Ricoh GR III High ISO Sample Images

The Ricoh GR III has an ISO range from 100 to 102400. It’s one of several upgrades from the GR II—the previous model maxed out at ISO 25600.

But in some respects, that sounds more impressive than it turns out it is in practice. That’s because there are marked trade-offs at those very high ISOs that limit their usefulness in many real-world shooting situations. While the GR III does have a significantly better sensor, it doesn’t mean that the image quality of the GR III at ISO 102400 is the same as the image quality of the GR II at ISO 25600.

Unlike some cameras, the Ricoh GR III doesn’t explicitly distinguish between a native ISO range and an extended ISO range, and it’s not immediately clear where the threshold is between the sensor hardware’s native sensitivity and where the camera’s built-in processing engine takes over to apply a software-powered boost. But if you shoot in the very high ISOs, you’ll quickly notice that the image quality drops off markedly at the top end, with much more image noise, much less dynamic range, and much less accurate colors.

Where the useful upper limit lies is entirely a matter of personal tolerance for these image quality issues. If it comes down to getting the shot or not, I’m willing to live with much more image noise. Ditto if I’m converting to black and white. But for everyday shooting with the GR III, ISO 16000 is probably my practical upper limit. But even below that, shadows can get quite muddy in low-light shots.

Beyond that, the noise just becomes too intrusive for my tastes, and I know that photo editors are going to balk at any images I submit to them that are shot at higher ISOs than that. By the time you get to ISO 32000, the dynamic range is getting very thin, and the image is becoming quite harsh. At ISO 51200 and above, it’s in the break-the-glass territory. That’s not to say that the images at ISO 32000 and above aren’t usable–it depends entirely on what you’re aiming for and how you’re using them, so it’s going to come down to personal preference. And if you’re posting them to something like Instagram, where they’ll be viewed on something small like a smartphone, many of the image flaws might well just melt away, leaving for a great-looking capture.

One other thing that’s worth noting is that when you’re shooting with the very high ISOs, there’s a good chance you’ll find you get a better-looking image by using the camera’s own processing engine to output a JPG rather than using a RAW version and processing it yourself. Or, more precisely, you can get a better-looking image more quickly because the camera’s algorithm is tailored to this specific sensor.

Ricoh GR III ISO Performance – Practical Examples

Here are some I’ve shot with the GR III in real-world shooting at high ISOs. I’m focusing here on ISO 6400 and above.

But there are some things worth noting when looking at these photos. Like most cameras, the GR III applies noise reduction to its JPG images. By default, that is—it is possible to turn the noise reduction off completely. That noise reduction setting also applies to the JPG thumbnail previews that are embedded within the DNG RAW files, but it doesn’t have any effect on the underlying RAW data. All of these photos were shot in RAW, with the JPGs you see on the page generating directly from the RAW image, thus bypassing the camera’s own noise reduction. I’ve only applied the lightest touch of noise reduction, using Lightroom’s default setting (Luminance: 0, Color: 25, Detail: 50, Smoothness: 50). So there’s plenty of room to crank up the aggressiveness of the noise reduction either in Lightroom or a dedicated app like Noise Ninja. But my purpose here is to provide some examples of the camera’s performance, not the software’s effectiveness.

You can click on each image to open a full-size version for a closer look.

Things Worth Knowing

There are some things about the GR III’s behavior with respect to ISOs that are worth knowing.

I typically have the camera set to Auto ISO. In that setting, you can set maximum and minimum limits as well as a minimum shutter speed threshold.

Somewhat oddly, when using the Auto ISO setting, it’s possible for the actual ISO used when taking the shot to differ from what you see on the display screen. I assume that’s because the exposure will be recalculated at the time you actually take the photo, but I haven’t confirmed that.

And there are some limits when shooting with smaller image sizes set. You can find more details about this on page 84 of the PDF manual.

Price & Availability of the Ricoh GR III

Check the current price and availability of the Ricoh GR III at:

• B&H Photo
• Adorama
• Amazon

Fixing Image Quality Problems in Editing

And the general rule of thumb in photography is that it’s better to get the shot right at the time of capture rather than trying to fix it after. That’s a great aspiration, but it’s not always possible to do if you’re shooting in especially challenging conditions or bumping up against limitations or flaws in gear, conditions, or technique.

But it’s worth mentioning that there are some excellent tools available to help address common image quality issues with digital images. And they’re getting better and better all the time as the power of AI ramps up. They can deal remarkably well with anything from sensor issues like high-ISO image noise to lens issues like distortion, softness, vignetting, and chromatic aberration. (Note: I’m focusing here on corrections related to image quality, not image enhancement tools–that’s a different kettle of fish.)

All-round image processing apps like Lightroom Classic and Capture One have solid tools built in that are very good places to start. But it’s also possible to take it much further with more specialized tools. If you shoot in challenging conditions regularly and find room for improvement in the image quality coming out of the camera, these might well be worth a look (and they have free trials). Some are stand-alone apps; some integrate into image editing suites such as Lightroom Classic.

UPDATE: In April 2023, Adobe released an update to Lightroom Classic that added new AI-powered noise reduction for RAW files. It’s a powerful tool that rivals some of the dedicated apps below. If you’re already using Lightroom Classic for your image editing and organization, it’s well worth trying out.

Fixing Image Noise & High ISO Artifacts

• DxO PureRAW 3 (only works on RAW files, but since was updated to version 3, it has become my go-to app for this kind of thing)
• DxO DeepPrime
• Topaz Labs’ DeNoise AI

Fixing Lens-Related Optical Issues

• DxO PureRAW (again offers an impressive suite of automatic fixes that are applied before you start editing the images)
• DxO ViewPoint (correcting for lens distortion and geometry skews)
• Topaz Labs Sharpen AI (in addition to standard unsharp tools, includes focus correction and shake reduction)

Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-05-31 at 21:27. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.