Yes, I took the plunge! I’ve been mulling about this purchase for a while, very aware of the argument against upgrading kit but it was a particular incident, whilst doing some street photography in Scarborough, that really swung it for me. I was using my Canon 750D near the North Bay when a woman asked me what I was up to. She had children on the beach and was concerned. I did reassure her but it wasn’t a nice experience and turned to my iPhone for the rest of the afternoon.
A more discrete camera will help avoid me being so obvious and, after extensive research, the Ricoh GR3 seemed the best way to go. There was a shipping delay of a month or so for the standard model but by paying a wee bit more I got the slightly blingy Street Edition which also included an extra battery.
There’s plenty of YouTube videos by GR fans which have helped a great deal learning how to use it and getting the right settings – here’s a couple I particularly liked:
First impressions are really good – easy to use in Manual mode with all the key dials accessible and, what I love best – the screen. I did wonder whether I would miss not having a viewfinder but not at all. And the picture quality is awesome – a 24MP APS-C sensor · 18.3mm (28mm equivalent) F2.8 lens does a brilliant job.
Battery life isn’t great but for my current needs having that spare is sufficient. Not had the opportunity to use it on the street much yet but have done a couple of rural photo walks so here’s a small selection:
These are in Lowna, near the village of Gillamoor.
I like the options to shoot with various filters/ settings and I think I’ve just about got the grasp of transferring images on the camera to my iPhone for editing and uploading on the hoof.
I did say this will be my last expenditure but there is a very nice Nisi Master Filter kit at £85 so I might just need to put that on my Christmas list …
