Ricoh GR3 User report Part 2 Setting up 25 March 2019

This post is about preparing the camera for still photography.   The GR3 can do video but I do not use it for that purpose and my setup suggestions reflect this.

First some preliminaries.

Like many new cameras these days the GR3 utilises in-camera battery charging via USB. Battery life is less than most cameras so at least one and preferably two spare batteries are desirable as is a separate charger so You can use the camera while a battery is charging.

My interim solution to this is to get 2 (equivalent) Olympus Li-92B batteries and a charger from an after market supplier. The batteries work OK in the GR3, battery status is indicated and the charger works with the original DB-110 Ricoh battery which came with the camera.

Some contributors to online forums say they carry their camera in a pocket. That’s fine I guess but some long time pocket carriers have recommended slipping the camera into a plastic sleeve or synthetic (not cotton) cloth pouch before consigning it to the often camera-unfriendly contents of a pocket.

Otherwise a small belt pouch or shoulder pouch works well. There are many of these on the market. Just make sure there is space for the two spare batteries, memory cards and a small microfiber cloth.

The GR3 screen is very smooth and glossy like that on a modern smartphone. It does not pick up fingerprints readily. So I think it is probably OK to go without a screen protector as long as you don’t subject the screen to physical abuse.

The loop on the wrist strap supplied is 190mm long. I find this a bit too large for comfort. I sew the two sides of the loop together 30mm from the ferrule to make the loop effectively smaller.

That’s not on my horizon right now.

The camera comes with an actual printed Operating Manual which at around 160 pages is mercifully shorter than most. It is well written with easily understood text and graphics including many screen shots.

The Manual is also available as a PDF.

Note: The Manual helpfully indicates the default function assigned to each button/dial by underlining or bracketing the item.

This is effectively a three dial camera. I just leave the functions of the [Front e-dial]  and [Control Dial] at default which is in M Mode the front dial changes aperture and the Control Dial  changes shutter speed.

In P, Av, and Tv the ADJ lever adjusts exposure compensation.

The Front dial does program shift in P Mode, changes aperture in Av mode and changes shutter speed in Tv mode. 

This is all standard fare for a modern camera with Mode Dial + Control Dials layout, easy to learn, fast and positive in operation.

I include the ADJ lever in this section. It is a multi-function control with characteristics of both dial and button.

You can see on Page 121 of the Manual the 15 functions which can be assigned to the ADJ lever. You can select not more than five.

I have Focus, Snap distance, Timer, ISO and Image Control.

Of course these can be changed anytime.

I rate Focus and Snap distance as essentials. Focus is needed to switch between normal AF and Snap. Snap distance needs to be easily accessible.

As for the rest, take your pick. Timer doesn’t really need to be there if you retain Drive on the right cross key because Timer is incorporated into the Drive options.

I like to have ISO control somewhere handy even though I use Auto ISO most of the time.

See page 125 of the Manual.

You can set up the shutter to perform AF and AEL with half press. That is the default and the way 99.9% of shutter buttons work on most cameras.

You can also set it to just do AE Lock with half press. Why would you do that?

You can assign [Enable AF] to the Fn button. Set up this way you initiate AF with the Fn button (back-button focus) then AE and capture with the shutter button.  Sport photographers do this with their high speed cameras and long lenses. But the GR3 is a totally different type of device.

So I strongly recommend leaving all shutter button functions at default.

The functions of the Fn button, left/right cross keys and video button (on the left side of the body) can be user assigned by selecting one function for each button from the list of 32 functions on page 123 of the Manual.

Default assignments are indicated by the items in brackets.

I allocate [Set MF] to the Fn button. Why ?

On the GR2 there is a dedicated AF button on the control panel. This can be set to initiate AF and lock focus with one press. I can then take as many shots a I like knowing focus will not shift between frames. Press the button again to return to normal service.

On the GR3 the AF button is gone AND there is no facility to allocate AFL to the Fn button or any other button.

So a workaround must be found.

With MF allocated to the Fn button the procedure to achieve AF lock is:

1. Half press the shutter button with the AF area on a part of the subject at the desired distance from the camera.  See the AF area go green and hear the beep. This temporarily holds focus at that distance. You can release the shutter button.

2. Press the Fn button. The camera enters manual focus at the same distance. A little analogue scale pops up on the left side of the screen to indicate the approximate distance.

3. You can now fire off any number of shots without changing focussed distance.

4. Press the Fn button again to exit MF and return to normal service.

I would very much like to see AFL made available on the Fn button via firmware update.

I don’t use video on this camera so I have allocated [Outdoor View Setting] to this button.

At normal brightness I can’t see the screen properly in sunlight but increasing brightness +2 EV steps greatly improves screen visibility.

Unfortunately 4 button presses are required to increase brightness +2 steps and another 4 presses to return to normal screen brightness.  It should be possible with a firmware update to make this a one-press function.

By default this does ISO, as per the label. Which is fine if you use the touch screen exclusively for moving the AF area. But I like to use both the touch screen and the cross keys to move AF area.

So I set the left cross key to [4-way Controller Action].

The sequence for moving the AF area with the cross keys is:

1. Press the center (OK) button on the D Pad. See a little box with arrows pop up lower left on the screen.  Note: on many cameras the little arrows surround the AF area box which changes color in this part of the sequence to provide a clear indication of what action is current.  This is a much more user friendly GUI but the Ricoh one works albeit less elegantly.

2. Press any of the cross keys to move the AF area.

3. Press OK again to dismiss the little box with arrows and return to normal service.

4. Press OK again to re-center the AF area.

All this can be done in much less time than it takes to read about it.

I leave this at default which is Drive. I need that somewhere handy and Drive includes Timer.

The GR3 helpfully allows you to save a group of settings for a specific shooting situation and assign them as a job lot to a holding pen. Three of these groups can be accessed directly via the C1, C2 C3 positions on the Mode dial. Any extras are accessed via the [Save Settings] tab in the Custom Menu.

The procedure is straight forward and well described in the Manual. You can name each group of settings which is handy.

The main thing is to get all your ducks in a row before committing to the Save Settings step.

No matter if you forget something, just do it over.

On U1  I have “Tripod bracketing”  For this I have with Mode Dial on Av f5.6, ISO 100, Timer 2 sec, Bracket +/- 2 stops, auto stabiliser off.

On U2  I have “Tripod no bracket”  Settings for this are the same as above without the bracketing.

It may not be generally recognised but the GR3 is an A Grade landscape camera with excellent resolution and enough dynamic range for all but the most extreme situations.

Hence my tripod settings.

Next post: Menus.