[jup]

I am starting this thread more out of curiosity than anything else. One of the great things about the new GR III is that it uses USB-C port for charging/connection, which is standard and huge improvement over proprietary connectors. I have bunch of USB-C chargers/cables lying around and carry some with me wherever I travel. The camera also comes with adapter which will charge the battery in camera, and I believe pretty much any USB-C charger will do that as well.

But, to get to my point, some chargers (or external batteries) can do more - Ricoh also sells AC power adapter, K-AC166U, that is able to power the camera, even with no/empty battery. Other chargers have this capability as well, and you may already own them.

Update: It seems that any charger/power bank supporting USB power delivery will work. I will try to keep the list bellow updated with known devices, especially since in many cases the fact they suport PD is not obviously stated, but any device supporting power delivery should be fine.

So, here's the list of chargers/power banks that will work as AC adapters for GR III:

• Original Google Pixel charger (TC-G 1000 US) - sold as Google 18W charger here in the US
• Dell laptop USB-C port (XPS-15)
• Lenovo 65W adaptive charger (for a Thinkpad X1 Yoga laptop). Model No. ADL65YDC2A
• Anker PowerCore 10000 PD, 10000mAh Portable Charger USB-C Power Delivery (18W) Power Bank
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 - yes, the tablet will actually power the camera, while allowing file transfer at the same time

Note that while power output of the adapter may play some role, this is about more than just power rating of the adapter. Samsung adaptive chargers, which are also capable of providing 18W power, will not provide AC power to GR III.

I'll be glad to add more to this list. I don't think that the ability to power this camera externally matters that much for camera like GR III, nobody's shooting with it long sessions in studio, but it comes in handy for things like transferring lot of photos via WiFi to my phone while traveling or just experimenting.

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How to test this:

1. Remove battery from Ricoh GR III
2. Plug the charger to be tested into the camera
3. Press power on

If the camera powers on in the last step, you're in possession of an AC adapter providing full power to your GR III. It will also show plug on the screen where the battery indicator normally is. Note that you don't need to remove the battery for normal use - I just consider it a more clear proof than simply looking for the plug indicator.

Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk. While I strongly believe that USB-C is standard for a reason and no civilized USB-C charger should damage the camera, if you end up creating a black hole, I won't be responsible.

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Last edited by jup; 05-10-2019 at 01:10 PM.

[Eyewanders]

Interesting thread idea.
I've a Lenovo 65W adaptive charger (for a Thinkpad X1 Yoga laptop) that powers the GRIII just fine sans battery. Model No. ADL65YDC2A

[victormeldrew]

I think the key feature is likely to be USB Power Delivery 2.0 - if both devices are 2.0 capable, the power supply can switch to 9V (from standard 5V) and therefore deliver more power.

[jup]

Thanks chickentender. Updated the post.

I think the key feature is likely to be USB Power Delivery 2.0 - if both devices are 2.0 capable, the power supply can switch to 9V (from standard 5V) and therefore deliver more power.

I am not sure it's that simple. The Samsung adaptive charger I tested is definitely 9V capable. It's a 15W charger that comes standard with Galaxy Tab S4 and delivers 2A @5V and 1.67A @ 9V as per the sticker and my testing with USB tester. Yet it will not work as AC adapter for GR III, it will only charge the battery.

But it can be related. Maybe you need full 18W capability at the minimum, which is what Pixel charger has. Looking at images of K-AC166U online, it actually seems to be 36W adapter - it can provide 3A @ 9V or 3A @ 12V.

[ruggiex]

Thanks chickentender. Updated the post.


I am not sure it's that simple. The Samsung adaptive charger I tested is definitely 9V capable. It's a 15W charger that comes standard with Galaxy Tab S4 and delivers 2A @5V and 1.67A @ 9V as per the sticker and my testing with USB tester. Yet it will not work as AC adapter for GR III, it will only charge the battery.

But it can be related. Maybe you need full 18W capability at the minimum, which is what Pixel charger has. Looking at images of K-AC166U online, it actually seems to be 36W adapter - it can provide 3A @ 9V or 3A @ 12V.

The power adapter / power bank most likely needs to support power delivery like victormeldrew said. Without that negotiation between the adapter and GRIII, it will always fall back to regular USB low power mode. Incidentally adapter/battery that support PD also have high output. I'm planning to upgrade my power bank to one that supports PD sometime in the future. That'll be super useful for doing star trail type of images.

[Indycamp]

Hey all. I was active on this forum a few years back and saw this post and thought the below would be helpful. My wife suprised me with a griii in March. I got one of the first batch that shipped from Amazon. Batteries and ac chager were not yet available so I bought the following and they work like a charm.

POWSEED USB-C 61W Type C PD Replacement Power Adapter Charger

BM Premium Pack of 2 LI-90B, LI-92B Batteries and USB Dual Battery Charger for Olympus

The camera rocks...in my opinion far superior to the 16mp in every respect except battery life.

The 21mm adaptor lens from the previous version works just fine if just a bit softer around the edges...artistic.

The macro adaptor lens provides incredible magnification and is sharp as hell, but for all intent and purposes is almost touching the subject at the closest focus distance. Of course you have to by the new connector bayonet for them to work.

[jup]

The power adapter / power bank most likely needs to support power delivery like victormeldrew said. Without that negotiation between the adapter and GRIII, it will always fall back to regular USB low power mode. Incidentally adapter/battery that support PD also have high output. I'm planning to upgrade my power bank to one that supports PD sometime in the future. That'll be super useful for doing star trail type of images.

I stand corrected. I think you're both right and it's Power Delivery that's the main requirement. I was confused by my Samsung 15W charger but that's apparently Quickcharge, while the camera only talks to PD devices. I just got 10,000 mAh power bank with PD support from Amazon - Anker PowerCore 10000 PD, 10000mAh Portable Charger USB-C Power Delivery (18W) Power Bank - and it powers the camera just fine without battery. It's also pretty compact and probably equivalent to carrying around about 6 or so extra batteries. Definitely a keeper. I'll update the original post.

Curiously, I don't think the camera ever draws more than 1A @5V from any charger/battery. That's what it says on the sticker and that's what my USB tester says. But maybe they want to have extra margins for spikes.