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Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55

Portability
92
Imaging
34
Features
35
Overall
34
Ricoh GR Digital III front
 
Sony SLT-A55 front
Portability
67
Imaging
56
Features
80
Overall
65

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 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
  • Announced July 2009
  • Successor is Ricoh GR Digital IV
Sony A55
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Bump to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 500g - 124 x 92 x 85mm
  • Launched August 2010
  • Replacement is Sony A57
Photography Glossary

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 Overview

Its time to look much closer at the Ricoh GR Digital III and Sony A55, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Ricoh and Sony. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the GR Digital III (10MP) and A55 (16MP) and the GR Digital III (1/1.7") and A55 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor measurements.

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The GR Digital III was manufactured 13 months prior to the A55 which makes them a generation away from each other. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Ricoh GR Digital III being a Compact camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the GR Digital III matches up versus the A55 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Ricoh GR Digital III over the Sony A55

 GR Digital III A55 

Reasons to pick Sony A55 over the Ricoh GR Digital III

 A55 GR Digital III 
LaunchedAugust 2010July 2009Newer by 13 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution921k920kCrisper screen (+1k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Ricoh GR Digital III and Sony A55

 GR Digital III A55 
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Screen size3"3"Same screen measurements
Touch friendly screen Neither offers Touch friendly screen

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to travel with your camera, you are going to need to think about its weight and volume. The Ricoh GR Digital III offers outside dimensions 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 Sony A55 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") and a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Analyze the Ricoh GR Digital III and Sony A55 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have attached at the time. The following is a front view dimensions comparison of the GR Digital III vs the A55.

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the GR Digital III and A55 is 92 and 67 respectively.

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 top view buttons comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it is hard to envision the gap between sensor dimensions just by looking at a spec sheet. The picture below should give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the GR Digital III and A55.

Clearly, both of those cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The GR Digital III due to its tinier sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony A55 will resolve greater detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures way more aggressively. The more aged GR Digital III is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 sensor size comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 Screen and ViewFinder

Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III Portrait photography details
Sony A55 Portrait photography details
40
has manual focus
saves RAW files
low resolution (10MP)
sensor is very small (1/1.7")
73
you can focus manually
megapixel count decent (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
provides face detect focusing
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III as a Street photography camera
Sony A55 as a Street photography camera
55
saves RAW files
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
sensor is very small (1/1.7")
77
screen articulates fully
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
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Sports Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III Sports photography details
Sony A55 Sports photography details
17
focal length is fixed (28mm)
lack of image stabilization
low resolution (10MP)
sensor is very small (1/1.7")
lack of phase detect autofocus
68
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
sensor has phase detect AF
not so great battery (380 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Ricoh GR Digital III
Travel photography with Sony A55
63
flash built-in
great max aperture (f1.9)
low resolution (10MP)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
62
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly display
does not have Time Lapse recording
not so great battery (380 shots)
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Landscape Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III as a Landscape photography camera
Sony A55 as a Landscape photography camera
45
has manual focus
great max aperture (f1.9)
nice screen size (3")
saves RAW files
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
focal length is fixed (28mm)
lack of image stabilization
low resolution (10MP)
sensor is very small (1/1.7")
67
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is decent (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
not so great battery (380 shots)
does not have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Ricoh GR Digital III as a Vlogging camera
Sony A55 as a Vlogging camera
25
great max aperture (f1.9)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
lack of image stabilization
video quality not great (640 x 480 pxls)
doesn't have microphone support
78
selfie friendly display
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
includes mic support
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Ricoh GR Digital III vs Sony A55 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Ricoh GR Digital III and Sony A55
 Ricoh GR Digital IIISony SLT-A55
General Information
Brand Ricoh Sony
Model type Ricoh GR Digital III Sony SLT-A55
Class Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Announced 2009-07-27 2010-08-24
Physical type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip GR engine III Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/1.7" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 7.44 x 5.58mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 41.5mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3 and 3:2 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 4912 x 3264
Maximum native ISO 1600 12800
Maximum boosted ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 64 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points - 15
Cross type focus points - 3
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 28mm (1x) -
Largest aperture f/1.9 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Total lenses - 143
Crop factor 4.8 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 920 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (optional) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,150 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.73x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 1 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting rate - 10.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 3.00 m 10.00 m (@ ISO 100)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Manual Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize - 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 29.97 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Maximum video resolution 640x480 1920x1080
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 208g (0.46 pounds) 500g (1.10 pounds)
Physical dimensions 109 x 59 x 26mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") 124 x 92 x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 73
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.0
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 816
Other
Battery life - 380 pictures
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Cost at launch $399 $800