TLDR: The BEST GRIII Upgrades!

Camera Strap: https://amzn.to/3zZGfDq

Lens Cap: https://amzn.to/4djUgtW

Screen Protector: https://amzn.to/3zZG37a

Grip: https://amzn.to/3y4T9j5

Charger: https://amzn.to/3YkdNGj

Ring: https://amzn.to/3YkggRm

Extra Battery: https://amzn.to/3SjJE6b

Breakdown

I went my entire life having never used a point-and-shoot camera, and now I'm in love with my Ricoh GR Digital III.

This tiny form factor mirrorless point-and-shoot camera has changed how I shoot a behind-the-scenes photos of my video shoots.

I shoot a lot of videos for my clients in Winnipeg, Manitoba. One of the things I like to do is to take photos during the production. Seeing the video creation process and how it all works together can be a great extra marketing piece for a business. Not to mention it's interesting (at least I think so!)

I used to take behind-the-scenes photos on my phone, but bringing it out, dismissing the notifications and texts, and then sorting through my gallery after the shoot to pick out the photos was a cumbersome process. So I went searching for something else.

That's when I found the Ricoh GR Digital III.

Ricoh GRIII Mods

Using the Ricoh GR Digital III on set, I can capture high-quality images of my productions at a moment's notice and then ingest the images on the SD card alongside the footage at the end of the day.

I don't claim to be a Ricoh GR Digital III expert. There's an entire fanbase devoted to a love of this camera and the others in the GR line. While doing my research, though, I got some tips from this group, and I'd like to share them with you.

Here's how I made the Ricoh GR Digital III into the ultimate bts camera.

Tape Holes

This camera will live in a pocket or bag for its entire usable life.

The first thing I did when I got my Ricoh GR Digital III was I took a few small pieces of high-strength Gaff tape and cut them down into little pieces to place over the two microphone holes in the front of the camera and the speaker holes at the bottom of the camera. I was convinced to do this by several online users who said it could help prevent dust and lint front entering the GRIII body, which is not weather sealed. 

I wouldn't normally do this if I needed to use the microphone and the speakers on the camera. Still, I am confident that I will not be recording audio or requiring any playback on this camera, so I went for it.

Dust entering the bodies on the GR line of cameras has always been a tough-talking point. Fortunately, suppose you start seeing debris in your images. In that case, the Ricoh GR Digital III has a special clearing mode that should shake any loose particles off the sensor using the camera's built-in ibis system.

Wrist Strap

Next, I attach the included wrist strap to the camera. I threaded the strap into the mounting hole on the camera's right side. A few of these points are on the camera, so you can put the strap in the spot that works best for you.

The Ricoh GR Digital III has a surprisingly stable grip when using the camera with one hand. I like how it feels. But the camera wouldn't survive a fall from any considerable height, so I chose to air on the side of the caution and use the strap. It's about as light as a wrist strap can be without hurting your confidence in its ability to hold up the camera. Overall, perfectly serviceable.

Screen Protector

The next thing I did was install a screen protector on the Ricoh. In 2023, you can buy a screen protector for essentially any device. They're one of the most popular electronics accessories categories on the market. 

On the Ricoh GR Digital III, the screen is non-user serviceable, so it's vital to protect the one you have, or you'll end up sending your camera back to Ricoh for repair.

I went with the screen protector from an unrecognizable brand called Ulbter on Amazon. It had positive reviews and came with a few helpful accessories to get the screen to stick just right. Hopefully, This product will help prevent scratches to my new Ricoh GR Digital III.

GRIII Lens Cap

The next thing I did was purchase a lens cap for my Ricoh GR Digital III. 

The lens cap I bought from a company called JJC is designed to only be on the camera while the unit is off. It has helped me reduce the wear to the front camera leaf element when I carry this camera in my pocket or bag. It's a great little travel cap, and it looks like an OEM part with the GR logo in the center.

A lens cap on this camera is unlike a lens cap on a traditional mirrorless camera. This is because the lens extends outwards when you turn on the Ricoh GR Digital III. The goal is to remove the lens cap when you start shooting. On occasion, I will turn the camera on, and the lens will boop the lens cap off, but both the camera and the cap appear to be okay, and I make a little mental note not to do that every time it happens.

GRIII SD Cards

The next thing I did was to get an SD card for my camera. If you're a filmmaker, you likely already have SD cards. This was the case in my scenario where I used a bunch of high-performance SD cards for my business cameras. But I also have several older SD cards from previous cameras and projects, and the great thing about the Ricoh is that it will be happy to accept those as well.

One thing I like about the Ricoh GRiii is that it comes with 2GB of internal memory, which means that If I forget to bring an SD card for this camera, I can still shoot a few dozen BTS shots.  

Because the camera doesn't shoot exceptionally fast or at an exceptionally high resolution, you can use less performance-oriented SD cards to store your photos. I went with a Sandisk Extreme Plus V30 SD card, which I used to use with my A7iii mirrorless video camera. 

The card works great, and 128 GB on the Ricoh GR Digital III may be an infinite amount of storage because you'll burn through a few batteries before you get close to filling up the card.

Extra Batteries

Speaking of batteries, let's toss on a few extra to ensure we have enough power to last out the entire shoot. The Ricoh GR Digital III is rated at 200 photos, which should be enough for our BTS, but in case it would be nice to have a few extra batteries and a charger because the Ricoh does not come with a wall charger out of the box. 

I went super off-brand with this purchase, which I wouldn't usually recommend. I purchased a set of two DSTE batteries and a charger from Amazon for less than Ricoh charges for a single battery. So far, these batteries have held up so far, but your mileage may vary.

Finale

That's how I modified my Ricoh GR Digital III to work as a BTS camera for my video shoots. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for reading!

Josh.

Videos by Josh is a Videographer and Video Editor operating out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He competes directly with the most extensive media agencies in the province to drive down the price of top-tier video and creative content.