When Ricoh launched the GR IV, it quickly discontinued the older compact camera that it replaced, the GR III. But Ricoh hasn’t yet announced a replacement for its longer-lens compact camera, the GR IIIx – and the older model doesn’t have the price jump of the GR IV. As a portrait photographer, the more affordable GR IIIx would be my choice from the Ricoh GR Digital series, even over the newer GR IV.
Ricoh’s GR series has long been a well-loved compact camera, particularly among street photographers, for its large APS-C sensor and discrete, pocketable body – and the compact camera trend has created a new generation of fans.
But three years after the launch of the GR III, Ricoh launched the GR IIIx – a camera that continued all the favorite features of the GR series, but with a longer lens. The standard Ricoh GR, like the GR IV and GR III, uses a wide-angle lens that’s equivalent to 28mm on a full-frame camera, but the GR IIIx uses a longer lens that’s equivalent to 40mm.
Read more: The Ricoh GR III vs GR IIIx
While a 28mm view is better for landscapes and wide-angle street portraits, the 40mm perspective is closer to the vantage point of the human eye. Beyond getting closer, the longer perspective also creates less distortion. Longer focal lengths also make the background appear closer, which helps exaggerate the blur possible from the f/2.8 maximum aperture.
As a portrait photographer, the GR IIIx HDF would be my choice, even compared to the newer GR IV. Longer lenses are more flattering for portraits and, even for walk-around street photography, I like the closer view and lower distortion on the 40mm version of the Ricoh GR series.
Ricoh says the sensor and lens are all new on the GR IV, but there’s still less than a 2MP difference between the IV and III, and the IV isn’t any faster at 4 fps. There are some positive improvements, yes, but there’s also a price jump.
Photographers who want that updated sensor and processor with a longer lens may have to wait a while – the GR III was announced in 2019, and the GR IIIx in 2021. If Ricoh continues that same pattern, it may be three years before the GR IVx, if the company even launches a longer-lens version. But, then again, compact cameras are trending right now, and that could potentially help encourage manufacturers to launch more compacts sooner rather than later.
With the Ricoh GR IV so new, finding the trendy compact camera in stock is difficult. The GR IIIx isn’t overstocked, but it does seem easier to find in stock than the GR IV. The GR IIIx HDF – which would be my choice, as the HDF is a diffusion filter for more film-like images – is in stock at Amazon in multiple countries, including the US, UK, Australia, and Canada. In most cases, the GR IIIx is also hundreds less than the GR IV, which launched at a new, higher list price.
Between the longer lens, the lower price, and the wider availability, the Ricoh GR IIIx HDF would be my choice among Ricoh’s compact camera series.
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