I bought the Ricoh GRIV on pre-order back when I lived in the Philippines. I already owned the Ricoh GRIII and my daughter Sofia had the GRIIIx. Two lightweight very compact cameras that allowed us to take them with us on trips without them dominating and weighing us down. It was a great way to bond with Sofia and as I wrote about, it actually helped Sofia have some focus and gain confidence during a time when other hobbies were inaccessible and she needed some positivity in her life.
When the GRIV specs were announced, I was underwhelmed as I wrote about in my full Ricoh GRIV review, but after some consideration, I felt it was worth at least getting a GRIV to see if the increased battery life, speed and better autofocus were actually worth it, despite being slightly disappointed that some of the features I had hoped for, particularly weather sealing wasn’t part of the upgrade. For a full breakdown everything in my full review still applies. This article is a look at what the GRIV is like to live with long term, whether it has stood up to a year of use and if I’d buy it again.
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For reference, I now use the full frame Nikon Z system having been forced to downsize and sell off all my gear earlier this year. My main focus now is on project work over on www.davidjfleet.com. I owned the Fuji X100VI for years and ended up keeping just the Nikon Z system and Ricoh GRIV despite me thinking that overall, the X100VI is the best compact camera.
So why. Did I keep the Ricoh GRIV.
It really comes down to use case. If you are willing to carry a standard sized camera and this will be your primary camera then there are better options than the Ricoh GRIV, such as the X100VI and even the OM-3 but the GRIV really is unique because it is a genuine everyday compact that fits in your pocket while still offering excellent image quality from its APS-C sized sensor and fixed 28mm equivalent lens. Yes, you can squeeze other cameras in to pockets but the GRIV series genuinely are pocketable in every pocket, whether its your jacket or your trousers, it slips in and weighs next to nothing.
Take yesterday for example, I headed up to the knock of Crieff and wanted to take a camera as the Autumn colours are out in full. But with all my recent stress, I simply didn’t feel like lugging a full frame setup. Had I had the Fuji X100VI, it would have lightened the load to a degree but it wouldn’t have been a completely psychologically different experience to taking my Nikon Zf with the 40mm f/2 SE lens because I’d have still carried it on a camera strap rather than discreetly tucked away in my jacket pocket.
The walk would become about the photography, rather than just having the camera stashed away where I can simply ignore it if I want to but know it’s there should something catch my eye. It doesn’t sound like much, but believe me, it makes a significant difference to the experience and my willingness to bring it along just in case.
On my walk yesterday, I didn’t take the camera out at all until I’d climbed to the top of the hill. I simply didn’t feel like it but that didn’t matter as the camera wasn’t exposed to the weather or swinging around and bumping in to me with every step. It could have stayed in my pocket for the whole walk and it would not have made any difference to my experience and comfort.
As it turned out, the exercise of walking up the hill blew some of my negative thoughts away and I started to see some scenes that I wanted to take photos of. That ability to carry the GRIV in this way, is for me, the absolute raison d’être of a compact camera.
So what do I actually think of the Ricoh GRIV after a year.
I see the Ricoh GRIV as a series of compromises, pretty much like any camera. The image quality and sharpness of the lens is excellent, the in camera color profiles are pleasing if you don’t want to edit photos with Positive film and Cinema Yellow being particular favourites of mine while the black and white profiles are also decent. The raw files are in DNG format which I think would be a good standard for every manufacturer to converge on and they’re easy to work on in Lightroom, with plenty of scope to control highlights, lift shadows and move the file around without ruining it.
The lens is sharper than the GRIII I owned until recently, and it’s much faster to focus. The GRIII would literally hunt back and forth sometimes on static subjects. The GRIV doesn’t, although it will still miss focus occasionally, as it did yesterday on something as simple as some autumn leaves. Generally, it’s reliable though and it feels swift enough for every day use. Unlike the GRIII which you had to allow extra time and care for when focusing. The new GR World app makes transferring the files from the camera to my iPad for editing quick and easy, once you get through the slightly tedious process of pairing the camera to the app. I also love the fact that Ricoh included a genuinely useful 53gb of internal storage and due to the way I use the camera, just taking it out for day trips or walks, I no longer even load a memory card in to it, which negates my criticism of the memory card being Micro SD. 53gb is good for thousands of shots from the 26mp sensor.
In use the camera feels quick enough that I never think about it. Pulling it out of my pocket or simply turning it on while holding it attached to my wrist via its included lightweight writs strap is virtually instant. I’m not going to quote times but from holding the camera in my right hand as I’m walking to then bringing it up to take a shot, the camera will be turned on and ready before I am. So it’s more than quick enough.
I use my camera in manual mode with auto ISO activated and the control layout, while small , is well designed and never feels awkward or like it’s fighting you. The front and rear dials control my aperture and shutter speed and are well placed and easy to operate. The power switch is perfectly placed to quickly turn the camera off an on and the + – button makes it very easy to quickly adjust exposure compensation should I need to.
One of the improvements that does make a genuine difference is the improved battery life. Normally I scoff at manufacturer’s claims of improved battery life that seem to come with every new release yet, make no noticeable difference in the real world. However in this case, the GRIV is much better than its predecessor. I carried three batteries with me at all times for my GRIII and I rarely used less than two during walks of just a couple of hours. I couldn’t get a new battery at the time I bought my GRIV and a year later, thanks to its much improved battery life, I haven’t felt the need to buy another one yet as it will easily see me through an outing up to around 4 hours of shooting. That’s me seeing a shot, taking the camera out of my pocket, shooting a few frames and then turning it off and putting it back in my pocket. Likely doing that every few minutes.
All the other functions such as snap to focus, I rarely use because thats not how I shoot. I’m not in the middle of a city where thousands of people are confusing the AF system and I need a reliable way to approximate focus and get the shot but I’ve tested it in the Philippines where things are more hectic and it’s a genuinely brilliant addition for street photographers and works well.
With my GRIV, given how I use it, I like to keep things simple, I carry it in my pocket, no case and set it up so that I don’t have to access the menus when I’m out shooting. And thats exactly how I want an everyday camera to operate. Allowing me to take it along, take photos and ensure that the image quality is good enough that when I get back home, I’m not disappointed in the results.
There are a few things that I don’t particularly like about the GRIV and this goes for the GR series in general. Firstly, I am definitely a viewfinder shooter. I am just better at taking photos when I can focus through a viewfinder without my eyes becoming distracted with peripheral vision and things outside the frame. I have to adjust to this by being more conscious of my framing, checking the edges, so composing images feels less natural to me using the screen. Speaking of the screen, in Scotland, in Autumn, its perfectly fine however in bright sunshine in the Philippines I simply didn’t find it bright enough to be able to reliably use in direct sunlight.
I also find that the GRIV’s 28mm focal length is fantastic when you use it enough but it takes some adjusting to if, like me you are used to shooting in 35mm or 50mm more often. 28mm is just wide enough that it can start to introduce distortion and weird angles to your photos if you are not careful. It also has the habit of making everything look flat if you simply want to snap a scene in its entirety in front of you without consideration for how you’re going to create depth. That’s not a criticism or even a preference in terms of focal length, because when you get it right, 28mm becomes incredibly immersive, it encourages you to push in and get closer to your subject which ends up creating photos that feel like you were right in amongst it. For street and people photography (which I am definitely going to have to do more of even though I live in rural Scotland now) its fantastic. It’s also wide enough that for landscape use, as I was using it yesterday, you can capture expansive views without stepping in to ultra wide angle territory and cliches. It still feels natural enough so doesn’t make the image all about the focal length, but rather allows you to concentrate on the subject.
The GRIV isn’t without issues in my use, particularly here in Scotland where the weather is famously changeable. Yesterday the clouds were down, the drizzle continued throughout my 3 hours walk and I was acutely aware that there is no weather sealing on the GRIV. I’d feel much more comfortable keeping the camera out for longer periods if there were. I kept it in the internal zipped pocket of my Keela Munro waterproof jacket , simply bringing it out briefly to take shots and then slipping it back in as soon as I was done. A couple of times I wiped it off on my trousers to remove raindrops and it performed fine. I also ensure I dont point the lens upwards when it’s raining as I don’t want water being trapped in the lens mechanism. It works but due to the next issue, I can honestly say that I don’t have genuine confidence in it and so I adjust my usage to the weather.
After 8 months of what I’d consider pretty low usage and of it being well looked after, I turned it on one day to find that the ISO button no longer worked. I reset the camera to see if it was a software glitch but nope, it’s totally broken. I could send it in for warranty repair but unfortunately as I bought it when I lived in the Philippines, it wont be covered here in Scotland. And quite honestly, I don’t have the spare cash available now to pay for a repair. So I’ve mapped the ISO function to the White balance button (which I rarely used) and work around it. This is not the first instance of build quality issues and problems I’ve heard about with the GRIV so all I can say is, thoroughly test yours during the return period if you buy one.
I don’t trust the GRIV like I do my Nikons but apart from the button issue, which is hopefully not common, its still working well and ultimately, being able to carry this much image quality in such a small package makes it unique.
I guess the ultimate question comes down to this, would I buy it again and would I recommend it after owning it for a year.
If I had the available funds, yes I’d by it again under these conditions: You want a genuinely compact camera that removes friction as a daily carry and you want the image quality that comes from the APS-C sensor. You value that above the shooting experience of say a Fuji X100VI. So I suppose, the Ricoh GRIV is the practical, no nonsense compact camera for demanding photographers who value function over shooting experience and size over flexibility. For those that know that the 28mm focal length works for them and for owners of larger cameras who want a second camera that isn’t just a smaller version of the same shooting experience, I genuinely still think the Ricoh GRIV is hard hard to beat. If you’re looking for flexibility or a camera to capture everything on your travels, a premium compact with a zoom lens may be a better choice, but for photographers, who know what they shoot, I’d still recommend the Ricoh GRIV for it’s unique abilities.
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