So i am vacationing in Tokyo and they have AWESOME camera stores. They even have full lines of Pentax products on display to view and play with
Anyway, i have always been interested in the Ricoh GR line. But in America there is no where to actually handle one.
I spent an entire 5 minutes playing around with the GR III, so take this with a grain of salt :P
I can see why this thing has such a passionate fan base. It feels very sturdy and it is very compact.
I was disappointed in how easy it is to remove the ring outside of the lens. I can see that it would be easy to lose.
For being a wide angle, it really has gorgeous bokeh, if you get close to your subject. And man, it really does focus close.
The lens is shaaaarp from edge to edge wide open.
The touch screen is very responsive.
As for autofocus, when it locks on, it is very quick and it stays stuck. However, if it misses, and hunts, it really slows things. It just racks back and forth. And it does it slowly.
The troubling part is that the store was very well lit and not dark. Perhaps it being fluorescent lights made a difference?
I do wish it had a tilting screen. I think it would still be plenty pocketable with the few millimeters required to add one.
Having said all of that, i am seriously considering getting one. It is just so discreet and the b&w pics from the new flickr GRIII group look so luscious.