If you’re a street photographer, you already know about the Ricoh GR. A tremendous success among those who appreciate no-nonsense quality without all the superfluous bells and whistles that complicate many digital cameras, the GR series is truly a cult classic. However, the GR II was only a minor update to the first version. Not that it was a bad camera, but if you already had the first GR, there was no reason to make the upgrade. Now, there is.
Now smaller, faster, and more powerful, the Ricoh GR III features a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor (from the 16MP of the previous models), 3-inch touchscreen LCD, 4-stop sensor-shift in-body stabilization, ultrasonic dust reduction, updated phase-detection AF, WiFi, Bluetooth, 1080p/60fps video (no 4K), and a completely redesigned lens that keeps the same 28mm focal length but shortens the minimum focusing distance to 6cm from 10cm. This does mean that the 0.75x wide angle adapter you used on the GR and GR II (GW-3) won’t be usable on the GR III, as the newly designed lens will require a new GW-4 adapter.
One of the biggest downsides of the GR III is perhaps the battery life, which has taken a huge drop from 320 shots per charge to 200 shots. And the image stabilization is the culprit. On the upside, though, the Ricoh GR III trades its proprietary charging port for USB-C, so you can carry a power banks if necessary.