Ricoh GR III Performance

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Ricoh GR III Performance

Timing and Performance

Very good performance overall, with some improvements over its predecessor.

Startup/Play to Record
Power on to first shot	~0.7 second	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.
Play to Record, first shot	~0.5 second	Time until first shot is captured.

Startup time was quite good for a compact camera and much improved over the Mark II's 1.3 seconds. Switching from Play to Record and taking a shot was quite fast, about the as the GR II.

Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus, Select AF (center) mode	0.175 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting.
Manual Focus	0.028 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.026 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Ricoh GR III's full autofocus lag time was quite quick in the lab, faster than the GR II's. Full AF-S shutter lag was 0.175 second in Select AF mode (center). The Mark II tested at 0.291 second.

When manually focused, the GR III's shutter lag dropped to only 0.028 second which is incredibly fast, and when prefocused, shutter lag is a very quick 0.026 second. The Mark II tested slower for manual focus lag at 0.086 second, but the same for prefocused.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large JPEG	0.66 second	Average time per shot.
Single Shot mode RAW + L JPEG	0.65 second	Average time per shot.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous Mode Large JPEG	0.23 second (4.3 fps); Unlimited (?) frames; 4.0 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 80 shots with no signs of slowing.
Continuous Mode RAW	0.25 second (4.1 fps); 9 frames total; 4.0 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 9 frames, then slows to 0.48s or 2.1 fps with a lot of variation when buffer is full.
Continuous Mode RAW + L JPEG	0.23 second (4.3 fps); 9 frames total; 5.1 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 9 frames, then slows to 0.66s or 1.5 fps with a lot of variation when buffer is full.
Flash Recycling	N/A	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x UHS-II SDXC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times were pretty good for a compact camera, but a little slower than the Mark II. The Mark III tested at about 0.7 second for JPEG or RAW+JPEG files, while the Mark II tested at less than 0.3 second for JPEGs and 0.45 second for RAW+JPEG. We no longer test just RAW file cycle time in single-shot mode, as it's usually somewhere in between JPEG and RAW+JPEG.

In Continuous mode, the GR III captured at between 4.1 and 4.3 frames per second depending on the file type. That's a little faster than the Mark II for JPEGs, but slower by about 2 fps for RAW or RAW+JPEG files. Buffer depths were similar at unlimited JPEGs, 9 RAW or 9 RAW+JPEG frames. The GR II managed 10 frames for RAW and RAW+JPEG but then stopped, while the GR III continues at slower rates of 2.1 or 1.5 fps respectively.

Buffer clearing was reasonably quick, ranging between 4.0 and 5.1 seconds depending on the file type. While the Mark II was faster at clearing after a burst of JPEGs, it was markedly slower after bursts of RAW or RAW+JPEG files (at 9 and 12 seconds respectively). And unlike the GR II which was unresponsive while the buffer was clearing, the Mark III allows you to take additional shots, view just shot images and change settings while its buffer is clearing.

Bottom line, the Ricoh GR III's performance is generally very good with some nice improvements over its predecessor despite producing larger files. Startup time is improved over the GR II, autofocus is faster and shutter lag remain quite low. Burst speed remains mediocre at about 4 frames per second no matter the file type and buffer depths are similar, but keep in mind the higher resolution files. With DNG files, the Mark II tested faster at 6.1 frames per second, but the camera locked up after 10 frames and took much longer to clear so we prefer the behavior of the Mark III.

Battery

Battery Life
Poor battery life for its class, much lower than its predecessor.

Operating Mode	Battery Life
Still Capture, (CIPA standard)	200 shots

The Ricoh GR III uses a custom rechargeable DB-110 lithium-ion battery pack for power, which is charged in-camera via USB. (A dedicated BJ-11 battery charger is available for additional cost.) Despite offering slightly higher capacity than the Mark II's DB-65 battery (4.9 vs 4.5 Wh), CIPA-rated battery life has fallen from 320 shots per charge to only 200 shots, and that's without a built-in flash firing 50% of the time (the Mark II had a built-in flash but the Mark III does not). We strongly recommend getting a spare battery or two for your GR III if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))