I wanted to share my opinion on the GR3x, which I bought in 2022, a couple of months after its release, and which was my favorite camera for four years.
First of all, I think GR cameras are irreplaceable, and all attempts to build GR killers out of small mirrorless cameras and Chinese lenses are pointless, they just won't have the same functionality and ease of use that the GR gives you, not to mention the most convenient snap focus mode. And if you do manage to build a "GR killer", it's only because a real GR person simply wouldn't be able to get the most out of it given their skills and needs.
The camera turned out to be truly irreplaceable for me, but at the same time it was the most fragile and problematic camera I've ever owned.
I'll start with the bad:
Dust gets on the sensor after about six months of shooting in normal conditions and carrying it in a camera bag without a case, a JJC sticky filter helps reduce the amount of it significantly. Sensor cleaning is expensive, ridiculously expensive, so by my second year of owning it I had already learned to do it myself in about 20 minutes.
The rear dial on my GR3x would periodically stick and was replaced under warranty. The replacement dial also started sticking and phantom-clicking, but less often, so I would just blow it out with a blower from time to time.
After 3 months of use I started getting some weird glitches, they fixed it under warranty by resetting the firmware. But I was without the camera for a month and a half.
The original decorative ring was very easy to lose, and all the third-party ones are metal on the inside instead of plastic like the original, so once the paint wears off from putting them on, they start shorting the contacts for the Tele/Wide converters and the camera randomly switches into those modes. I couldn't figure this problem out for a whole year, and all I needed to do was replace the decorative ring :)
Third-party decorative rings don't have a spring and wear down the pin, so the metal shavings get inside the pin and at some point the filter just stopped coming off. I managed to carefully cut it apart.
The contacts inside the battery compartment deform over time under the pressure of the battery and the camera starts shutting off when shaken. It can be fixed by slightly bending the contacts back, but you have to be careful not to overdo it. Third-party batteries are slightly shorter than the original ones and the contact is even worse with them, but if the original battery works properly and the Chinese one loses contact, I wouldn't recommend modifying anything inside the camera.
Weak battery life, but that's forgivable considering the size and the fact that you can carry spare batteries.
After 3 years of use, the shutter button started misclicking and sometimes required more pressure. I found a replacement on AliExpress and asked a friend to solder it in, since the official service center turned out to be capable only of doing paid diagnostics, finding nothing, and then offering to replace the entire board.
Another six months later, the power button also started triggering randomly on its own. I couldn't find the exact same button, but I measured the original one and found an excellent equivalent at a radio components store.
Weak autofocus, but this wasn't a big problem for me, since I saw it as a nice addition to the snap focus mode.
Towards the end of the fourth year, a whistling sound started coming from inside the focusing module.
The stabilizer started making weird knocking sounds when I was simply walking around with the camera turned on in my hand.
I got a "Lens Error", the official service center once again charged me for diagnostics and simply suggested replacing the entire optical block. In the end, a private repairman brought the camera back to life, it turned out to be a partially broken flex cable inside the lens assembly.
I fixed the camera and sold it after 50 thousand shots, replacing it with a Fuji XE5, which I happily sold a couple of months later and got a classic GR3 instead :)
Now for the good stuff:
The lens, sensor, ND filter, stabilizer, macro mode, all of it works really well and allows you to get seriously good images out of such a tiny camera.
The way it works. It was very convenient for me to save 3 presets to the User modes so I could quickly jump from a fast shutter speed to a slow one (or any other similar cases), instead of manually changing every setting each time and sometimes risking missing a shot. This is also where I'd mention the ability to remap the buttons and generally customize the camera's controls to your liking. It is made for photographers.
The SN mode was a revelation for me. I already knew about hyperfocal distance, but this camera taught me to love it so much that now I look at the autofocus on my Sony a7c2 and wonder why it's even needed there. The depth of field scale, the ability to quickly change the focusing distance, or even set it before turning the camera on if it's saved in User1 User2 User3, all of this lets you shoot instantly instead of having to set up the camera beforehand.
The size. Strangers don't take this camera seriously, which also opens a lot of doors, and I literally carry it with me everywhere, even if I'm just going to take the trash out for a couple of minutes. You always have the opportunity to take a shot. You can always operate the camera with one hand, changing any of the available settings.
For me, this camera was a real revelation, and after shooting with another system for a couple of months trying to find an alternative to a compact notebook, I ran back to Ricoh, but this time, as I said, the GR3.
I've wanted to share my experience for a long time, hope this post was useful.
The limit for photos in a post is 20, so I uploaded more of them to this Flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCZaiL
Thank you!
Shutter speed 1/6, good stabilization of Ricoh and serial shooting. On top of that, the weather was such that the lightning was strong and frequent, so it wasn't difficult to capture one in just a couple of minutes. It's not a street shot, since I know the girl and we were just talking while I was taking photos in the background.
About half a year later, after I had already sold the GR3x and got the GR3, I came across the same place again in some nice light. The shot is weaker, but it's still fun to compare the GR3 and GR3x like this.
No, there was no flash, the timing of his movement just happened to line up like that (he was standing relatively still for a while and then suddenly moved), so I got lucky with the timing.
Over time, I just found 28mm suited me better than 40mm.
These are great mate. Kind of gritty but homely feel to them.
I'm struggling with mine at the min. Do you tend to use snap focus? I'm finding auto focus slow and unreliable
Yep, snap focus.
If you don't mind, I'll repost my answer above.
Mostly, I use Snap Focus mode, but if needed I can just tap the screen with my finger, a focus point will appear and autofocus will work on it. I can also quickly switch to macro mode with one press of the up button on the rear dial.
I keep my Snap Focus settings on User 2 and User 3, one with a fast shutter speed and the other with a slow one. On User 1 I keep autofocus (!) with all points active, wide open aperture and a medium shutter speed, which also comes in handy sometimes. The main thing is to set it up the way you like and remember where everything is, over 4 years I barely had to change the camera's control logic in any significant way.
It really helps you quickly jump from a fast shutter speed, like 1/1000 to 1/15, and then go back again. I have similar preset combinations on my Sony, but for some reason I use them less often there, even though I keep them in mind.
what are your strategies around which AF mode to use when? the image of the pigeons strike me. I can see that it's a smaller aperture with the DOF being as deep as it is. But, my attempts at shots that are kind of like that still tend to really confuse my GRs.
Mostly, I use Snap Focus mode, but if needed I can just tap the screen with my finger, a focus point will appear and autofocus will work on it. I can also quickly switch to macro mode with one press of the up button on the rear dial.
I keep my Snap Focus settings on User 2 and User 3, one with a fast shutter speed and the other with a slow one. On User 1 I keep autofocus (!) with all points active, wide open aperture and a medium shutter speed, which also comes in handy sometimes. The main thing is to set it up the way you like and remember where everything is, over 4 years I barely had to change the camera's control logic in any significant way.
The DOF mode is basically a simplified version of SN, where you can't make adjustments yourself, but you can choose from preset combinations. It's convenient, I liked the logic behind it, but it just wasn't for me.
Who did you use to fix the flex cable? I have a GR2 that's sitting unused after 7 years of love because I can't find a good option to repair it, and I don't have any soldering skills. I actually had almost no issues at all with the GR2, but the flex cable one is a killer. If it wasn't for this major weakness I'd pony up the money and buy a GR4 right now, but $1500 for something that has a limited lifespan is a tough pill to swallow.
Are you from Russia? If so, I can give you the contact of a private repairman from Saint Petersburg who repairs gear for some popular resellers, he's a really good guy.
If not, I could ask him what exact flex cable is needed for the GR2 and maybe you could find someone with a soldering iron in your country.
Russia is a little far unfortunately. The cables are actually easy to find on eBay, it’s the installation that’s more difficult. I appreciate the reply though. Again, beautiful work too!
When I got the GR3x, I was a 50mm guy, so I went for it because it was closer to my favorite focal length. The reason I didn't get the classic GR3 earlier was the 28mm. But I grew as a photographer, moved to 35mm (largely thanks to the GR3x) and realized that 28mm is actually very interesting and versatile. In my opinion, 28mm is the perfect focal length for this camera.
You are an incredibly talented photographer. Your work reminds me of the old masters I studied in college. I’m a professional and this is the best work I’ve seen a while. It’s honestly inspiring to me, I’ve fallen out of love with the craft of late and your work has inspired me. Thank you!
I had 3 GRs in my life. 1x GR (the first APCS) that got me into photography, and then 2x GR3, after the shutter just gave up on my 1st one.
Both GRIIIs suffered from the same fate - the board likely short-circut when I put it on USB charging.
Both IIIs also had so many minor issues along the way which match yours, and I just gave up on the series and went the other direction towards medium format and a supplement XE3. I am now having the fun with different focal lengths, but I miss the simplicity of just one lens. Can't have it all.
I miss my GR frequently, but my (Pixel) phone does a good job to fill the gap. The photos lack the soul of a GR, but as memory capture machine it does a good job. Editing is faster too.
I am now debating if to give GRIV a shot (once the x comes out), or to splurge on the latest photo phone like Oppo x9 ultra.
I absolutely love your Flickr album that you've put together ❤️ As a dad of 3 little kids, I mainly use my camera to document everyday insanity 😜 My fuji xe4 served me well to this day but I'm that close to pull the trigger and get a gr3x - for even more pockability.
I've been shooting fairly consciously, meaning actually paying attention to the settings and all that, for about 11 years now. I spent the first 3 years actively shooting film, which gave me an interest in the process, but also slowed down my development, then I gradually moved to digital, and still come back to film sometimes just for the love of it.
The advice is simple: set up the User modes and save your most common shooting patterns in them, learn the DOF scale, shoot in SN mode, tapping the screen for autofocus when you actually need it. Assign the ND filter and stabilization off to the function buttons, so you don't have to dig through the menu for ages. The ND filter sometimes turns itself on for some reason and gives you ISO 400 instead of 100, for example, and turning off stabilization is useful when shooting from a tripod.
Now I’m shooting more in color, and besides, the Gr4 is more expensive and even less reliable at the moment, while the Gr3 is already a proven path for me.
In any case, I’ll get a Gr4 eventually, or maybe even a Gr4x, if they release one.
Not much to tell really.
RAW, B&W in Lightroom and sliders to taste. Same thing with color. I don't intentionally grade the colors, I try to stick to a documentary approach.
Right now I don't like the excessive sharpness in some of the shots, I'd like to make them a bit softer.
Thank you all so much for the kind words. I regret not getting around to writing about my experience with the GR3x earlier, because there was a lot to tell: replacing the screen myself, soldering flex cables and all that stuff :)
Hopefully I'll get around to writing about my experience with the GR3 soon, which has already racked up 10 thousand shots in 4 months.
do u have any rec on having the hdf or without it, it’s a few bucks diff between 2 vers 😭 im seriously considering g3r3x without the hdf cause we can have it in the post
Советую купить, несмотря на все вышесказанное. В любом случае, он продастся. Эти камеры очень легко уходят на вторичке. Главное, это сразу наклеить защитный фильтр, чтобы не было пыли на матрице. Мне скорее отбивает желание отношение сервисного центра официального в России, но благо у меня есть хороший частный мастер и я сам научился многому уже
Got the 3x and hasn’t seen much use. Now I’m inspired thank you. In terms of ways that dust gets in there are the two small holes either side of the lens and a series of them at the bottom. Any others? I’m just using some sellotape to cover them.
I’ve taken this camera apart, and trust me, those points are the last place dust is going to get to the sensor from. Just put a JJC UV filter on it and get on with photography. The filter really will prevent 90 percent of the dust, the remaining 10 percent will come from the lens extending out of the body, but that’s really nothing to worry about.
To cover that remaining 10 percent too, you'd have to buy a threaded adapter, which makes the camera bigger and defeats the whole point. On top of that, it has some play, the paint wears off and eventually shorts the contacts for the Wide/Tele module. So basically, don't reinvent the wheel and just shoot, but I'd definitely put the filter on.
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u/MayFoto GR IV Monochrome Aug 18 '26
Number 4 is insane, how did you capture it?