Ricoh GRIIIx HDF Review Conclusions

What the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF does that’s different from the original camera is adding what’s more or less a Pro-Mist filter. This can make street photography and candid photography really appealing. And most importantly, it reminds people that there’s more to photography than needing to pixel-peep a photograph. For what it’s worth, I’ve still made better street images with my very old Canon G1X Mk III and the film styles that I can upload to it.

But in terms of image quality, the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF shines when it comes to stagnant night photography. I’ve been in love with the work of Todd Hido more than ever right now. Personally, I’m in a transition stage of my life where my vision is about to become much better and nearly normal. I naturally see the world almost like the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF does.

While I adore all of the Ricoh GR variants, I wish that they’d focus their energies on actually making the damn camera better. It deeply saddens me that they took the flash away, they’re still using APS-C sensors with bad high ISO performance, slow lenses, and no weather resistance. But what’s even more shocking is that it’s 2024 and the continuous shooting rate is slower than the typing speed of the slowest texter you know. To that end, it causes you the equivalent amount of anxiety as you patiently sit there staring at the “typing” animation.

What the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF still does a lot of things very well. People look incredible because of the HDF filter inside and Ricoh’s own image filters, like the Positive film simulation. Night scenes also glow with a sense of calm and eerie in a way that you see in the work of the best fine art photographers. It’s also a constant reminder that you have to be very cognisant of what’s around you at all times. If you suffer from legal blindness the way I do, it will make you intently hyperfocus on those things.

I can’t see myself spending over $1,000 on this camera, though. For the money, there are really good, weather resistant cameras and lenses on the second-hand market. And because I care about my photography so much, I’d rather use a better camera and pay for one. But if I didn’t have the money, I’d use my phone and the VSCO app with its great filters.

We’re giving the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF three out of five stars. Want one? Check it out on Amazon.

Pros

• I like the 40mm field of view, but it takes time to get used to
• The Pro Mist filter that’s built in is really nice combined with the positive film look.

Cons

• Battery life is disappointing
• Slow aperture lens for night-time street photography
• ISO above 12,800 isn’t very useful
• In order for it to be useful, you basically have to use it in snap focus
• No weather resistance
• Continuous shooting mode is mid
• You really have to understand this camera to want to use it. And if you don’t understand street photography or zone focusing, you probably might think this camera is a waste of money.
• The autofocus is very slow
• Metering in Snap Focus priority is not so great

Hardware

In the hand, the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF feels like a classic point and shoot camera that’s insanely fun to use and tote around with you. In several ways, this is wonderful. But in other ways, it means that this is a camera that’s stuck in 2013.

By this, I’m talking about a few things that still make me scratch my head. I adore how small this camera is, but that comes with a small battery life. As such, this camera is more of a pet mouse than a Yorkshire Terrier — and the lifespan will only last so long.

In the hand, all the buttons are placed in just the right spots to give you access to everything you need. Still though, I truly wish that Ricoh made a higher-end version of this camera. Two exposure dials on top, an EVF, a flash, bigger battery, etc. would all be the things on my dream list.

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Ease of Use

Ultimately, the menu system in the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF is pretty simple to use — as is the interface. But the menus are deep, and you’ll need to dive deep in to find what you’re looking for. Luckily, the menu system is easy to memorize.

The Ricoh GR series has needed weather resistance, better autofocus, and a full-frame sensor for a while now.

Snap focus priority is an odd part of this camera so much so that it’s specifically worth commenting on. It’s when the camera prioritizes a distance away to focus the camera. Then it stops down the lens to an according value and you can’t manipulate that. The setting overrides aperture priority. Even if you set the camera to auto ISO or a super high option like 3200, it will not give you very fast shutter speeds. In fact, I almost never saw it go over 1/1000th. That makes using the camera in this mode pretty useless, in my opinion.

This, again, is one of the reasons why I push so hard for full-frame sensors. APS-C sensors are so limiting; and I wish that Ricoh had given us an upgraded version of this camera instead of a variant. The Ricoh GR series has needed weather resistance, better autofocus, and a full-frame sensor for a while now.

Instead, you’re best off using it with standard snap focusing and with the other parameters set yourself.

Personally speaking, this is quite disappointing. Combined with battery life that I’d define as being pretty mid, I almost never wanted to shoot with this thing for a very long period of time because I knew that I’d be disappointed. Though when I did shoot with it, I learned that turning off the display will prolong the battery life.

Focusing

If you’re shooting subjects that don’t move, then the autofocus will glide with the speed of a gas-guzzling two-cylinder engine sedan. For most people, it will be fine enough as long as you remember that these subjects don’t have to move. In fact, if you wanted to equate it to focusing speed in camera terms, then relate it to the Canon 5D Mk II.

The autofocus performance becomes even worse in low light. Eventually, the get the autofocus to work, I needed to set the focusing point to the center, use said point to focus on the subject, and then recompose. Luckily, this works just fine if you’re shooting more landscape-style scenes. But in 2024, I didn’t think it was possible to have a worse autofocus system than Fujifilm.

Still, if your subjects aren’t moving around, you can make beautiful photographs that will put a smile on your face. Indeed, my photos lit up the way that

…if you wanted to equate it to focusing speed in camera terms, then relate it to the Canon 5D Mk II.

Once a subject starts to move around, though, the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF becomes a slow-moving manatee as it lazes through water and searches for vegetation to munch on. This huge feature is the elephant in the room – as Ricoh’s autofocus hasn’t improved very much at all since the last time I personally tested a Ricoh GR-style camera. For perspective on that statement, that was before the 2020 pandemic.

When you’re photographing street photography, you have to switch to the snap-focus function instead. Because this is a 40mm lens equivalent, you’ll need to focus at 1.5 to 2 meters away to maintain closeness to your subject and an appropriate distance for story-telling. Combined with the continuous focus mode, you have a good chance of getting the photos you intend to make. Truly, the 40mm focal length can be long for some and too short for others. You just need to get used to it.

While I adore all of the Ricoh GR variants, I wish that they’d focus their energies on actually making the damn camera better.

Of 250 shots I made on my first night spanning a four-mile walk in an hour and a half, I got only 8 keepers I thought were worth sharing. To photographers who are used to blazing speeds from Sony or other brands, that might sound pretty pathetic. To street photographers, this might sound like it’s coming from someone who is really curatorial about their images. The truth is that all the answers are correct in this case. It’s only when you want to use the camera for joy-shooting that you’ll be slightly vexed.

Image Quality

Quite honestly, this is a camera that I could see photographer Todd Hido using and liking. But at night, you really need to rely on the high ISO image quality if you’re not using a tripod. Unfortunately, beyond ISO 6400, you’ll need to do a lot of editing to the files to make them look presentable. And because this is an APS-C sensor, the image quality will simply fall apart like your grandmother’s china that she’s been saving for you when she passes away. To recap what I’ve been saying for most of 2024, APS-C really isn’t the future of photography tech. If I can’t use the sensor output for everything I need in 2024 because of a slow aperture lens, what’s the point of my spending nearly $1,000 on it when the camera doesn’t have weather resistance?

In fact, the high ISO output at 6400 and above is not something that I’d want to make 17×22-inch prints with. So, we didn’t do the printer test. If you’re making digital images for social media, then you’re just fine.

This is contrary to making photographs in good, daylight situations – which is when your photos will look really great.

The Ricoh GR IIIX HDF has a built-in mist filter and a really nice set of presets, such as positive film, negative film, cross-process, bleach bypass, etc. Lots of these have been present in the Ricoh GR series for a while. Personally, I think they still look best with the GR II and how that sensor handled the images. However, because of issues with dust getting into the lens, everyone I know who had a GR II has needed to upgrade.

It’s Time to Talk About Art

In an effort to avoid being a tech-oriented website, I’m going to discuss the 9 images below and explain why I like them. This will remind you of how important art is.

The image above reminds me of a typical home with so much love in the family that they care about doing fun things together, which most American families stopped doing years ago. We can see a taxi cab outside, and that hints to us that both parents probably work. It’s the summer, but they’ve kept Christmas decorations on the front door. And at night, no one is downstairs watching television. Instead, the entire family is upstairs. The glow of the orange helps differentiate the house from the deep blue background. And here, the Ricoh GR IIIX HDF’s built-in filter helps to make the light bloom. It makes us think of this place as a dream. As someone who grew up in a pretty broken home, it warms my heart that a family is probably joy in ways they deeply recognize together.

The woman above has a ton of personality. She purposely wanted to wear all-white because it was hot out, and she knew she could look great. But her flowy cowl also adds extra fun to her outfit. It’s only broken up by the black tank top. She’s got tattoos and is deeply engulfed in what’s going on with her phone. At the same time, she’s got a bag that says “Thursday Everyday.” I looked up whether or not that’s a brand — and it’s not. Instead, it reminds me of college when everyone loved going out on Thursday night. I, at 37 years old, still love my Thursday nights. She’s also demonstrating strong youth culture as she holds a bag in another hand and a box. Then, there’s the detail of her shoe getting stuck to a piece of a torn box with tape. The Ricoh GR IIIX HDF makes her glow so much in this image.

The little girl clearly doesn’t like the woman she’s with when she smokes. It’s probably one of the reasons why she’s so far back and has a look on her face like this. The woman, presumably her mother, is sucking down the cigarette while trying to get errands done and bringing along her daughter. That’s shown by all the snail mail she has in her hand. In fact, it’s significant to us that the cigarette is so important to her that she’s holding her child’s hand with only a part of her left hand, and the other part of her left-hand holds the mail.

I love it when two people have the same expression on their faces. And that’s pretty apparent in the image above. I didn’t want to crop anymore because the megapixel count on the Ricoh GR IIIX HDF is fairly low at this point in photography.

I shot this image with a slow shutter speed. How cool is this framing?

I’m always fascinated by parents who leash their children. In this case, the child is so worn out that they’d probably rather be in the stroller.

The couple on the right are clearly in love. But there’s an oddity with the woman in the middle of the frame. The middle woman is holding a hand. With the way this image is framed, it could be a play on the fact that the woman on the right is cheating on her husband. It could also mean that the man is actually in a relationship with both of them. No matter what, I find it fascinating that the woman in the middle is kind of the third wheel in this image. And I often shoot images like this.

I like public displays of affection — and I adore the fact that they all don’t look the same. The couple here are in front of a place with neon lights shining down on them. They’re holding hands, and as they’re waiting, he’s reaching for an intimate touch. The moment gets our minds racing a bit and excited for them both. At the time of writing this article, I’m single. But I’ve totally been the guy — and the women I’ve been in relationships with and dated have absolutely been the woman in the photo.

I’ve found joy in much of Todd Hido’s work of homes at night. The Ricoh GR IIIX HDF made the home in the image glow quite a bit. It contrasts with the blue sky. Where Hido’s work walks the line between eerie and beautiful, I just see a warm home where the people upstairs are actively being together, and the downstairs shows a bit of a fun atmosphere.

Extra Image Samples

The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.

Unedited

Edited with the Phoblographer’s Photojournalism Presets

If you like what you see, please consider purchasing the presets from our shop.

Edited

Tech Specs

Taken from the Adorama listing:

Camera

• Camera-TypTTL autofocus, auto-exposure Compact digital-still camera

Lens

• Focal Length26.1mm (Approx. 40mm in 35mm equivalent focal length)
• ApertureF2.8-F16
• Construction7 elements in 5 groups (2 aspherical lens elements)

Image Capture Unit

• Image Sensor Type: Primary color filter CMOS. Size: 23.5mm x 15.6mm
• Effective PixelsApprox. 24.24 megapixels
• SensitivityISO100-102400
• (Standard output)Auto (ISO Auto Lower/Upper Limit and Minimum Shutter Speed can be set), Manual
• Image StabilizerSensor-shift shake reduction (SR)(3-axis)
• AA Filter SimulatorMoire reduction using SR unit (Off, Low, High)
• Dust RemovalImage sensor cleaning using ultrasonic vibrations “DR II”
• File formatRAW (DNG) 14bit, JPEG (Exif 2.3), DCF2.0 compliant
• Recorded Pixels[3:2] L (24M:6000×4000), M (15M:4800×3200), S (7M:3360×2240), XS (2M:1920×1280)
  [1:1] L (16M:4000×4000), M (10M:3200×3200), S (5M:2240×2240), XS (1.6M:1280×1280)
• Quality LevelRAW (14bit): PEF, DNG
  JPEG: (Best), (Better), (Good), RAW + JPEG simultaneous capturing available
• Color SpacesRGB, AdobeRGB
• Storage MediumInternal Memory (Approx. 2GB), SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card (Conforms to UHS-I standards)

White Balance

• Type of White Balance AUTO WB, Multi Auto WB
• Light temperature – presetsDaylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light (D:Daylight Color, N:Daylight White, W:Cool White, L:Warm White), Tungsten Light, CTE, Manual WB (up to 3 settings), Color Temperature Configuration (up to 3 settings), Copying the white balance setting of a captured image
• Fine AdjustmentAdjustable +/-14 steps on A-B axis or G-M axis

LCD Monitor

• Monitor TypeTFT color LCD, Wide viewing angle, Air-gapless tempered glass
• Touch Screen standard capacitive sensing method
• Size3.0″ (aspect ratio 3:2)
• ResolutionApprox. 1037K dots
• AdjustmentBrightness, Saturation and Colors adjustable
• DisplayDisplay magnification (4x, 16x), Grid display (4×4 Grid, 3×3 Grid), Histogram, Bright area warning, Electronic Level

Autofocus System

• Type of AF-SystemHybrid AF (Image plane phase-matching and Contrast detection)
• Focus ModeAuto-area AF, Zone AF, Select AF, Pinpoint AF, Tracking AF, Continuous AF, MF, Snap (1m, 1.5m, 2m, 2.5m, 5m,Infinite), Infinite
• Full Press SnapPerforms shooting by focusing at the Snap distance with a single press of the Shutter Release Button or a touch of the LCD Monitor
• Face/Eye DetectionON, Use only in Auto-area, OFF
• Focus Range (From lens face)Normal: Approx. 0.1m-Infinite, Macro Mode: Approx. 0.06m-0.12m

Exposure

• Type of Metering SystemMulti-segment, Center-weighted, Spot, Highlight-weighted
• Exposure ModeProgram AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual Exposure
• EV CompensationStill Image: +/-5EV, 1/3EV steps, Movie: +/-2EV, 1/3EV steps
• HDF (Highlight Diffusion Filter)On, Off

Shutter

• Shutter-TypeElectronically controlled lens shutter
• Shutter Speed1/4000 sec. – 30 sec. (Limit by aperture setting F2.8: 1/2500 sec, F5.6 or greater: 1/4000 sec.)
  Timed Exposure (10sec. – 20min.), Bulb, Time

Drive Modes

• Mode SelectionSingle Frame Shooting, Continuous Shooting, Bracketing, Multi-exposure, Interval Shooting, Interval Composite
• Self-timer10 sec., 2 sec., OFF
• Multi-ExposureComposite Mode(Additive/Average/Bright)
  Multiple Shots

External Flash

• Hot ShoeCompatible with P-TTL Auto Flash
• Flash ModeFlash On, Flash On+Red-eye, Slow-speed Sync, Slow Sync+Red-eye
• Flash Exposure Compensation-2.0 -+1.0

Shooting Functions

• Custom Image / Image ControlStandard, Vivid, Monotone, Soft Monotone, Hard Monotone, Hi-Contrast B&W, Positive Film, Bleach Bypass, Retro, Cross Processing, HDR Tone, Custom1, Custom2
  Adjust parameters: Saturation, Hue, High/Low Key Adjustment, Contrast, Contrast (Highlight), Contrast (Shadow), Sharpness, Shading, Clarity, Toning, Filter Effect, Grain Effect, HDR Tone Level, Color Tone (Adjust parameter varies depending on the selected image setting)
• Digital FilterFor Shooting and Edition Process
• D-RANGE CompensationHighlight Correction, Shadow Correction
• Noise ReductionSlow Shutter Speed NR, High-ISO NR
• Horizon CorrectionSR On: correction up to 1 degrees, SR Off: correction up to 1.5 degrees
• Crop50mm, 70mm, Off

Movie

• File FormatMPEG-4 AVC/H.264(MOV
• Recorded PixelsFull HD (1920×1080, 60p/30p/24p)
• SoundBuilt-in stereo microphone
• Recording Time Up to 25 minutes or 4GB ; automatically stops recording if the internal temperature of the camera becomes high

Playback

• Playback ViewSingle frame, Multi-image (20, 48 frames), Display magnification (up to 16x, 100% view and Quick Zoom view available), Histogram (Y histogram, RGB histogram), Grid display (3×3 Grid, 4×4 Grid), Bright area warning, Auto Image Rotation
• Base Parameter AdjustmentNormal editing, Monotone editing
  Parameter: Brightness, Saturation, Filter Effect, Hue, Toning, Contrast, Sharpness (Adjust parameter varies depending on the selected editing setting)
• RAW DevelopmentRAW file select: Select Single Image, Select Multiple Images, Select a folder, Select a shooting date
  Aspect Ratio, JPEG Recorded Pixels, Color Space, White Balance, Image Control, Peripheral Illumination Correction, Sensitivity, High-ISO Noise Reduction, Shadow Correction
• EditDelete, Protect, Image Rotation, Image Copy, File Transfer, Resize, Cropping (Aspect ratio and Slant adjustment available), Levels Adjustment, White Balance Adjustment, Color Moire Correction, Movie Edit (Cut), Movie Edit (Divide)

Interfaces

• USB ConnectionUSB Type-C, Battery Recharge/Power Supply (Optional AC Adapter required), Data Transfer: MTP, Video output: DisplayPort over USB-C (DisplayPort Alternative Mode)
• Lens adapter pin Available

Wireless LAN

• WLAN Standard IEEE 802.11b/g/n (HT20) (Wireless LAN standard protocol)
• Frequency (Center Frequency)2412MHz-2462MHz (1ch-11ch)
• SecurityAuthentication: WPA2, Encryption: AES

Bluetooth

• Transfer ProtocolBluetoothv4.2 (Bluetooth Low Energy)
• Frequency (Center Frequency)2402MHz-2480MHz (CH0-CH39)

Power

• Battery TypeRechargeable Lithium-ion Battery DB110
• AC AdapterAC Adapter Kit K-AC166 (Optional)
• Battery LifeNumber of recordable images: Approx. 200 images, Playback time: Approx. 180 minutes
• Battery Charging by USB Type-C, Battery Recharge/Power Supply

System Requirements

• Windows OSWindows 10 (FCU/CU)(32bit/64bit) / Windows 8.1 (32bit/64bit)
• Macintosh OSmacOS 11 BigSur, macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 10.14 Mojave

Storage

• RAWRecorded Pixels: 24M(6000 x 4000)
  SD Card 8 GB: 150
  Internal Memory: 40
• JPEGRecorded Pixels: L – 24M(6000 x 4000)
  SD Card 8 GB: 527
  Internal Memory: 140
  
  Recorded Pixels: M – 15M(4800 x 3200)
  SD Card 8 GB: 820
  Internal Memory: 218
  
  Recorded Pixels: S – 7M(3360 x 2240)
  SD Card 8 GB: 1646
  Internal Memory: 437
  
  Recorded Pixels: 2M(1920 x 1280)
  SD Card 8 GB: 4717
  Internal Memory: 1253
• Movie recording Recorded Pixels: Full HD (1920 x 1080)
  Time (approx.): 00:12’17” 00:24’09” 00:29’56”
  SD Card 8GB: 60p, 30p, 24p

Battery

• Battery Info Required included
• Battery MaterialLithium ion
• Battery TypeNon-universal
• Battery Quantity1

Physical

• Dimensions (W x H x D)Approx. 4.3 x 2.43 x 1.38″ (109.4 x 61.9 x 35.2mm) (excluding protrusions)
• WeightApprox. 9.24 oz (262g) (Including dedicated battery and SD Memory Card)
  Approx. 8.18 oz (232g) (body only)

Declarations of Journalistic intent

The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:

• At the time of publishing this review, Ricoh is not an advertiser with the Phoblographer. This doesn’t affect our reviews.
• Note that this isn’t necessarily our final review of the camera. It will be updated, and it’s more of an in-progress review than anything. In fact, almost all our reviews are like this.
• This review, and none of the reviews on the Phoblographer, are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
• Ricoh loaned the camera and accessories to the Phoblographer for review. There was no money exchange between Ricoh and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Ricoh and several other manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
• Ricoh knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know. We were the first publication to inform about the issue with the Leica M10R and how it renders the color orange.
• Ricoh shipped the camera to the Phoblographer and is paying for the return shipment. This is a standard practice in the world of reviewers.
• The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
• At the time of publishing, the Ricoh GRIIIx HDF is the only compact camera with a built in mist-style filter. We typically steer away from small sensor cameras, but this one is innovative and unique enough.
• In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information from us or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows.
• At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.

More can be found on our Disclaimers page.