Every Ricoh GRIII

Did you know that in 2020, Ricoh released a Green version of the GRIII exclusive to China, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity?

Yes, it's true!

Ever since the launch of the original GRIII, Ricoh has been hard at work pumping out special editions to the point where there are now over half a dozen different models of the GRIII on the market.

That can be confusing, which is why, in this video, we're going to explore all of the versions of the Ricoh GRIII so you can find the perfect camera for you.

Ricoh GRIII Standard

Of course, the first camera in the GRIII line was the original Ricoh GRIII, released in March 2019 with a suggested retail price of 899.95.

The GRIII was the successor to the highly popular Ricoh GRII, released in 2015.

The GRIII was 1cm shorter than the GRII, had two fewer buttons on the back, and had one fewer dial option, removing the Shutter+ Apeture priority mode selection. The camera came with a larger screen that now had touch functionality. However, the screens on both cameras are functionally the same after the borders on the GRIII screen are considered.

The GRIII Removed the pop-up flash from the Ricoh GRII and added a modern USB-C charging port.

The biggest change from the GRII to the GRIII was the bump in resolution, which went from 16MP to 24MP. The ISO was increased from 25600 on the GRII to 102400 on the GRIII, and sensor-shift image stabilization was added.

The standard Ricoh GRIII comes in one colour, Black, and ships with a battery, charger, and wrist strap.

Ricoh GRIII Street Edition

The next version of the GRIII to be announced was the Ricoh GRIII Street Edition, released in July 2020 with a suggested retail price of $1199.

Ricoh released the GRIII Street Edition as part of a special kit limited to just 3,500 units. However, the camera was later released as a special edition, which you could buy outside the kit like the normal GRIII.

The special edition kit came with a box unique to the Street Edition, a battery, charger, a special street edition premium leather wrist strap, replacement black lens ring, and a colour-matched optical viewfinder.

Ricoh sells the GS-2 viewfinder as an optional accessory for the GRIII which is why this viewfinder can be seen as the main reason for the increased MRSP on this model.

The Ricoh GRIII Street Edition featured a metallic grey body and a metallic yellow ring cap which was inspired by the yellow lines common on streets.

Like all special editions, The Street Edition features a special power-off graphic with a street-like background and a special logo.

Ricoh GRIII GRowING Edition

The Ricoh GRIII Growing Edition was released in October 2020 as a special edition camera exclusively for the Chinese market. Not much is known about the GRIII Growing Edition, as it remains Ricoh's rarest model of the GRIII.

According to English media translations, the camera was officially released as part of a limited edition kit for 7,599 Yuan or around $1059. Reportedly, between 800 and 2000 kits were sold.

Each kit came with a special edition flip-top reusable box, product guide, battery, charger, premium green leather reset strap, and a green leather travel pouch branded with the Growing logo, spelt with a capital GR, ow and a capital ING.

The camera also received a few big changes, notably the green leather grip, a new green lens ring, and a colour-matched green shutter and playback button.

The GRIII Growing Edition also features a branded stainless steel hotshot cover, and like all special edition Ricoh GRIIIs, the camera features a special power-off graphic.

Ricoh announced this camera as the first in its upcoming line of products designed for the sport of its 'Growing project,' an initiative designed to support young people in China. For every Ricoh GRIII Growing Edition sold, the company said it would donate 200 Yuan, or around $14, to children's charities in China.

Since the Ricoh GRIII Growing Edition launch, Ricoh has not released any new products in the Growing Initiative, and it seems like this camera has already been lost to time.

Ricoh GriiiX Urban Edition

The Ricoh GRIIIX Urban Edition was released in April 2022 with a suggested retail price of $1099.95.

The Urban Edition Kit was originally limited to 2,000 units; However, the camera was later released broadly, so you could buy it outside of the special edition kit.

Inside the box, the GRIIIX Urban Edition came with a battery, charger, blue lens ring, premium urban edition wrist strap, and metal hot shoe cover. The camera body was finished in a light metallic grey, said to have been inspired by asphalt city streets. Like all special edition GRIII, it featured its own unique power off-screen.

As the name implies, the GRIIIX was the first major technical deviation from the standard GRIII camera. The Ricoh GRIIIX Urban edition came with a 40mm Equivalent lens instead of a 28mm. The camera also came with several new software features, which would be made available via firmware updates on the previous GRI models. These new features included Snap Distance Priority Mode and Auto Area AF Focus Mode.

Ricoh GRIIIx

Released at the same time as the GRIIIX Urban Edition was the Ricoh GRIIIX Standard edition with a suggested retail price of 1039.99. This camera was functionally identical to the GRIIIX Urban Edition but without special accessories.

Ricoh GRIII Diary Edition

The Ricoh GRIII Diary Edition was released in January 2023 with a suggested retail price of 1019.95.

The camera was released as a special edition kit limited to 2000 units worldwide. However, Ricoh later made buying the camera as part of the standard GRIII kit possible.

The GRIII Diary Edition is a special edition version of the GRIII that goes back to the camera's original 28mm equivalent lens. The camera body features a warm metallic grey finish with a silver accent lens ring. Ricoh says the inspiration behind the camera was so that it could more easily blend into everyday life.

The special edition kit came with a battery and charger, replacement black lens ring, hot shoe cover, special edition premium leather wrist strap, and a sailcloth case specifically for the diary edition.

Like all special edition Ricoh GRIIIs, the camera features a special power-off graphic.

Ricoh GRIII HDF

Finally, we've reached the newest GRIII branded camera in the Ricoh catalogue as of the recording of this video.

The Ricoh GRIII HDF is the company's newest camera, released in March 2024 for a suggested retail price of $1069.95.

The GRIII HDF is functionally identical to the original GRIII but with a few small changes. Most notably, the camera comes with a built-in Highlight Diffusion Filter (HDF) that Ricoh claims helps to create more expressive images with a sense of depth and emotion.

In reality this filter functions similar to using a promist filter. on your lens, causing highligh areas of your image to bloom and you can turn this feature on and off using the fn button on the back of the camera.

Apart from that, the only difference to the build of the camera is the inclusion of a dark silver shutter release button. Other additions to the GRIIIHDF include reprogrammable white balance settings and a new zone-select autofocus mode.

Ricoh GRIIIx HDF

This camera is a 40mm equivalent lens version of the Ricoh GRIII HDF.