Goodbye Fujifilm: Part 4 - The Final Change
With a majority of my Fuji gear sold and the new Sony equipment exceeding my expectations, all that remained of my Fuji gear was my Fuji XT30 II and XF 35mm F2. I had kept the X-T30 thinking it would make a good backup camera and for daily life. I kept the 35mm f2 because it was one of my favorite focal lengths but I knew it would be a bit too narrow for my intended use.
My Last Fuji
I had taken the X-T30 on a day trip to visit family, the camera stayed in the car most of the day, I just did not feel like taking it with me. When I did decide to bring it with, I knew the 35mm would be really tight for this kind of adventure and I spent a lot of time moving back from my family to get them into frame.
After this outing I had two issues with my X-T30. Firstly the 35mm was fun but not for what I needed for daily life, I wanted something wider. Second the super light and compact X-T30 still required a strap or bag to carry it, it was light but still bulky. Having to take even a small camera on a neck strap I could have just as easily brought my slightly bigger A7 with a zoom lens.
I Was Stuck in a Corner
To solve the first issue I thought about purchasing a wider Fuji lens like the XF 16mm f2.8, XF 18mm f2, or Sigma 18-50mm, any of those three would solve the focal length but would I even want to take it with over the A7? Also I could not come to terms that I was considering buying another lens for the Fuji system I had all but abandoned, I did not want to keep investing in Fuji when I had just converted most of my equipment to Sony. I was at an impasse, so I decided to make one more big change.
Enter the Ricoh GRIII
With a wide 18mm fixed focal length (28mm in 34mm equiv) and the same (or better) image capabilities as my X-T30 the GRIII checked a lot of boxes that I was looking for. Although the GRIII has no view finder or interchangeable lens mount, it does have in body image stabilization, ND filter, leaf shutter, customizable film sims, and a large APS-C senor. The GR III is a beast inside the body of a tiny point and shoot, I had no clue just how valuable that compact size would be.
After getting the GR III out of the box I knew immediately I was on the right track for a daily and family camera. The GR III literally fit in my pants pocket, started up fast, and takes beautiful photos. I had the chance to put the new mini beast to the test just after its arrival, I brought it with to a daddy daughter dance with my girls. I was so excited to toss a nice APS-C camera in my dress pants pocket! I never would have brought a Fuji or Sony with me to an event like this.
After the dance it was settled, I was completely done with Fuji, I packed up the X-T30 II and 35mm f2 and shipped them off to MPB. Down the road I may make a formal review of the Ricoh GR III but I’ll just go through a few things about that I like so far and don’t like.
Do not underestimate a truly pocketable camera, size and weight matter a lot. I never hesitate to bring the GR with me absolutely everywhere like I did with any of my Fuji cameras. The GR sits by my wallet and always leaves the house with me. If it’s going to be rainy I just bring a snack sized ziplock bag in my back pocket.
Final thoughts on the the GRIII After Some Use
My favorite feature is how fast it is to power on and take a photo, from off to photo in less then a second. Also the Ricoh film sims are great and you can adjust the built in ones or store two custom film sims. Pocket-ability has been amazing, from going with me everywhere to taking fun angles and views I wouldn’t have considered being tied to the viewfinder on the X-T30 II.
My biggest complaint is the battery life, but with IBIS and Bluetooth turned off it’s decent. The batteries are 1/2 the size of the X-T30 II so it’s easy to pocket a spare or two.
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