Why the Ricoh GR is Better than a Phone 

Nice work! I remember you told me this one was coming out. Also, I do find it funny when people comment about the GR "just use a phone" they never say that in comparison to a Fuji X100 or a Leica Q or a Sony a6000 etc.. but because the GR is so small people psychologically think that means it's a lesser camera than a bigger one and thus not worth using. When in fact it has an APSC larger sensor than Micro Four Thirds sensors. And most of the m43 sensor cameras are much bigger than the GR3. It honestly still blows my mind they got such a large sensor and f2.8 lens thats actually super sharp and retracts into the body. Really amazing.

If I have my Ricoh GR on me, I prefer to use it. If I only have my phone to hand, then I use that happily. With my phone I'm just taking the shot and the phone does the rest. With my camera, I feel it's up to me to be more artistic. I feel more like a photographer. Also, this video makes me want to visit Japan. I love the peacefulness and pace of life in that place!

I like how the car slowed to let you take the shot. Japan is such a polite society.

Carrying a separate camera is also kind of better because you don't drain your phone battery taking pics while touring.

How do the final photos at max resolution from the Ricoh compare to modern phones and full sized DSLRs? I see a lot of videos online about how iPhones are so great that you don't need a standalone camera anymore, but they never show the max resolution photos, they are always shrunk down to like 1000px. In my experience, photos from phones(including iPhones) at max resolution are kinda ugly, like you can tell there is some AI work going on because of how the colors are getting smudged around. DSLRs seem to have a lot of noise at max res, but at least it's always very sharp, not all smudgy.

Hello. Very good content and big thumbs up for your cameraman. It is very well framed (variety of the angles, following, scale of frames,... )

Another video that have confirmed that I need to buy the 40mm Ricoh GRIIIx. It is good that they have produced this version. Thanks Łukasz for the video. Greetings from Poland. Waiting for more videos.

Phones are for people who haven’t a clue about photographer. Real cameras take pictures that are high resolution in the digital world and have superior results. Phone cameras are shit in most scenarios where as the video is bearable… yet apple still have fked lenses that have orbs everywhere at night. My phone is now just a web browser/gps/phone.

That bicycle shot is beautiful, great observations with the rust from the roof too!

I have owned a Ricoh gr and gr ii and I will say as someone who doesn’t print their work i ended selling both and now I just strictly shoot with my iPhone 13pro and I must say… it does pretty well for a phone camera, the Raw files are pretty impressive and for my style of shooting I really don’t need a big sensor considering I only post to IG and Sometimes Reddit. I also found that when I’d post on IG my Ricoh photos never looked that sharp due to compression. But I would abuse the crap out the flash on those cameras for my night outs.

The one thing about phones is that manufacturers will always try to keep the current form factor or even make them slimmer or smaller which will make it impossible for them to have full size sensors and the glass needed for lens quality which matches an actual camera. Yes there are some phones with 1 inch sensors but take a look at folding phones, you'll have to take a hit on camera quality because they can't fit in the camera technology of flagship phones. Phones will come to rely more upon computational photography rather than lens and sensor quality that resembles a camera. If that suits you that's fine but as a professional or hobbyist it may not.

13:03 Who else thought there was a car crash? This video is so calming and then I jumped out of my couch lol.

Question: When taking the photo of the two chairs 15:57, what made you expose the shot -1EV? Is it the contrast of the subjects to its dark background that triggered your decision, an instant decision really.

Interesting point of view, and relaxing tour, it's good to be in Tokyo a very brief period of time, only that, I like it ;-) Thank you Lukaz!

I agree a stand-alone camera will always out perform a device with a camera

I love your tones. You get really nice mids all the time which create such a clean looking balance overall, and I don't know how much you do to the colours in post-processing, but if Ricoh could get close to this look right out of camera I'd buy one tomorrow, even with no flip screen and my fear of dust in fixed lens cameras. Very nice compositions and excellent processing too. ✌️

Oh man, still taking bike shots? Awesome I love framing things in between tree branches. Something I learned from one of your earlier technique vids. Hope you're doing well in Tokyo m8. I'll be back even if I have to float in on a raft.

Nice 40mm lens, but 28mm for street is what I prefer currently. Cool video though.

I challenged my eye to a yu-gi-oh duel and it beat my ass. turns out having an opponent that can see your cards sucks.

I agreed totally but to be honest compact cameras shouldn't cost more than 600-700 euro.For a 1000 euro camera i prefer to buy a mirroless for example sony a6100 than a compact camera. Any more budget compact cameras? Thanks!

T-shirt? Isn't it cold in Tokyo? In Taipei it's around 20 Celsius these days, jacket time.

I've actually been curious about this now especially. I sold my gr a while back cause i wasn't shooting as much. The iPhone 14 pro is really blowing me away photo wise. And i was getting ready to pick up a new gr, but in revisiting the low light performance of the gr, I'm really disappointed with it. I might actually hold off on getting a gr until they release a new one. The autofocus, and noise performance is really not great. Some of my ricoh images are pretty sludgy at 6400 iso. I adore using the gr, but idk. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do haha

Wow. S CLASS stopping for u?!

Been re-watching the video and spotted a bacteria-shaped dark spot in the bottom right corner of the video, clearly visible against the white body of the truck (10:37 - 10:47).

I use a 2006 8.1 megapixel Ricoh gr digital mainly for black and white at high Iso in poor light. I also have a Huawei P10 plus phone with Leica summilux lenses for colour. I use aperture mode for portraits to get beautiful bokey.

12:03 holyshits!.. that was one beautiful Mercedes

Is there any chance that you're going to try Sony RX100 VII? I'm really curious to hear your opinions on it!

Glad i have some time again to check all your videos i have missed. Love your channel, you two are great, could watch it for hours. You even dont need special topics, just following you doing your urban photography, sharing your thougts, thats it! The city is amazing for that kind of photography, i get so many creative ideas just by watching your videos. Keep it up, much apreciated.

I absolutely agree with you, although phone is getting better capturing the detail but the look its not natural. Not like the bigger sensor where the detail is very natural and doesnt look oversharpening, and in terms of ergonomic i really agree with you its more comfortable with a camera than a phone.

i kept wiping below right corner of my phone screen..🤭 great video as usual..😊

Nem szeretem ! Túlságosan sokat szerepel benne, a képeké kellene lennie a főszereplőnek!

The Ricoh GR is like having a DSLR in your pocket and is head and shoulders better than any phone. And I’m talking about the GR one. The only time I’ll use my iPhone 13 pro max is for video. And don’t get me started on the horrible hdr output on the new iPhones that makes portraits just look ugly. Other phones have better cameras than the iPhone I know, but they still don’t hold up against a big sensor.

13:41. I love the vintage movie look

Hi got me thinking. About to purchase iPhone 13 pro, for the camera, but why not a cheaper phone and Ricoh GR lll? What is the grey shoulder bag you are using please? Malcolm

Also raw in computational photography has no reason to be used

Great shot of that woman running but you missed that awesome Taito truck with a little Invader right after! 👾 Anyways, great video! I have the GR3, you're really tempting me to get the X too!!

I don't know if you'd like to make a video on this question but there are no good straightforward resources on RU-vid or the internet: what makes a camera "good" at photos but "bad" at video or vice versa? I've seen plenty of camera reviews that will say "you're better off using your phone for video". Is it just codecs? Bitrate? Controls? Or is it something about sensors? Are cameras that are "better" at video, worse at photos?

One thing with new phones even though they are very advanced is that I don’t like the image rendering. They all use computational photography which makes photos very clear and sharp but not in a way I like. That is One reason I have got the fujixf10 which like gr. the ergonomics and size along with shooting experience makes such cameras really good choice for serous photography

For me there will be always one thing different in phones. Distractions. If you want to take a picture with a phone suddenly you will notice a bunch of notifications on the phone's screen which will pull you back from the composition that had in mind and you will forget what you want it to photograph in the first place. That is why I always shoot with camera.

I love This video. I recently got a GRD1 from 2006 and it’s photos, in my opinion, are just as good as a phone’s images now. The major difference is that I can manual everything and I love that so much

I think the comment about using a camera putting you in the zone is the reason I don't like to use my phone for photography as a rule. It's as if pulling out a camera activates a part of me that pulling a phone out does not.

GR photo quality... it's something else altogether. It's tasty! Also it's less conspicuous than using your phone. He did a great job showing how quick you can be. Dial in your setting for the light that day, set it and forget it.

Next GR should be a zoom lens version haha 24-70

A camera just put me in the zone. Man I couldn't agree more. When I have a camera in my hand, it's like I'm in a photographer mode. I just love taking photos and enjoy the scenery around me. I get to see things differently through the camera. Hopefully I'll get the 3x soon! Thanks for the video! It's awesome!

Im so tired of having to explain why cameras are better than phones 😂

A good camera changes people one encounters. In my experience I become a safe person, even for woman, to say a few words, have a very short chat. I think that nowadays if one has a camera one is seen a serious photographer unlike one with a phone.

I love your points. Might I add that a phone is not as responsive as a camera. Great job my friend.

Cool video! It's a question I wonder myself.

10:39 random japanese lady running 😆

I watched some of your videos taken in Japan and kept wondering what you carry in that small swing bag all the time. Then having a GRiiix myself, realized that it should be fully loaded with spare batteries. When I go for a photo shoot, and keep by camera off all the time when not taking a shot, it still getting flat very fast. What is your experience?

Would you say this would do well for concerts? Dark-ish setting and im not that far from the stage? I used my iphone 12 pro few days back and was really disappointed that my shots were so blurry and lost alot of details. I did not even zoom all the way. I was thinking of using the GR 3 for concerts (since htey wont allow big cameras) and family trips too.

I have a Canon 80D with 18mm to 135mm. I also have a Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra with great cameras. Today I decided to go back to the 80D. The reasons as you mentioned it just doesn't feel like a camera. I can shoot in manual in it but not as fast as in the camera. I miss the ability to easily use the DOF. I shoot both stock photos and video and I was doing more of it when I was using my "real" camera.

Not everyone has or wants a phone believe it or not.

Taking pictures on a camera is much more enjoyable, it feels more deliberate and less about documenting everything and anything before filing it all away in your storage (it’s more personal). It feels like typing on a keyboard, or drawing on a piece of paper - technology definitely helps us but I feel that each innovation takes us further away from the analog experience. On another note, I was very close to pulling the trigger on the GRIII but hesitated. Everyone says that 28MM is versatile and I get that (you get 28, 35 & more), but I don’t find myself drawn to it (18MM/28MM) when using my Fujifilm X-T4 (my ‘real’ camera). Maybe it’s because I only have 18/28MM on my zoom lens and my phone - both not really inspiring my creative mindset. My most used lens by far is the 35MM 1.4 (53MM equivalent) - with that lens I feel like I see the world in that frame and it’s the one focal length I would probably keep in any system. The Fujifilm X-T4 is a lot larger than a phone or a Ricoh though, so it doesn’t go with me everywhere - none of Fuji’s recent camera are truly pocketable once the lens is added, and some places will flat our refuse you if you have an interchangeable lens camera. That’s the dilemma, what do I do if I want to have a real camera experience without carrying a large body and lenses. The more I speak, the more it sounds like the GRIIIX would be a good way of having the (almost) 50ish equivalent in my pocket (and let’s face it, the iPhone tele lens sucks in anything but bright light). Do you find yourself gravitating towards similar focal lengths? Do you use any other cameras in your day to day?

I went for a fuji camera (hipster!) after getting fed up with taking pictures on a phone. I had an old crappy and cheap nikon dslr from 2010, but found the image quality to be very limited, especially for night photography. The new camera was a major upgrade. I watch your channel a lot and learning a lot!

This is one of those cities you can walk around forever and discover so much, just amazing.

Where was this filmed please

Yes, ergonomics of the photo camera beat every smartphone! Therefor I still use compact and DSLM (APS-C) cameras for shootings. Phone is just for memories/snapshot/family.

It’s walking around the set of Blade Runner. Tokyo looks amazing

The Ricoh griii is the best street camera made imo. It’s so small no one sees it. I can literally get up behind someone and take a photo of their scalp and they don’t see me. Fuji xpro / x100 series is close but it’s still a lot more noticeable. Ofcourse you can use any camera for street, I’ve shot 4x5 on the street, but as far as candid and unnoticed go, Ricoh wins

I'm glad you did not think to change the shutter speed... the motion blur makes the photo, especially the skirt...

For iPhone you don’t need to change iso shutter speed. It’s smart phone it does everything for you. Some pics looks better in iphone. But main difference for GR can get more DOF

I have GR2 and I know how to use it well. But I do prefer my iPhone 13.

Using a camera and a phone here. And the way i use my phone to capture some interesting moments is when my camera is in my backpack and i see something who catch my eyes. It's pretty quick to go to camera mode ( 2 clicks on power button ) and then to take the snap. I guess the approach is different, having a small camera in your pocket can be great too and offer more, as you said, when it come to handle the different features ( EV, shutter speed...) So, when you plan to take pictures as you wander around and have your small camera powered on, that great, for quick unexpected shot, phone can be handy. Also, having a camera as the Ricoh all the time in your pocket is a great option too and allow to have another alternative than just the phone as it's light and don't take much places. In any case, the best option is the camera you have when you take the shot ... to know which one didn't matter much after all :) It all depend in what situation you are and what kind of options are available to you. Thanks for the tour.

Great video! How many Ricoh DB-110's do you normally utilizes when doing street photography?

Love, the content from this channel! I'm waiting for busy streets to pick up again in my prefecture. Hope all is well. By the way, may I ask where you got your neck gaiter? Thank you!

I use both, a "real" camera as well as my phone. I have Sony Xperia 1 II which has great manual controls, maybe not quite DSLR-level but close. Phone cameras are good for stills but you're right that a camera will always do better job overall. I like phone for convenience since it's always with me and will get the job done in emergency but I still prefer to feel myself as a "photographer" with a real thing on my hands. :D

Another very enjoyable and informative walk and talk Lukasz - thanks for all your time putting these together along with Axl. Please can you clean the sensor on your camera used for the video though - that dirty mark middle right of screen kept grabbing my attention! :D

For me though, I don’t care. I know the sensor is bigger on the GR and that there are many pros to the GR but none of them matter to me. To me it’s about different lenses, good IQ, versatility, weather sealing which is why I like the phone. Also I don’t care about low light.

At 8:00 I’m saying turn around and take a shot of that stairwell, thinking you missed it, but then at 13:45 you went back, saw it and took it. That was like scratching an itch I couldn’t reach, awesome.

I think there is a significant difference in image quality. Unlike cameras, phones are not meant to produce professional quality photos. At least not at this time.

I got the GR3X and testers it at night Took two shots , one with this and one with iPhone pro max. I admit the iPhones was clearer and less noise. I admit I am leading the setting in the gr which is confusing at times but we will see

sure, GR is better than a phone

Oh by the way, this is my Instagram feed: instagram.com/ehtesham_digital

APS-C vs a tiny phone sensor plus limited manual control. No contest.

I regularly use a pair of Sony RX100 cameras but, since I fitted a Smallrig grip to my iPhone, I find it easier to use the iPhone one handed. And I find I can easily swap between the three lenses too, without having to use my other hand.

👏🏻💯

Great video! I used to have Nikon D7500. I loved the image quality, but I decided to sell it since it was too big and bulky for me to take it outside. RICHO GR series might be the best camera for me to take it wherever I want to go… Which would you recommend for travel photography, GR3 or GR3x?

10:38 lucky timing to have her run into your shot, but also wow, running in heels, that can't be easy

I use Fuji X100 besides my iPhone. But iPhone comes with some pluses too: - live photo - better HDRI - fast - GPS camera location - 3D scanning

Love the picture with the house and the plane, and kind of sad that you skipped the funhouse mirror. Indeed, the GRⅢ put me into the zone, almost too much. Especially when I was in Hong Kong, I “wasted” a lot of time taking and processing photos. So I don’t mind so much anymore that it was taken from me during my time in Honduras. Using the GRⅢ and watching your videos taught me a lot about digital color photography, though. I am now back to an old Panasonic DMC-ZX1 for the occasional snap. As the GR, it can be operated one-handedly, it powers up almost instantly, it has built in storage, and it easily gets dust on the sensor. Of course, image quality is not great. However, at ISO 80 and underexposed by about ⅔EV, I can get pleasant colors in good light, especially using subtle ACR processing that I learned in this channel. As for modern phones: I find these devices way to distracting, which is why I switched to a PinePhone with a bare-bones UI.

Couldn't agree more. My iPhone budget has actually transformed into my GR budget. Instead of upgrading my iPhone every year or two, I spend the same amount of money on GR cameras. I am still using my iPhone 8 Plus (and will until it is out of the update cycle) and have added a GRII and a GRIIIx to my possessions. I never leave home without my GR but I have sometimes forget to grab my phone.

I really enjoyed it. every week please make a video.

Yes

Were you shooting with the standard preset or you adjusted them after?

My next camera will be a Ricoh GR. At the moment I’m using a Sony RX 100vii and people do think it’s a toy camera and that works to my advantage, it’s compact and the 24mm-200mm is very useful. I enjoyed your video. Bike photos are great I like photographing those also. 🙂🌺 Question: Where did you buy your cool bag, is it part of your merch?

Richo gr vs Fujifilm xe4 or xt30ii is a hard choice for me

I see a stain on the right window,5:56, pls tell Axel to clean the sensor hahahaha

Excellent video, so much cool to take shots walking around the lanes 😀

Like that bag you are rocking. What is it please?

The main reason why the Ricoh Gr3 is better than any phone is the image quality. I have not seen yet a single phone beating an APC sized sensor camera. The pictures I take with my Ricoh Gr3 are undoubtedly better and sharper than similar photos taken with a photo. I enjoy this type of videos but there is one thing I really don't understand. Most people on videos like yours use high ISO like over 500 ISO or more for pics in broad daylight and that it is definitely not necessary with a camera like the Ricoh Gr3 unless you are shooting a scene with a fast moving subject. I shoot 99% of my photos in daytime using 100 ISO. I simply reduce the shutter speed. Even at 1/20 of a second I normally get very sharp pics. Increasing the ISO does increase the noise. I would never use more ISO 400 in the daytime, not even on a very dark day. I am fine with 100-200 ISO Max most of the time. I love 100 ISO. Photos taken with much higher ISO do not look as good.

Hi there..I'm a big fan of your works. In fact, you are the reason why I bought a Ricoh GR 3 last year. It's a fun to use camera. And the outputs are really amazing. However, I'm struggling with the camera in low light conditions. It hunts a lot. The main problem I would say the digital noise (by the way, I've come from Fuji System). How do you manage this? I know, sometimes noise is unavailable. But is there any specific way to handle the noise during post processing? I've seen your shots on RU-vid. Those are lot clearer. Please help if possible 🙏🏻

I love your photo walks and commentary! I want that camera!

Got my griii few months ago. Love this video.

But do remember that your modern smartphone is weather sealed and wont get dust in the sensor….

Great video and photos, wonderful location. I am thinking of buying a GR lll for street photography but I'm struggling picking either the 28mm or the 40mm, I have shot with a Canon 80D with 18-135mm lens since it came out but I now need to scale back with my equipment due to health reasons but still want to take pictures when I'm out and about.

It depends on what the user wants to do with those images. If they’re mostly uploaded to social media, there are no immediately noticeable difference between GR (26mm) vs flagship phone images. Dont bluff yourselves. Its just social media. Of course, the GR 40mm’s images at wide open will instantly stand to be different vs all phone images. Thats why I bought a camera to do things that any phone can never genuinely do (optically). But if most images are to be printed out big and/or used in any books etc, then of course its better to use a real camera. I love the GR26mm, but the aesthetics of its images, esp the depth of field is very similar to those from any phone. Fine…I can buy the GR40mm and enjoy very distinctive “real camera” type of looks, but I can no longer capture wide angle stuff and hence, have to resort to my phone. Summarily, …intelligently and skillfully using a flagship smartphone + being supplemented by the new GR3X (40mm) would give me the best of both worlds.

You play a fair hand when comparing the cellular phone against the RICOH GR....The reason for the camera being a better choice is because of the sensor. The phone, unlike the camera itself is because of the crop sensor in the camera vs.pphone

Ive watched most of your movies and I must say that they are a great learning experience! I like that youre very specific and to the point, I find it a great value and I wanted to thank you for what you're doing. I have a question to you, or rather I would like to ask of your opinion - I saw that youre shooting with nikon in your other videos - I own canon rp and sigma 35 1.4 and I often find myself a bit shy or disturbed by the size of this equipment -I often think of buying a rather smaller camera like x100v or GRIII but I dont know if its worth it just for the size of it. I dont want to indulge in Gear Acqusition Syndrome as well. Whats your take on carrying bigger camera in the streets? I dont know if I should work on just accepting it or should I buy a small camera and dont think about it too much. The problem is that I just love the image from sigmas

Yes but iPhones have night mode, tonight I took two shots, one with phone and other with GR3X I admit the GR had more noise