Once I get a new tech-gadget, I tend to buy a few accessories to either safeguard my investment, or to make it easier or more fun to use, or both.  The Ricoh GR III digital camera is no different.

I usually worry about cracks and scratches on any device that has an LCD screen.  I’ve been an iPhone user from Day 1, and I’ve never had a cracked screen, because I always get a clear screen protector.  The Ricoh GR III has a very nice LCD touchscreen.  It fits the screen perfectly and doesn’t affect the sensitivity of the touchscreen at all.

While looking up other possible accessories, I came across something called a Thumbs Up Grip.  The camera has a hotshoe on top, for you to connect an external flash or an external viewfinder if necessary.  Well, a company called JJC makes a small handle that provides a secure hold when you shoot.  

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The reviews were all uniformly glowing, and I noticed in some YouTube videos that some of the photographers in the video had this little grip handle on their camera.  I personally like it.  It’s not necessary, but it does give you a natural place to rest your thumb.  The only complaint I might have is that the little curved thumb part does protrude from the camera body a tiny bit, so it doesn’t slide as easily into your pocket, but that’s very minor.  It still fits into my pants pocket very nicely. It matches the camera body, so it looks like it’s part of the camera, and it doesn’t interfere with the controls at all.  It fits snugly and doesn’t wobble.  

The battery of the Ricoh GR III isn’t the greatest.  It runs down pretty quickly, usually after around 160 or 170 shots.  The battery then has to be recharged inside the camera, using the USB cord.  There is no external charger, which is a bit of a shortcoming with this model. 

Extra batteries are a must.  The brand name Ricoh battery for this camera is $39.99.  An external charger costs an additional $60 (although I’ve seen it for $45 on sale at Amazon). That’s a lot of additional money for one battery and charger.  Well, there’s a company, Wasabi, that makes a charger and also makes batteries that are compatible with the Ricoh GR III.  It sells for the amazingly low price of $15.99.  I went ahead and purchased that.  Now I have two batteries as spares.  I haven’t used the new batteries, so I don’t know if they last as long as the original Ricoh battery.  The first time I used the camera I was able to take 160 shots.  The second time, I took 173 before the battery died.  It’ll be interesting to see how well these do in comparison. 

 

Transferring photos from the camera to my iMac desktop computer is easy.  You just insert the SD card into the slot in the back of the computer.  Transferring photos from the camera to my iPhone can be done wirelessly, either using WiFi, or via Bluetooth.  I was having difficulty connecting wirelessly, but I was able to connect via Bluetooth.  

To wirelessly transfer the photos from the SD card to my iPhone, I needed to download an app called Image Sync.  This is the app that Ricoh uses.  The app is free.  The reviews for the app are decidedly mixed, with some people saying it works fine and others strongly complaining that it is inconsistent and has many glitches.  I used it twice and haven’t had any problems, but it’s not intuitive and I just don’t really like the app.  

Apple makes a Lightning to SD card Camera Reader that allows you to transfer photos from the SD card directly into the Photos app on your iPhone.  You don’t need WiFi or Bluetooth, and this appeals to me because I travel a lot (when there’s not a pandemic, of course) and WiFi and Bluetooth connections can be sketchy and unreliable. 

One more important accessory would be a camera case – The WERJIA hard EVA case for Ricoh GR III.

There are other major accessories, like an external flash, an external viewfinder, and an adapter that allows the attachment of a 21 mm wide angle lens, but I have no need for them and would never use them.  But the little devices mentioned in this blog post are inexpensive (around $80 total for the screen protector, thumb grip, charger with two batteries, SD card reader, and the carrying case.)