With a large APS-C sensor in a compact camera, the Ricoh GR III is a street photography favorite — a fact the company is celebrating with a new special edition version of the camera. The GR III Street Edition Special Limited Kit gets a fresh coat of paint to make it look like, well, an actual street, with a textured metallic gray finish and yellow-orange stripe around the lens. It also comes bundled with the optical viewfinder and gains a touchscreen shortcut to activate the Full Press Snap feature, which will also be added to the standard camera via firmware update later this year.
This reskinned GR otherwise maintains the same specifications as the original. Ricoh says the new look is designed to be reminiscent of city streets, but the textured can also help improve the grip. The colorful ring around the lens finishes the street atheistic by channeling a road’s yellow paint line.
The kit also includes a detachable viewfinder that clips into the camera’s hot shoe, finished in the same textured metallic gray as the body. The number 28 is painted on top refers to the camera’s 28mm full-frame equivalent focal length.
Rounding out the kit is a leather hand strap that is also accented with the same color as the ring around the lens.
While the internal hardware is identical to the original Ricoh GR III, the special edition gains faster access to the Full Press Snap feature. This setting allows photographers to quickly focus at a predetermined distance if the shutter button is fully pressed (instead of half-pressed first), which eliminates autofocus lag. Now, the setting can be activated by tapping the LCD screen.
The Ricoh GR III packs a larger APS-C sensor into a point-and-shoot body, paired with a bright, fixed-focal-length 28mm f/2.8 lens. That design makes the camera popular for street photography thanks to the combination of portability and image quality.
While special edition cameras — like those from Leica — are typically excessively priced, the Ricoh GR III Street Edition Special limited Kit doesn’t go too crazy. Only 3,500 kits will be produced, selling for about $1,200. The original retails for $900, and the viewfinder is sold separately for $250. Ricoh says the special edition camera will also be launched as a stand-alone — without the kit extras — this fall.
