The Ricoh GR III Diary Version which was beforehand solely accessible as a part of a restricted equipment is now being provided as a standalone digicam.
Ricoh introduced the restricted equipment again in January with a run of two,000 whole models worldwide. At the moment, it promised the digicam would turn into accessible at a later date as a standalone and with out equipment, a promise that it has made good on at the moment.
The Diary Version was the most recent in a run of particular version variations of the digicam that Ricoh initially launched in 2019.
The corporate has performed on the GR III design a number of occasions. In September of 2021, it swapped out the 18.3mm lens of the GR III with a brand new 40mm f/2.8 optic to create the GR IIIx. The corporate made a Road Version equipment accessible the next yr in restricted portions after which adopted up with an City Version model of the digicam after that. Just like the Diary Version, the City Version was described as produced in “restricted portions,” however ultimately Ricoh made the digicam purchasable exterior of the equipment it was initially bundled with. The “restricted” nature of Ricoh’s releases appears to be tied to the bundle of equipment and never the digicam physique itself.
The Diary Version Restricted Package’s most important promoting factors exterior of the digicam itself have been the inclusion of a leather-based finger strap and a case product of unbleached sailcloth, each coloured to match the digicam’s metallic “heat grey” end.
These equipment aren’t included with the standalone digicam model, however there are additions to the Diary Version digicam itself which may make it fascinating.
Firstly, the digicam’s design matches the aesthetic of the aforementioned equipment. Ricoh says that the metallic, warm-gray coloration and textured floor of the GR III Diary Version digicam physique are designed to “mirror the digicam’s reliability and high quality, with the textured end additionally guaranteeing a agency grip.” The corporate provides that the colour helps the digicam “mix” simply with each day life.
Ricoh says that the grip rubber has a dark-brown end that enhances the digicam physique and when mounted, the ring cap with a natural-silver end, accentuates the warm-tones.
Operationally, the digicam is mainly the identical as the usual GR III save for the addition of a few new modes. Firstly, it has a brand new picture mode that the corporate says supplies an look that’s much like damaging movie. The digicam additionally shows the variety of pictures captured every day, the full variety of recorded pictures, and the firmware model simply earlier than its energy is shut off. These options have been distinctive to the GR III Diary Version for a short while, however Ricoh made them accessible to all GR III and GR IIIx sequence fashions with a firmware replace that grew to become accessible on January 20.
What remains to be distinctive to the Diary Version is the looks of the shut-down display screen, which options an embossed product emblem towards a “fabric-textured background” in a coloration much like the digicam physique’s end.
The Ricoh GR III Diary Version standalone digicam shall be accessible in late April for $1,020.