Yesterday, on June 11, 2020, Ricoh Imaging has announced its new premium GR III version - Ricoh GR III Street Edition. This limited edition will be sold as Special Limited Kit with a total number of 3500 units worldwide.
GR III Street Edition will feature a special body finish - metallic gray, compact viewfinder (attaches to the hot shoe mount), leather hand strap and orange-yellow lens ring. In terms of technical specifications - everything remains the same as for standard GR III.
Good news for those who also would like to get a hold of this version, but without those extras, the sale of Street Edition is planned for autumn 2020. This release will include only the special body finish and ring cap.
The new metallic gray body really looks great, but at the same time does not drags too much of attention on the streets. Ricoh claims that this colour choice "symbolizes the personality of a street photographer on the asphalt pavement in the city". And I definitely can agree with such concept. The colour really looks like asphalt, but probably the wet asphalt, as far as it has some shiny dimmed gloss.
The new edition has received some vivid accentuation - orange-yellow lens ring. This is also a nice colour choice and harmonizes with the metallic gray finish. But it definitely can get some attention from the crowd. Good offer from Ricoh Imaging - they also have included a black ring cap. So, if you do not want to shine with your orange ring on the camera, you can swap it to a more candid black one.
Despite the smooth body finish, it has a nice grip in the hand due to the grained texture of the coating. It will definitely stay in your hand, not worse than in case of standard GR III version.
Ricoh GR III Street Edition Special Limited Kit includes special accessories: compact detachable viewfinder with the same metal gray finish, and black leather hand strap with orange strap stopper.
The external viewfinder has a marking on top - 28, which indicates the angle of view of the camera.
Despite full technical similarities between the GR III Street Edition and standard GR III, it has some firmware extras.
First of all the Street Edition has got special power-off screen with stylised "Street Edition" graphics.
Also, this camera has got Full Press Snap feature. With a single touch on the LCD screen you may use the Snap focus instantly. This allows you to shift the camera lens to a preselected focal point when the shutter release button is fully depressed. You may position the focusing point on the screen to provide the flawless "point-and-shoot" experience to get your unique shot.
According to Ricoh Imaging, this feature (Full Press Snap) will be added to the standard Ricoh GR III in one of the future firmware updates.
In ever-changing city views, capture once-in-forever moments on the street with the GR III Special Edition.
A limited-edition model featuring a metallic gray body and orange-yellow ring cap, inspired by street photographers who are in their element on the asphalt pavement.
The ultimate snapshot camera for the times. While remaining true to its unchanging concept, the GR continues to evolve. Superb image quality and portability for recording everything you see. Speed that is ready to capture split-second photo opportunities. Ease of use and reliability as a tool of creative expression. The GR III is the new destination for such a search.
This model offers the very essence of recording instants in time as photos.
Experience the essence of the GR!For some technical specifications and performance of this camera, you can read my review of Ricoh GR III. Overall it will conform to the GR III Street Edition.
The Ricoh GR III Street Edition Special Limited Kit will include:
- Street Edition camera body
- HV-2 special edition viewfinder
- special edition leather hand strap
- limited edition orange-yellow lens ring
- black lens ring
- DB-110 rechargeable battery
- USB power adapter
- power plug
- I-USB166 USB cable
In terms of pricing, this special edition will definitely ask for some extra buck. Sales price is USD 1199.95.
Do those extras and cool metallic gray finish cost an additional USD 300? Who knows. But fans of GR will definitely strive for this exclusive version of the most advanced GR series camera. But I would definitely like to own such a unique product. Ricoh Imaging, will you give me one of the Street Editions? )))
