Released back in 2021, RICOH’s compact GR IIIx still hasn’t lost its grip on the market — demand remains so strong that it’s only available via lottery sales. I finally got my hands on one earlier this year, and after putting it through its paces on the bike, here’s my take on what it really delivers as a ride companion.
For context, RICOH announced in May that the GR IV is currently in development.
With a release planned for around autumn, actually getting one will likely take a while longer — so if you’re holding out for the GR IV, I hope this piece gives you a sense of what the GR series is really about.
text & photo / Tats (@tats_lovecyclist)
*All photos in this article were shot with the GR IIIx, except for product images and those noted otherwise.
Contents
RICOH GR IIIx Specs
Here’s how the current GR III and GR IIIx stack up against the upcoming GR IV, based on what we know so far.
| GR III | GR Ⅳ | GR IIIx | |
| Lens construction | 6 elements in 4 groups (2 aspherical lenses) | 7 elements in 5 groups (2 aspherical lenses) | |
| Focal length | 18.3mm (28mm equiv. in 35mm) F2.8–F16 | 26.1mm (40mm equiv. in 35mm) F2.8–F16 | |
| Sensor size | 23.5×15.6mm | 23.3×15.5mm | 23.5×15.6mm |
| Effective pixels | approx. 24.24MP | approx. 25.74MP | approx. 24.24MP |
| Internal memory | 2GB | 53GB | 2GB |
| Shutter speed | 1/4000–30 sec | ||
| ND filter | Auto, On, Off | ||
| Shots per charge | approx. 200 | TBD | approx. 200 |
| Weight | 257g | 262g | 262g |
| Release | March 2019 | Fall 2025 | October 2021 |
| List price | ¥133,750 | TBD | ¥139,800 |
The defining difference is focal length. If you want 28mm, it’s the GR III or GR Ⅳ; if you want 40mm, it’s the GR IIIx.
The GR Ⅳ steps up to a 7-element, 5-group lens design, which should improve overall rendering uniformity and tame the distortion typical of wide-angle optics compared to the GR III. So if you’re after 28mm, it’s worth waiting for the Ⅳ. If you’re after 40mm, there’s no reason to wait.
I went with the 40mm GR IIIx because it sits close to the focal length I usually shoot with on my mirrorless body (around 50mm). At 28mm, getting in tight on a bike easily warps the frame, which limits when you can actually use it. My shooting style also leans toward “cyclist × bike × background” rather than “landscape × bike”, and 40mm makes that kind of framing feel far more natural.
Why I’m reaching for a GR now
My shooting style for the past seven years
It’s been seven years since I started carrying a mirrorless body on rides. In that time, plenty of cyclists have picked up the same habit — but honestly, I’ve started to find hauling a mirrorless on every ride a bit of a chore.
As a photographer, I obviously bring the mirrorless when it’s a paid shoot. But for a pure ride, lugging it just for SNS posts feels like overkill.
I went through a phase of trying to make the iPhone work as a substitute, but as I wrote in my 16 Pro review, there were parts of the shooting experience and final output I couldn’t make peace with, so I never fully made the switch (that said, as a record-keeper and video camera, the iPhone is unbeatable).
A compact camera is the obvious thing to fill the gap — but the options have dwindled to almost nothing. I already let go of the small 1-inch sensor models since the iPhone outgrew them, and SONY and Leica’s full-frame compacts are just too big. That leaves the APS-C field: FUJIFILM’s X100VI or RICOH’s GRIII / GRIIIx.
Of those, the one that slips into a pocket and lands on a beautifully judged 40mm focal length is the GR IIIx.
This is exactly the moment the GR comes alive
The GR IIIx launched four years ago (the GR III, six), but I’d argue that in 2025, the GR is the ultimate ride camera. There are three reasons — some personal — behind that.
The shift in photographic trends
There was a time when a photo was judged first on whether it was in focus and whether the subject was clearly defined. Blurred or murky frames went straight to the trash without a second thought.
But now, that kind of “imperfection” is what people gravitate toward. Intentional out-of-focus shots, motion blur from slow shutters, the warped light of an on-camera flash — these are read as “not literal, but emotionally hitting”, and photographers are deliberately chasing them.
Slow shutter and strobe have become essential to contemporary photographic expression (shot with a mirrorless)
Why? Largely because of how far smartphone cameras have evolved. Portrait mode in particular brought mirrorless-like “bokeh” within reach of anyone. Timelines are now flooded with neatly blurred backgrounds. In that landscape, is there really any point in lugging around a dedicated camera just to shoot the same look?
The appeal of GR isn’t that it shoots “beautifully” — it’s that it shoots “freely.” Miss focus, go pan-focus, and it still holds together. Blow out the highlights in backlight, and it still has flavor as a photograph. GR’s design philosophy seems to embrace ambiguity and roughness rather than eliminate them, and that resonates powerfully with where photographic expression is heading right now.
Shots I would have tossed in the past are now ones I keep
The definition of a “good photo” shifts with the times, and there’s no question that GR fits this moment.
Personal growth as a shooter
Back when I was still a beginner, a friend let me try the GR III, and I came away convinced I couldn’t handle it. The GR series isn’t a friendly camera for newcomers.
Take the GR IIIx: 40mm is a tricky focal length — too tight for snaps, too wide for portraits — and it’s hard to get the easy, obvious background blur that still pleases most viewers (trends shift, but bokeh remains a crowd-pleaser). On top of that, the very concept of a “snap shooter” is abstract enough that you’re left wondering what you should even be pointing it at.
GR’s output is wonderful, but the shutter feel is underwhelming, which makes the “joy of shooting” hard to feel at first (shot with a friend’s camera ©@hxsx_ryxhxx)
Growing as a shooter takes several stages.
Grasp the differences between focal lengths. Learn aperture/SS/ISO for each environment. Understand each camera’s character. Get fluent in RAW development. Get used to handling a camera mid-ride. Learn the places, timings, and uses of light that produce strong photos.
None of this can simply be taught — you have to cycle through cameras and lenses and absorb it through experience.
Once you’ve gone through those stages and can clearly visualize what you want to shoot at GR’s focal length, there’s no camera more dependable.
A shot taken by a fellow shooter I handed the GR to. It was their first time with a GR, but with a trained eye, dialing in just the settings is enough to capture exactly the image they had in mind
The rise of cargo bibs
Pocketable as it is, sliding the GR — which isn’t dust- or weather-sealed — into a jersey back pocket is a death sentence. Winter is one thing, but a summer back pocket is harsher than a sauna.
Cargo bib pockets are a different story. Sweat doesn’t soak through as easily, and the location and size of the pocket are arguably the best fit for carrying a camera like the GR.
Over the past few years, just about every brand has added cargo bibs to its lineup, and that has quietly turned the GR into a camera anyone can take along.
Cargo pockets make the camera easy to grab, so reaction time stays sharp. You can shoot with the same agility as having a mirrorless slung over your shoulder (shot with a friend’s camera ©@kentasan_24)
Sample shots and settings
What matters most is what kind of photos this camera produces, so here are shots taken across a range of conditions.
All were captured in RAW and developed in Lightroom. Rather than forcing them to match the presets I use on my mirrorless, I’ve leaned into the color character the GR already has.
Camera settings
Settings change with the situation, but I mostly toggle between two modes: Av and Tv.
Av (aperture priority) is for tuning depth of field or shooting in low light. Tv (shutter priority) is for conveying a sense of speed or that contemporary mood that defines so much of today’s photography.
GR IIIx Sample Shots
The 40mm focal length proves remarkably versatile on a ride, letting you balance tight details and wider scenes within a single outing. The compact body also frees you from the angle constraints of a mirrorless setup, opening up far more room for expression.
Another signature of the GR’s color rendering: natural, but with restrained saturation, giving everything a subdued, grown-up character. The tonal nuance in the shadows is especially rich, which is why I finish most of my shots slightly underexposed. Depending on the scene, it also makes me want to lean into monochrome.
Where the GR Falls Short
Personally, here are the three things that frustrate me about the GR IIIx.
Weak skin tone rendering: Because the GR leans toward a cool, mature palette, the redness and warmth of skin gets toned down, and you lose that healthy-looking complexion. You can correct it to some extent in post, but it’s hard to pull out the kind of color I usually get from my FUJIFILM. So (although this goes against the camera’s design philosophy in the first place) it’s not really suited as a main portrait camera.
Keeping the GR’s signature color while tweaking the skin tones slightly in post
No weather sealing: Adding dust and splash resistance would likely change the form factor. Part of the GR’s charm is that it’s so small yet delivers such stunning results, so this is the price of entry. I’ve been using it on rides for several months now and it’s holding up fine, but there’s no denying it’s been subjected to harsh conditions for a GR. I’d recommend springing for an extended warranty.
No viewfinder & no tilting screen: This is also a trade-off for the size, so asking for it might be greedy, but the shooting experience — including the shutter feel — is on the cheap side. I miss having a viewfinder, and when shooting from near the ground, the fixed screen makes framing tough.
I list these as complaints, but I know that addressing any of them would make the GR something other than a GR — so I use it knowing exactly what it is.
Battery life often gets called out as a weakness, but a single ride maxes out around 200 frames for me, and it handles that just fine. AF is slow too, but I usually shoot moving subjects with pan focus, so it’s rarely an issue.
A Camera That Doesn’t Wear You Down
On paid shoots I sometimes run a two-camera setup: mirrorless + GR
(Shot on a friend’s camera ©@kentasan_24)
Mirrorless cameras will remain essential for client work and serious image-making — that won’t change.
But when you’re tired of hauling a bulky camera around in pursuit of that one flawless ride shot, the GR offers a shooting experience that doesn’t keep you on edge.
You can release the shutter without bracing yourself. Even the misses turn out worth looking at. That looseness fits the current photographic mood and the tone of the times.
There’s no need to give up your mirrorless — but having a camera that lets you shoot at a comfortable emotional distance is hugely important if you want to keep capturing your rides for the long haul.
A modern classic that packs everything we want from a small body
About the Author
 | Tats Shimizu (@tats_lovecyclist) Editor-in-chief and photographer. 12 years on sport bikes. Maintains broad relationships with international brands and uses the media to propose a wide range of cycling styles. Also works as a photographer for numerous domestic and overseas bike brands. Main bikes: Standert (road) and Factor (gravel). |
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