Ricoh GR II Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black)

Here are some of the cameras that are usually being compared to the GR: Fuji X100 series, Fuji X70, Nikon Coolpix A, Sony Rx100 series. Why did I pick GR? Its image quality tops all, its control tops all (my honest opinion) and it fits my pocket, so I carry it every single day. For me, the choice is pretty simple: being able to have the best IQ powerhouse in the pocket easily eliminated all other competitors from my shopping list. Granted, I love X100's retro look but I don't want to carry a bag everywhere I go; and X70 with its non-retractable lens, isn't as small as it appears; Nikon A is discontinued, unfortunately, and RX100 series, although small enough, but being 1" sensor, their image quality is not quite there. You really need to shoot GR in a serious way, to dig into its powerful customization capabilities, in order to really appreciate its ergonomics, ease of operation, and unsurpassed image quality - heck, it might just be one of the sharpest 28mm lenses, ever. It's a cult product, and it may not be something you fall in love with at first sight, but it could be the best thing one could have, if you know what you are looking for.

I've owner every Ricoh GR (Digital) cameras since the GRD2 and they since have become my favorite cameras to use. Like all GRs, the GR II is light, compact and has great image quality. The GR II is not all that different from the GR that came before it, but it does have benefits. However, the GR Remote "web app" is a disappointment (the Image Synch app found in the iOS App Store is not the GR Remote app; it is an older app used with a Pentax camera). The user experience design of the GR Remote app is good, but the fact that it is used through Safari on iOS is frustrating. I do not know why it is not a native app, which would have been a far better choice! To use the GR Remote you first have to get to it online then bookmark it. So while the app is nicely designed, useful and does what it is supposed to do, I'm bothered that it is not a native app. Let's hope they offer one in the future. But as a camera, if you are OK with the fixed focal length, the GR is hard to beat!

I like the camera very much though, it's small, light, convenient. However, there's a black spot on my sensor the 10 day after I bought it. And for this kind of camera, the dot on the sensor it impossible to remove by myself. I've returned and thinking about whether I should get a new one or not.

I've been using this camera for the past week, and I think it is quite fantastic. I have a lot of cameras (and many more I sold over the past 2 years). I have a Leica Q, Leica M-P, Leica X2, Panasonic GH5, and Fuji XT-2. I also constantly used my Sony RX100 MV for about a year. So, as you can tell, I have quite the panorama of experience with various systems. I love all of these cameras for their own particular purposes: the Leica's are simple and have amazing image quality (the Q is, in my opinion, hands down the best fixed-lens mirrorless camera money can buy). The GH5 is brilliant for 4K footage. The Fuji brings the excellent image quality, build, and bells and whistles of the modern camera. And the Sony is a do-it-all pocket camera. But I'm giving the Ricoh GR II the same 5-stars I gave to the Q and GH5. Why? 1. The GR is a true joy to use. Everything just works. The menu system is quick and unencumbered by endless pages of various settings (think Sony's textbook of a menu system). You can create your own profiles for the camera--which by itself is not new. But it's the depth of control you have over each thing the camera can do internally that sets it apart. 2. The horizontal jog dial on the back of the camera is pure genius. I've not encountered this type of button before. You set it to access all your (emphasize YOUR) most-used functions. Push in to bring up the menu, scroll to bring up the sub-menus. Do you want to control ISO, image size, effects, and aspect ratio from the job dial? No problem. You can have those functions from that one button. AND you can decide exactly how you want those features to appear when you want them to. 3. The images out of this camera are sharp. I mean, really sharp. The large sensor gobbles up light and allows for some excellent image quality. The fixed-lens is aberration-free. The focus system is accurate (though not as fast as the RX100 MV). 4. I like the various "effects" built into the camera. You may not really enjoy these things if you're a professional photographer. But given the right circumstances, some of the effects make fun and unique photographs. 5. The camera starts up very quickly. Frankly, I have yet to find a moment that I missed because I had to wait too long for the camera to extend its lens and become ready to shoot. For all reasonable purposes, it's immediate response upon hitting the on/off button. I don't think that my RX100 MV is faster. 6. It has great build quality. The camera is weighty without being burdensome. I don't feel as if I'll forget it's in my pocket, but nor do I cringe at putting it in my jeans. As silly as it might sound, I dislike having my RX100 MV in my pocket much more than this camera. I think it's because the Sony has too many sharp corners, where as the Ricoh (though larger) has rounded corners. 7. VALUE FOR MONEY. This is a no-brainer purchase if you want a large-size sensor in a pocket-friendly format. It has every single photography feature you could ask for. I have't tried the video recording mode and am not interested in recording on this camera. I'd rather prefer the RX100 MV's 4K recording. Nevertheless, the Ricoh has an HD recording mode--but I wouldn't brag about it. Overall, you can't go wrong with this purchase. If you look on other websites, you'll notice that this camera is going for $600 or higher. I haven't noticed that it has really plummeted in price since its release. And for good reason. It's a camera that forces you to think how you want to approach a subject, gives you easy and immediate access to all your settings, and excels in image quality. Others have said that you can operate this camera one-handed. I agree. I've done it. And I've been consistently surprised how painless it is to do. I think this is a fantastic camera for the price. I'd be hesitant to recommend it had it been priced around $800. If that had been the case, you'd be wiser to purchase the Fuji X70 or pay a little bit more and get the RX100 MV for some additional video features. But, since the price is between $500 and $600, you should certainly think about this camera. And then think again and again. There will be some people who will hate this camera for aesthetic reasons or his larger size. But you'd be hard pressed to find a legitimate complaint about the images it delivers.

Overall a great little camera with a nice sharp prime lens. I am a semi-professional photographer and I have had this camera for about a year and a half. I take this camera every where due to it being lightweight and compact. The images are superb. The ability to compile star trails in camera is really nice. Newspapers are happy to accept photos taken with this camera. This camera is great for discreet street shooting too. The cons: Sensor has dirt on it that can not be cleaned. One piece of dirt is quite large and really interferes with my shooting panaramas to stitch together in post. The entire camera would have to be disassembled in order to clean the sensor, this is a fatal flaw. The "wifi" is a joke, don't buy this for the "wifi". The lens only stops down to f/16 so shooting long exposure water scenes during the day is often impossible. The built in nuetral density filter does not help much at all. The autofucus is too slow for any kind of action shot, even just my dog drinking from a puddle is often too much action for this camera. Camera does not handle low light very well, the ISO noise is quite high at even lower levels. I love this camera for hiking, but sadly I am looking for something else due to the large peice of dirt on the sensor that can be difficult to edit out even in ACR. I'm going back to paking my DSLR for hiking because it has a clean image sensor. The first one I bought had a issue with white balance and I got it replaced easy enough. The camera was sold as new but it had someone elses copyright info in it. I contacted the previous owner, he said he had returned the camera. Too bad that Ricoh sold me a defective returned unit as new! Update I took the camera apart and cleaned the image sensor. The sensor is clean now. The problem though is that most of the dirt was actually inside the lens! The sensor was fairly clean. I don't know how to take the lens apart to clean it.

I'm very pleased with the quality of the photos from this camera. It has an ASP-C image sensor so the pictures are plenty large enough to crop and print. The colors are a bit washed out but the RAW files are a dream to edit and maintain a lot of color and dynamic range. This is the perfect travel and hiking camera. Just as long as you don't intend to use this for video because the video is almost useless. This is a photography camera not a video camera, so if you want high quality video look elsewhere.

I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to cameras, I have an older DLSR and shoot on auto mostly but I noticed it was too bulky and I wouldn't take it with me on certain occasions. After searching for smaller cameras I purchased the Ricoh GR II, I know it's mostly used for street photography, but what I wanted it for was capturing family photos, the best family moments kind of happen on a whim and this camera is fantastic at turning on quickly capturing the moment and then put away until the next event. I recently traveled to the Grand Canyon and this was the only camera I brought, it performed very well. Only regret is maybe some of the landscape photos look the same, there's no zoom to play with but obviously I knew that going into it. It isn't really comfortable in a jean pocket, but is great in a jacket pocket. I purchased a separate case that attaches on my belt loop and that works great. I have gotten better at photography because of this camera. Before I would mostly shoot portraits of the kids and each photo would look the same with the same bokeh effect and subject is in the middle, but with this camera I've been paying more attention to what the background is doing since it's going to be in the shot anyways. And I have gotten out of full auto mode! If you get the setting the dialed in the way you want, it's fantastic! A few of my favorite photos are straight one handed, I'm not even looking at the LCD screen, I'm taking the camera out of pocket turning the power on, my settings are already dialed in, the snap focus is set, and the whole motion of capturing the moment takes a few seconds. It's just phenomenal. Some reviewers say this is a more advanced camera, and I would agree. I had to practice for about a month to get a good feel for what I was doing. But once you get it down, it's awesome. (On a side note if you get this camera you need to disable the Adj ISO lever, you will hit it on accident and it will lock your ISO on some setting you don't want it to be on without you even realizing it)

This is a great camera, but you should be aware of what it is and isn't before you get it. First of all, it's small, light, and well built. The image quality in normal lighting conditions is wonderful. The menu and features really appeal to photography enthusiasts. It's also super quiet. I enjoyed using it every time. What's not to like? Well, if you have an iPhone, do you really need another 28mm camera to carry around? One that might have better image quality in daylight, but where it counts for low light, you might feel like the gap isn't that far? I asked myself this question and realized I already had a great 28mm option with the iPhone X and this was just a marginal improvement. Given poor low light performance, lack of viewfinder, and frustratingly slow auto focus performance, I just felt like I didn't need it. I spent the extra $600 and got the X100F which is bigger, but has more unique features and reason to exist. The image quality is better in every regard, auto focus is much faster, and it has all the same features (minus snap focus which is pretty cool).

My girlfriend is a professional photographer and was impressed with the quality of that camera. There are a lot of settings available, which are well presented in an extensive menu. Colors are vivid, focus is precise: this is a little gem if you plan on travelling lightly and having the ability to take incredible pictures (see attachments... subjectivity applies). It is a decent camera and among photographers that know quite a bit about the RICOH GR II, they say that to this date, it remains a great buy even though the GR III is coming soon. I am no expert, but I reckon the pictures taken from this camera are much nicer than those from my smartphone, anyways.

Tenía mis dudas con esta cámara por ser compacta pero me ha dejado sorprendido. Enfoque rápido, muy buena calidad y súper práctica.

This is a very special camera. Made by photographers for photographers. Not by engineers for photographers. All controls are in exact place where you expect them to be. Excellent image quality. The only one really "pocketable" APS-C camera on the marker. The one you can actually keep in the front pocket of your casual jeans. Very discrete. Excellent for street photography. No zoom. But you cannot add zoom to APS-C camera of this size.

Pretty good Camera for the compact size. Love the classic looking design with great ergonomics in mind. If you are thinking of buying a compact, DSLR quality camera, this is perfect one for you. One downside is the lack of dedicated battery charger. You have to charge the battery with micro USB connected to camera directly with battery in it. It does its job though, just not the most convenient way. Nonetheless, this should not be a decisive factor.

If you can live without an optical zoom -- and zoom with your feet -- this moderately-priced prosumer camera will let you take photos that DON'T look like they were taken with a phone. It has a huge APS-C sensor so it is basically a pocket-sized SLR-equivalent with a fixed 28-mm fairly-wide-angle f2.8 lens. This means great low-light operation and bokeh when you want it; it has a neutral density filter so you can keep the lens more open. The internal, adjustable-intensity flash is wonderful for balancing backlit subjects against the background. It has a fixed-focus mode, which is great for street scenes at night, when you want to disable the autofocus light, or shooting scenery at infinity. Note that you have to know something about photography to use it well. And it's worth spending several hours setting it up the way you like it; many buttons are programmable.