The Ricoh GR III is your perfect compact street camera – and here's why
(Image credit: Ricoh)
Why the Ricoh GR III? If you are looking to get into street photography, but you're a little nervous about getting up close and personal with strangers, most will tend to go for a longer lens to get them close to the action on the street without getting so close that you can look the subject in the eyes.
However, instead of carrying around your heavy DSLR or mirrorless camera and big lens, there is another way you can take great street photos using a smaller camera that's designed for the job: the Ricoh GR III.
This handy compact camera has a large, cult-like following on the streets and there is good reason for that: it can go virtually unseen by anyone on the street. Some might even think you are just a tourist taking snaps of everything, when in fact you're getting your subject right where you want them.
Street photography is all about capturing the moments around you and, thanks to its small size and wonderful one-handed operation, this 24.2MP camera with a 28mm f/2.8 lens is the perfect for taking amazing street photos.
(Image credit: Sebastian Oakley / Digital Camera World)
Along with its vast 100-102,400 ISO range and 14-bit DNG RAW capability, the Ricoh GR III is possibly the best compact camera setup ready for the streets. Furthermore, it is quite possibly the only compact camera with a wide range of accessories just you help you get better street photos.
From a thumb rest to ease one-handed operation, a side grip to make it more comfortable for longer shooting sessions, to teleconverter lenses that enable you to optically adjust your focal length to a tighter 75mm, these add-ons make shooting easier and better – though of course they also add extra bulk to your camera when you are wanting to be as stealthy as possible.
If 75mm is way too tight for your style of photography, then you can choose the wide-angle conversion lens that will turn your 28mm lens into a 21mm. And you can even get two types of external viewfinders to put on your hot shoe, which display frame lines of 21mm and 28mm for the GV1 or 28mm and 40mm for the GV2. So you have a vast array of options with this camera to rig it up however you like, to make it the perfect street camera for your style of shooting.
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(Image credit: Ricoh)
Ricoh has also added extra benefits via a firmware upgrade for street photographers called Snap Distance Priority. This is an auto-aperture zone focusing system; by setting one of three different depth of field priority levels on the camera, you can then snap away without having to worry about sharp images, as long as your subject is within that desired range.
So, it's basically a popular style of shooting street more familiar to Leica shooters, but in an automatic form that ensures all your images are correctly exposed via the correct aperture. Sounds great, doesn't it!
No matter if you are just getting into photography and want to have a handy compact camera wherever you go, or you want something compact that can go under the radar on long sessions on the street, the Ricoh GR III is a super camera packed full of amazing features. And better still, it has a vast following online that can help you set up your camera to make it outperform even the best cameras for street photography.
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For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
