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Ricoh GR II

 
Ricoh GR II front
 
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28mm (F2.8-16.0) lens
  • 251g - 117 x 63 x 35mm
  • Released June 2015
  • Older Model is Ricoh GR
  • Read full specs
  • Alternatives
  • Size Comparison
  • FAQ
Portability
89
Imaging
59
Features
55
Overall
57

Ricoh GR II overview

Ricoh GR II is Ricoh's Large Sensor Compact digital camera first announced on June of 2015. It has a 16 MegaPixel, CMOS APS-C size sensor with a peak resolution of 4928 x 3264.

Ricoh released this model in an effort to upgrade the earlier Ricoh GR (Read Full Comparison)

The GR II ranks at #42 out of 65 in Large Sensor Compact cameras & all-around #343 out of 1465 for cameras in our collection. You can test our Smart camera filter to find camera rankings based on your personal requirements.

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Here is a diagram of different criteria used in the scoring system.

Ricoh GR II history

The Ricoh GR II is part of a family of digital cameras. You can see the full list below.

ModelVisualizeLensResolutionSensor SizeReleased
Ricoh-GR-III front thumbnailRicoh GR III
GR II vs GR III
28mm
F2.8-16
24MPAPS-C2018
Ricoh-GR-II front thumbnailRicoh GR II28mm
F2.8-16.0
16MPAPS-C2015
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Ricoh-GR front thumbnailRicoh GR
GR II vs GR
28mm
F2.8
16MPAPS-C2013

Ricoh GR II Pros and Cons

Here is a list of good and bad points of the Ricoh GR II based on aspects that are oftentimes seen as useful in a digital camera.

decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
does have HDMI port
exports RAW formats
has built in flash
has face detect autofocus
has tracking focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition (251 grams)
NFC support
screen size is decent (3")
very good high ISO (25,600)
very good min ISO (100)
very good screen resolution (1,230 k dot)
you can focus manually
doesn't have headphone port
doesn't have microphone port
doesn't have Timelapse mode
fixed focal length (28mm)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
lack of image stabilization
lacks phase detect autofocus
no moving screen
screen is not selfie friendly
slow continuous shooting (4.0 frames per second)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Ricoh GR II Sensor specs

The Ricoh GR II features the GR Engine V processor chip. The sensor spec in the Ricoh GR II is 23.7mm x 15.7mm (APS-C). The 372 mm² sensor has the ability to resolve 4928 x 3264 pixels using aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3 and 3:2.

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The CMOS sensor has 16 megapixels and has a standard ISO range of 100 - 25600. RAW photos are saved so you have more margin for error.

The image below shows the GR II's sensor size in comparison to other popular sizes. The GR II sensor has a crop factor of 1.5 and is shown in green.

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To get a sense of different aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Camera sensor aspect ratios

Ricoh GR II dimensions

Ricoh GR II has a weight of 0.55 lb (251 gr or 8.85 ounces) & has exterior size of 117mm x 63mm x 35mm (4.6" x 2.5" x 1.4"). The weight of general Large Sensor Compact camera is 396 gr so the Ricoh GR II is lighter as compared to its rivals.

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Listed below is a photo of the Ricoh GR II next to a soft drink to help you get a feel for its size.

Ricoh GR II dimensions scale

The top view here will show you the button design on the GR II.

Ricoh GR II topview buttons dials

Ricoh GR II Lens details

The GR II features a fixed lens offering a constant focal length of 28mm meaning that you don't have the ability to zoom.

At it's widest 28mm, the lens features an aperture of f2.8 which will be rather sluggish and not ideal for low light conditions and you will probably find it hard to get good bokeh. You will also have to increase your ISO setting resulting in noisy photos.

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Ricoh GR II Connectivity

The GR II has the following connectivity:

  • USB Yes
  • Wireless Yes
  • NFC Yes
  • HDMI Yes

Cameras that have NFC and Bluetooth support are able to be used wirelessly by smartphones. You can transfer images and sometimes change settings without connecting straight with the camera.

Some apps also provide a Liveview and press the shutter in case you aren't close to the camera. If the camera includes a HDMI port, it can easily be attached to an external monitor. Virtually all cameras will allow you to charge the battery through the USB port.

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Ricoh GR II Video details

The highest video resolution in the Ricoh GR II is 1920 x 1080 and you can record in MPEG-4 and H.264 file format. 1080p resolution can provide a good balance between video quality vs file size but FULL HD will not give you any room to downsample. The body doesn't include a microphone and headphone socket so you get absolutely no control over the sound. It is probably best to look into another camera in case you need decent sound for your videos.

Photography Glossary

Ricoh GR II Weather Sealing

There is no weather proofing in the Ricoh GR II so you have to be cautious in rainy or dusty situations.

Ricoh GR II Screen and Viewfinder

The Ricoh GR II has a 3" fixed screen having a resolution of 1,230k dots.

Unfortunately the screen isn't a touch screen.

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The View Finder specifications for Ricoh GR II are below:

  • ViewFinder Optical (optional)

Viewfinders can be pretty beneficial during bright outdoor situations which can make the camera screen washed out and difficult to see.

Ricoh GR II Shutter details

Ricoh GR II continuous shooting speed is 4.0 frames per second. The maximum shutter speed is 1/4000s.

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Ricoh GR II Flash and Hot shoe details

Ricoh GR II features both integrated flash along with external flash ability.

Ricoh GR II Autofocus details

Ricoh GR II features only Contrast Based Autofocus & lacks Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot faster and exact as compared to Contrast Based autofocusing. The camera has Face detection which makes it valuable for portraits.

It has 9 focus points to pick from. It also has Tracking Autofocus for objects on the move. Ricoh GR II has the ability to use manual focusing when needed during low light scenarios or you want to have more accurate focusing control.

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Ricoh GR II Battery life

The battery power (DB-65) in the Ricoh GR II is designed to last for 320 photographs based on the CIPA requirements which is comparable with it's competitors. The typical Large Sensor Compact camera battery life is 301. Leica X-U has the highest (450) battery life within this kind of cameras.

Here is a list of Large Sensor Compact cameras that come with the best battery life:

Ricoh GR II for different categories of photography

The following chart shows a summation of the Ricoh GR II for different categories of photography. To understand more, browse to the specific section below.

Ricoh GR II as a Portrait photography camera

The Ricoh GR II gets a points total of 75 which is nice, meaning that it is a very decent pick to use for portraits. Shooting portrait images favors heavily to sensor resolution, RAW support along with the option to utilize off-camera flash.

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manual focus
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
provides face detection autofocus
saves RAW files

Ricoh GR II Street photography details

Coming in at a nice points tally of 74, the Ricoh GR II is a respectable pick to buy for street photography. A very good street photography camera has a fine balance of picture quality plus portability.

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sensor size is nice (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
lighter than competitors in class (251g)
good ISO range (25,600)
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization

Sports photography with Ricoh GR II

A decent sports photography points tally of 50 means the Ricoh GR II is fairly suitable for taking pictures of sports. A camera needs to have good autofocus and shutter speeds for sports photography.

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resolution is good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
has tracking focus
focal length is fixed (28mm)
slow continuous shooting (4.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
no phase detect auto focus

Travel photography with Ricoh GR II

Portability is pretty important when picking a travel camera. All round, the Ricoh GR II gets a very good 67 as a travel camera which is a very decent choice for your trips.

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lighter than competition (251g)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
no Time Lapse function
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)

Ricoh GR II Landscape photography features

In case you're planning to purchase a camera for landscape photography, the most essential aspect will no doubt be image quality. The Ricoh GR II at it's moderate score of 59 for a landscape camera is fairly suitable within the current market.

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has manual focus
screen size is good (3")
megapixel count good (16MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
good high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW files
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
can't change focal length (28mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
does not have image stabilization
lack of Timelapse function

Ricoh GR II Vlogging details

A camera for vlogging preferably should offer a moving display, mic input and ideally IBIS. Taking everything in to account, the Ricoh GR II is simply not appropriate for vlogging as it gets a terrible rating of 32.

Photography Glossary
comes with face detect autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition in class (251g)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization
lack of mic socket

Ricoh GR II Alternatives

If you are shopping for alternatives to the GR II, below is a selection of the top placed cameras that fall in to the class of Large Sensor Compact.

The graph here gives you a bird's eye view of the GR II versus it's highest ranking rivals mentioned earlier.

These are various other cameras you may check out as alternatives. To look at a comprehensive comparison, just click on the "compare" link.

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Specifications

General Information
Brand
Ricoh
Model type
Ricoh GR II
Type
Large Sensor Compact
Released
2015-06-17
Body design
Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type
CMOS
Processor
GR Engine V
Sensor size
APS-C
Sensor measurements
23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor area
372.1mm²
Sensor resolution
16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio
1:1, 4:3 and 3:2
Full resolution
4928 x 3264
RAW data
Max native ISO
25600
Lowest native ISO
100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points
9
Lens
Lens support
fixed lens
Lens zoom range
28mm (1x)
Largest aperture
f/2.8-16.0
Macro focusing range
10cm
Crop factor
1.5
Screen
Screen type
Fixed Type
Screen size
3"
Resolution of screen
1,230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder
Optical (optional)
DXO scores
DXO All around rating
80
DXO Color Depth rating
23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating
13.7
DXO Low light rating
1078
Features
Lowest shutter speed
300 seconds
Highest shutter speed
1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed
4.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation
Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance
3.00 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash options
Auto, Flash On, Flash Synchro., Manual Flash, Red-Eye Flash Auto, Red-Eye Flash On, Red-Eye Flash Synchro, Wireless
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions
1920 x 1080 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 640 x 480 (30p, 25p, 24p)
Max video resolution
1920x1080
Video format
MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless
Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS
None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight
251 grams (0.55 pounds)
Physical dimensions
117 x 63 x 35mm (4.6" x 2.5" x 1.4")
Other
Battery life
320 images
Battery form
Battery Pack
Battery ID
DB-65
Self timer
Yes
Time lapse recording
Type of storage
SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots
One
Cost at launch
$599