Ricoh is Making the GR III Diary Edition Available as a Standalone Camera

The Ricoh GR III Diary Edition which was previously only available as part of a limited kit is now being offered as a standalone camera.

Ricoh announced the limited kit back in January with a run of 2,000 total units worldwide. At that time, it promised the camera would become available at a later date as a standalone and without accessories, a promise that it has made good on today.

The Diary Edition was the latest in a run of special edition versions of the camera that Ricoh originally launched in 2019.

The company has played on the GR III design several times. In September of 2021, it swapped out the 18.3mm lens of the GR III with a new 40mm f/2.8 optic to create the GR IIIx. The company made a Street Edition kit available the following year in limited quantities and then followed up with an Urban Edition version of the camera after that. Like the Diary Edition, the Urban Edition was described as produced in “limited quantities,” but eventually Ricoh made the camera purchasable outside of the accessories it was originally bundled with. The “limited” nature of Ricoh’s releases seems to be tied to the bundle of accessories and not the camera body itself.

The Diary Edition Limited Kit’s main selling points outside of the camera itself were the inclusion of a leather finger strap and a case made of unbleached sailcloth, both colored to match the camera’s metallic “warm gray” finish.

Those accessories aren’t included with the standalone camera version, but there are additions to the Diary Edition camera itself that might make it desirable.

Firstly, the camera’s design matches the aesthetic of the aforementioned accessories. Ricoh says that the metallic, warm-gray color and textured surface of the GR III Diary Edition camera body are designed to “reflect the camera’s reliability and quality, with the textured finish also ensuring a firm grip.” The company adds that the color helps the camera “blend” easily with daily life.

Ricoh says that the grip rubber has a dark-brown finish that complements the camera body and when mounted, the ring cap with a natural-silver finish, accentuates the warm-tones.

Operationally, the camera is basically the same as the standard GR III save for the addition of a couple of new modes. Firstly, it has a new image mode that the company says provides an appearance that is similar to negative film. The camera also displays the number of images captured each day, the total number of recorded images, and the firmware version just before its power is shut off. These features were unique to the GR III Diary Edition for a little while, but Ricoh made them available to all GR III and GR IIIx series models with a firmware update that became available on January 20.

What is still unique to the Diary Edition is the appearance of the shut-down screen, which features an embossed product logo against a “fabric-textured background” in a color similar to the camera body’s finish.

The Ricoh GR III Diary Edition standalone camera will be available in late April for $1,020.