Features & Controls

The GR Digital III features a wide angle 28mm equivalent fixed lens. This is an all-glass optic comprised of 8 elements in 6 groups, including  two aspherical elements and two aspherical surfaces. The aperture range is F1.9 - F9. When powered down the lens retracts into the camera and is protected by an automatic lens barrier, no lens cap is required.

The contrast detection AF system has a focus range of 30cm (11.8 in.) to infinity in normal mode. Macro focus mode coverage is from 1cm (0.39 in.) to infinity.

Like all of Ricoh's GR Digital models, the GR3 offers all kinds of optional accessories. Among these ins the Hood and Lens Adapter GH-2 above. This unit allows you to attach 43mm diameter filters as well as their wide angle conversion lens.

Here you can see the GR3 with the optional GW-2 0.75x Wide Conversion lens and GH-2 adapter attached. The GW-2 lens captures images at an equivalent focal length of 21mm, and includes a rubber lens hood (not shown). You can also see the optional GV-1 external optical viewfinder, which attaches via the flash hot shoe. 

The built-in manual pop-up flash is mounted at the top left hand side of the camera. This tiny unit offers Auto, Red-eye-Reduction, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Manual Flash, and Flash Off modes . The effective range is 7.9 in. to 9.8 ft. (20cm to 3.0m) using ISO Auto. Using the optional conversion lens will change the effective flash coverage. You can also see the flash release located along the side of the camera.  

The hot shoe is designed for use with the newly announced GF-1 external flash unit as well as the GV-1 and GV-2 optical viewfinders. These viewfinders are great to use when wanting to conserve precious battery life, or when following fast moving subjects in Burst mode. However, remember that these viewfinders only cover approx 80-85% of the captured image; therefore, the image you captured may not look like the one you framed in the viewfinder.

The GF-1 external TTL flash unit offers a wide angle diffuser panel, and can cover lenses up to 18mm (equivalent). This unit is powered by four AAA batteries, and will be available sometime this fall (2009).

On the top you'll find the Power On/Off button and the Mode Dial which has positions for: Auto, Program, Aperture priority, Shutter speed priority, Manual, Scene (Dynamic Range, Skew Correct, Text, Movie), and My Mode 1/2/3. To rotate the dial, you first have to press the release button at the top. Next to that is the shutter release, and out on the front edge is the Sub command dial.

Controls on the back: In the upper right hand corner you can see a rocker switch which looks like your typical zoom lens control. However, because the GR3 has a fixed lens, this control is used to toggle several camera functions, like exposure compensation or digital zoom. When in playback mode, it is still used to activate the Index and Magnify viewing options. Over to the left is the ADJust button/lever, which gives you quick access to a shortcut menu with options for white balance, ISO, image size/quality, image mode (vivid, standard, etc.), and AE/AF lock. You can also customize the available option show via the Key Custom Options menu.

The Green Play button enters review or playback mode. Next we have the 4-way controller. It lets you navigate menus and select images during playback. In record mode you press "Right" to change flash mode, and press "Down" to enable Macro focus mode. The Fn1 or "Left" button can be set to a variety of functions via the Key Custom Options menu. The MENU/Ok button in the center calls up and dismisses the main menus, and accepts selections. Next is the Self-timer/Fn2 button, which also acts as the Delete button in playback mode. Lastly we have the DISPlay button, it controls the amount of overlay information on the LCD as well as activates the live histogram and grid lines.

The I/O ports are on the right hand side:At the top is the Audio-Video Out, which lets you connect the GR3 to a TV set with the supplied cable. The video signal is selectable for NTSC or PAL standard. The USB 2.0 (high-speed) port on the bottom connects the camera to a computer to download images and movies. The GR Digital III is also PictBridge compatible, so you can also plug the USB cable into any compatible printer for direct printing.

The GR3 is equipped with approx. 88MB of internal memory, and also features a SD/SDHC memory card slot. Ricoh does not specify the maximum card size allowed, however we had no problems using this SanDisk Ultra II 4GB SDHC card.

Mode	No. of Pixels Recorded	Quality	Internal Memory	1GB	2GB	4GB	8GB	16GB	32GB
Still	RAW	3648 x 2736	4	51	104	204	417	836	1677
	F	3648 x 2736	22	240	487	957	1957	3922	7867
	N	3648 x 2736	38	414	842	1653	3379	6769	13579
	RAW	3648 x 2432	5	57	116	229	469	939	1884
	F	3648 x 2432	25	269	548	1077	2202	4412	8851
	N	3648 x 2432	43	465	945	1856	3795	7602	15251
	RAW	2736 x 2736	6	68	138	271	554	1110	2227
	F	2736 x 2736	29	319	647	1270	2596	5202	10435
	N	2736 x 2736	50	544	1097	2155	4405	8824	17702
	N	3264 x 2448	47	512	1041	2045	4181	8376	16802
	N	2592 x 1944	72	775	1576	3094	6325	12671	24518
	N	2048 x 1536	109	1184	2363	4640	9486	19905	38125
	N	1280 x 960	175	1888	3840	7541	15415	30882	61951
	N	640 x 480	705	7553	15359	30159	61643	123489	247716
Text	3648 x 2736		38	414	842	1653	3379	6769	13879
	2048 x 1536		109	1184	2363	4640	9486	19905	38125
Movie	640 x 480 15frames/sec		1min 42sec.	18min 20sec.	37min 17sec.	76min 41sec.	149min 40sec.	299min 50sec.	601min 28sec.
	640 x 480 30frames/sec		51sec.	9min 15sec.	18min 49sec.	38min 41sec.	75min 31sec.	151min 18sec.	303min 31sec.
	320 x 240 15frames/sec		4min 19sec.	46min 19sec.	94min 11sec.	193min 41sec.	378min 2sec.	757min 18sec.	1519min 7sec.
	320 x 240 30frames/sec		2min 12sec.	23min 42sec.	48min 13sec.	99min 8sec.	193min 30sec.	387min 39sec.	777min 37sec.

*	For shooting capacity, the number of images and time are estimates

The camera is powered by either the included DB-65 3.6V 1250 mAh rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack or two standard AAA-type batteries (alkaline, NiMH, etc.). Ricoh claims approx. 370 shots using the included Li-ion battery pack, or up to 25 shots with dry alkaline AAA cells.