Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sigma DP3 Merrill

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sigma DP3 Merrill, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Ricoh and Sigma. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the GR Digital III (10MP) and DP3 Merrill (15MP) and the GR Digital III (1/1.7") and DP3 Merrill (APS-C) provide totally different sensor dimensions.

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The GR Digital III was revealed 4 years before the DP3 Merrill which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Ricoh GR Digital III being a Compact camera and the Sigma DP3 Merrill being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a complete comparison, here is a simple overview of how the GR Digital III scores against the DP3 Merrill in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Ricoh GR Digital III & Sigma DP3 Merrill. The full galleries are viewable at Ricoh GR Digital III Gallery & Sigma DP3 Merrill Gallery.

If you're aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you need to factor in its weight and volume. The Ricoh GR Digital III comes with outside measurements of 109mm x 59mm x 26mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") with a weight of 208 grams (0.46 lbs) whilst the Sigma DP3 Merrill has sizing of 122mm x 67mm x 59mm (4.8" x 2.6" x 2.3") and a weight of 330 grams (0.73 lbs).

Look at the Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sigma DP3 Merrill in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the GR Digital III compared to the DP3 Merrill.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GR Digital III and DP3 Merrill is 92 and 83 respectively.

Typically, it is very difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by viewing specs. The pic underneath will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the GR Digital III and DP3 Merrill.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The GR Digital III using its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Sigma DP3 Merrill will result in extra detail because of its extra 5 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The more aged GR Digital III will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.