Clicky

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690

Portability
92
Imaging
34
Features
35
Overall
34
Ricoh GR Digital III front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 front
Portability
95
Imaging
39
Features
32
Overall
36

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 Key Specs

Ricoh GR Digital III
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 64 - 1600
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 28mm (F1.9) lens
  • 208g - 109 x 59 x 26mm
  • Launched July 2009
  • Updated by Ricoh GR Digital IV
Sony W690
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 142g - 94 x 56 x 22mm
  • Launched February 2012
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 Overview

Here is a extended overview of the Ricoh GR Digital III versus Sony W690, both Small Sensor Compact digital cameras by companies Ricoh and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the GR Digital III (10MP) and W690 (16MP) and the GR Digital III (1/1.7") and W690 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor sizes.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The GR Digital III was manufactured 3 years prior to the W690 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before getting straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a short summation of how the GR Digital III matches up versus the W690 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Ricoh GR Digital III over the Sony W690

 GR Digital III W690 
Manual focus More precise focusing
Screen resolution920k230kSharper screen (+690k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony W690 over the Ricoh GR Digital III

 W690 GR Digital III 
LaunchedFebruary 2012July 2009Fresher by 31 months

Common features in the Ricoh GR Digital III and Sony W690

 GR Digital III W690 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen dimensions
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen
Touch screen Neither offers Touch screen

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 Physical Comparison

If you are going to carry your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor its weight and volume. The Ricoh GR Digital III offers exterior dimensions of 109mm x 59mm x 26mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 208 grams (0.46 lbs) while the Sony W690 has sizing of 94mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Examine the Ricoh GR Digital III versus Sony W690 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have at that time. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the GR Digital III vs the W690.

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the GR Digital III and W690 is 92 and 95 respectively.

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 top view buttons comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be hard to envision the gap between sensor sizing merely by looking at specifications. The graphic below should offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the GR Digital III and W690.

Plainly, each of the cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The GR Digital III because of its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field less difficult and the Sony W690 will give extra detail due to its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older GR Digital III is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 sensor size comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 Screen and ViewFinder

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III Portrait photography features
Sony W690 Portrait photography features
40
manual focus
exports RAW files
low MP (10MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
34
decent MP (16 megapixels)
offers face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
no manual exposure
external flash not possible
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Street Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III Street photography information
Sony W690 Street photography information
55
exports RAW files
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
57
image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Sports Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III Sports photography highlights
Sony W690 Sports photography highlights
17
can't change focal length (28mm)
does not have image stabilization
low MP (10 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
does not have phase detect autofocus
40
image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (16MP)
offers tracking focus
max frames per second very slow (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Travel Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III Travel photography details
Sony W690 Travel photography details
63
has built in flash
very good maximum aperture (f1.9)
low MP (10 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
68
decent MP (16MP)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.3)
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Ricoh GR Digital III
Landscape photography with Sony W690
45
manual focus
very good maximum aperture (f1.9)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
exports RAW files
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
can't change focal length (28mm)
does not have image stabilization
low MP (10 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
43
reasonably wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
no manual exposure
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
lack of Timelapse recording
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Vlogging Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III as a Vlogging camera
Sony W690 as a Vlogging camera
25
very good maximum aperture (f1.9)
screen isn't selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
video quality not great (640 x 480 pxls)
missing microphone port
31
reasonably wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detect focusing
slow max aperture (f3.3)
screen isn't selfie friendly
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
lack of microphone port
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony W690 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Ricoh GR Digital III and Sony W690
 Ricoh GR Digital IIISony Cyber-shot DSC-W690
General Information
Brand Ricoh Sony
Model Ricoh GR Digital III Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690
Type Small Sensor Compact Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2009-07-27 2012-02-28
Body design Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Processor GR engine III BIONZ
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/1.7" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 7.44 x 5.58mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 41.5mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3 and 3:2 4:3 and 16:9
Peak resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 1600 3200
Lowest native ISO 64 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 28mm (1x) 25-250mm (10.0x)
Maximum aperture f/1.9 f/3.3-5.9
Macro focus distance 1cm 5cm
Crop factor 4.8 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Screen resolution 920k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen tech - ClearPhoto TFT LCD display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (optional) None
Features
Minimum shutter speed 1 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/1600 seconds
Continuous shutter speed - 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 3.00 m 3.30 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Manual Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 640x480 1280x720
Video data format - MPEG-4
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 208 grams (0.46 lbs) 142 grams (0.31 lbs)
Dimensions 109 x 59 x 26mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") 94 x 56 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 220 shots
Battery form - Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-BN
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Cost at release $399 $297