I bought the Fuji XF10 shortly after it launched and, despite a lot of the negative reviews found online, I have been very happy with my purchase. Some of my photos taken with the XF10 can be found in my review or on my Instagram account.
Will I Switch?
As stated in my review, my original plan was to buy the XF10 before a trip to New Orleans, review the camera, and then sell it after the GRIII was announced. Well, the GRIII is now available for preorder and some reviewers have had a chance to get hands on experience with the camera. So, will I be swapping my Fuji for a Ricoh? The short answer for now, is no.
Below is a video by Niels Kemp from the official press announcement in London.
Ricoh Improvements
As noted by Niels, the updated Ricoh brings us a 24MP sensor, an improved lens, 3-axis in body image stabilization, and a touch screen. The image quality, as expected, looks great and the touch screen allows for selecting focus points as well as shooting. Like the XF10, the GRIII implements a hybrid autofocusing system as opposed to the GRII’s contrast detection. Unfortunately, Niels’ video did not cover the autofocusing but hopefully a future video will.
Differences Between the Two
The GRIII no longer has a built in flash (but does have an external flash shoe), has a dust removal mechanism and a minimum focusing distance of 6cm. The XF10, on the other hand, has built in flash (with no external shoe), a non-retracting lens, and a minimum focusing distance of 10cm. Also, like the XF10, the GRIII has a 18.5mm f2.8 lens (28mm f4.2 equivalent), but unlike the XF10, the Ricoh has a built in ND filter. The ND filter and the in body stabilization may provide opportunities for interesting long exposures that can’t be made with the XF10. However, the XF10 has built in Fujifilm simulations that provide beautiful jpegs straight out of camera. The most notable distinction between the two at this time is the price, with the Ricoh costing nearly double the Fuji.
Conclusion
As stated at the beginning of this article, I will not be switching to the Ricoh at this time. The main factors driving my decision are my satisfaction with the Fuji and the high price of the Ricoh. Granted, the Fuji’s autofocusing system can be slow and inaccurate in extremely low light situations, but it is much faster than the GRII. I’d like to see some real-world results with the Ricoh’s autofocusing in extreme low light situations before recommending this camera. The shoe, the ND filter, and the image stabilization are tempting, but for my purposes, they don’t warrant a price double that of the Fuji.