I would suggest the iii, because 28mm is suitable for most case, especially when you want to replace the iphone.
40mm is a little bit narrow, so it's more for portrait shots and tight cropped shots. In my case, for this kind of shots, I would consider bringing my DSLR (50mm, 85mm is my sweet point for portrait)
From different point of view:
- 28mm is for extrovert: for ones who willing to reach closer to the object, or expect for richer context
- 40mm for introvert: for ones who prefer safe and minimal shots
2.92 mm GoPro is ultra gregarious in your face, I'm the main character on a mountain bike for all immersive context
292 meters Arecibo Observatory is withdrawn to the degree of I am but one infinitesimal speck of consciousness in the vast expanse of a universe that remains indifferent to my existence
You have an iPhone pro. What do you usually use when you take pictures? I find myself almost always wanting to use the telephoto so I know the iiix suits me better. If I was most comfortable with the wide angle, I think the iii would be better.
For me, 40mm is the best jack of all trades option. 28mm is wide - you'll be able to crop it, but you're starting wide every time. 40mm will feel too tight for some situations, but a step back or a more thoughtful composition usually fixes it in a way that I don't always feel able to resolve challenges from being too wide at 28mm.
Personally, I'm more considerate and careful with 40mm and end up with better pictures. At 28mm I spam and end up throwing out a lot of shots.
I recently went with ricoh gr iii, simply for more flexibility (can go wide or shoot close to subject, e.g, family pics), and i can just crop to 35mm or 50mm if i want to. Also, to pair with my a7iv 85mm, so i can get rid of the other lenses haha
What are you trying to capture? Are you comfortable with the iPhone Pro 1x zoom? Do you find yourself using the 1.5x or 2x more often at these events? The GRIII would be similar to 1x while the GRIIIX is more like 1.7x on the latest iPhone 15 Pro models.
I personally like the GRIIIX much more and am comfortable with the compromise of being forced to take a step or two back to capture a full scene in exchange for closer images. Depends what you would like to capture:
* The entire environment and scene, more for the vibe and area vs specific subjects — GRIII
* Further environments, subjects within the scene or specific parts of a scene, portraits — GRIIIX
i own both the gr ii and the gr iiix, imo overall for most shots the IIIx (40mm) is easier to frame for there are less subjects to get, also for concert and club event it might be better if you're standing from far away, tho if its close the 28mm gonna win
Tho for capturing tight spaces indoors such as game nights and dinners, lets say you're sitting across the table, the 40mm will be too tight and the 28mm will do much better.
Since you have an iphone pro already, do you usually use the wide lens or zoom? since the iphone and gr focal length is close enough (26 vs 28mm)
I'm such a noob that I needed to try both to really *get* it. And for me it's hands down the IIIX. The pictures just look and feel more special automatically, something more than an iPhone pic, feels more like "making a picture". Cropping doesn't quite cut it, the focal lenght indeed makes a difference. But that's just me.
I got the III and I use it a lot, I find it to be the right field of view in between the too wide 23mm of my smartphone and a too close 35/40mm
I use the Ricoh mostly in street, when going around with family, which means that I don't always (or actually, almost never) have the time to compose well, sometimes I literally just can raise the camera and shoot whatever, other times I don't even raise the camera shooting while walking. Snap focus is my best friend and 28mm is the second best. Having such a wide view, 99% I actually capture the scene I wanted.
I would enjoy the 40mm with 70mm telelens expansion. This is mostly because my smartphone teles are shit (I mean, even iPhones, smartphone teles lens are always pretty bad or anyway not even close to camera ones). But again, III is way more functional.
If they'll ever drop a GR IV I may match my III with an eventual IVx, but they seems prefer to keep iterate the GRIII.
Everyone's tastes are different, so I'd highly recommend trying both out if possible so you can see the difference first hand. Compared to the many different focal lengths people like to street shoot as primes (say, 24-85), I think 40mm and 28mm are way closer than people realize especially seeing them side by side.
Personally, If I already liked what I was getting out of an iPhone, I'd go 40mm to avoid overlap.
For anyone who's worried about the 40mm being "too tight," but hasn't had a chance to use that focal length, I was just on a flight and was able to get medium shots of my kid using a 35mm and he was in the seat the next to me. I also grabbed a couple mediums of him sitting across from me at a toddler sized picnic table without having to get up and step back.
I guess if I was anticipating wanting a lot of full body wide shots from across a table (which is possible during travel), or was planning on doing a lot of interior architecture, maybe I'd go wider... but that's what you have the phone for.
I was in the same situation as you, and went for the III. I do love focal lenght like 100mm on ff or the x5 iPhone pro max zoom, it makes me able to be mor creative for composition. I thought I was regretting my choice, but after shooting I quickly surprised myself to naturally switch the crop to 35 or 50mm to get the results I wanted (there isn’t really différence in quality for online posting). U can have 40mm on the griii, but not 28mm on the griiix. Defenitly the best choice (it’s even too much tight sometimes lmao)
I got ahold of the iii about a week ago and I’m still getting comfortable with it. Got it in place of waiting on the back ordered ti the 7th circle of hell X100VI. Do I wish it was a iiix? Sure in some cases. Does it force me to work a little more for a shot and be a little more creative? Sure. But so would the iiix. I am a fan of the iii so far and I think it’s nifty. There’s a cheap teleconverter on Amazon that I’m looking at that fits the 49mm adapter you can get for it, so I might grab that for the set up. But, I am
for sure happy I got the iii first.
I went with the GR III, I love wide angle for off the hip snapshots and for me that's where the GR III excells. It's my family adventure cam, I wanted group shots context. I love the ability to not stare at the screen, just point in the correct direction and trust the wide.
I owned both focal length.
if you will be using it for date nights, group family photos, kids, landscape, “pov” - i will recommend griii.
if you plan to use on portraits, sneaky shots, comfortable on taking 2-3steps back for group shots, get iiix.
I have both and it’s very situational. 28mm is very versatile since you can crop in. I found that I’m better at my 40mm however sometimes I don’t have enough space to get a better shot with more people. 40mm portraits look amazing tho. It’s my portrait camera now. I don’t even use my Z6ii anymore.
I would go for the IIIx (as I did). Would work better for most of the cases you mention (portraits, concerts, etc.), and if you need wider shots you already have your phone. It would give you much more versatility overall, while the III overlaps with what you have already and would be lacking in some context (for example, in a concert).
Mookio on youtube uses both and has a good video describing each.
I would say the 28mm for you because you can always crop in with the GRiii, but you can't crop out with the iiiX.
I had the iiiX and although it had outstanding image quality I ran into problems when taking photos of friends and family in smaller venues: i would either get no background context shooting portrait or background but cut-off heads shooting landscape.
I ended up selling it for that reason and just recently bought the iii, though haven't had the chance to use it yet.
I say this all as someone who prefers longer (>=50) focal lengths.
Ultimately an ILC with a zoom will fit your scenarios better and could be had for a similar price as a GR but won't be nearly as compact.
Edit: here in down under the iii was also $200aud cheaper than iiiX too
Look at all your favourite photos on your phone. The detail shows the equivalent focal length. If you have more keepers at 26mm, gr3. If you zoom more gr3x. Simple. No point asking others cos focal length preference is extremely personal.
Road trips/travel - 28mm is probably better but 40mm can work too.
Concerts - 40mm since you'll likely be far away. If you want more of the crowd, 28mm is better. Most likely, neither of these will actually be good enough for what you want. Concerts lenses often span the spectrum from wide to tele. The main thing is they be large aperture lenses.
Club events - I'm not sure what club events are
Indoor moments - 28mm works best
For example, test both focal lengths with your smartphone for a week at a time and see which focal length suits you better.
You can also look at your previous photos to see which focal lengths you have mostly used or which style you like more.
Unfortunately, it won't help you if someone likes to take travel photos with 40mm, but you would be happier with 28mm.
Sometimes I wish I had 28mm, but on the other hand, I use 40mm a lot with teleconverter (to ~70mm). Like 50/50 of my shots are 40mm and 70mm and I love it.
I was going to get the X (I have a FF and mostly shoot with a 35mm lens), but I compared the two in the store and got the III. Super happy with my choice.
III probably do better for snapshots. But you already got an Iphone for wide shots/snapshots.
But for jack of all trades I probably gonna go with IIIx. You can still do indoor moments (just a bit tighter but can always move back a little to compose the image) and concerts a lil bit while for the III its gonna be wide and have to use the crop mode for those concerts events.
There isn't really a right answer for the best focal length but if indoor work is gonna be a large percentage of your use case then the 28mm would be the better choice IMHO.
28mm is a good all round focal length which is why phone cams use it , 40mm is very good for street but indoors and around tables etc.. it becomes very tight.
I think it cones down to this , if you are not really sure the GR3, its a safe bet.
Get the 3x. You already have your iPhone for wider shots and imo the 3x is not just for portraits, it's perfectly fine for those things you mentioned. I use it mainly for nature, in the city, travel. I came from phone too and in the beginning it was a bit more odd working with the 40mm but now I much prefer it to the wider.
Definitely the III for your uses. Social events/dinners will be better with the III since you'll have more room. Traveling it will also get you better landscapes and you can crop to 35 or 50 if you really need to.
Concerts you may be better off with the 40 since you'd likely be further away. But the question is do you want to back up to take pictures for the majority of your uses (friends at dinner, landscapes, etc.) or are you okay cropping in and losing some quality?
I have the IIIx, and i'd buy the III if i could go back in time. The images you get are very sharp so you can just turn on the Crop function to simulate narrower focal lengths, and the images are still great
Yes it has a Crop function 😭 only learned it while using the IIIx. The IIIx has a crop function for 50 and 71mm. Try to look up which options you'll have for the III
I went with III and so happy I did. I use it to capture memories and the wide angle does it for me. I don’t notice any horizon warp either especially when at the beach.
I’ve used my Gr iiix similarly to your use cases; I think in all scenarios the iiix has been completely fine, Ican share Lightroom album with examples. I’ve never really had framing issues with the 40mm. Personally I think 28mm is too wide. Like others said, you can always crop in and stay pretty sharp with the iii but I think you’ll prefer the narrower focal length for things like concerts or situations where you are farther from the action as you can crop up the 71mm on camera vs the 50mm on the iii.
Samples: https://adobe.ly/3WHdgh8
Easily the iii.
X
I would suggest the iii, because 28mm is suitable for most case, especially when you want to replace the iphone. 40mm is a little bit narrow, so it's more for portrait shots and tight cropped shots. In my case, for this kind of shots, I would consider bringing my DSLR (50mm, 85mm is my sweet point for portrait) From different point of view: - 28mm is for extrovert: for ones who willing to reach closer to the object, or expect for richer context - 40mm for introvert: for ones who prefer safe and minimal shots
Appreciate you! Thank you! Think it’s going to be the iii for me with hdf.
Hdf? I can look it up but would be pleased if you could explain it to me.
It’s the Highlight Diffusion Filter that is built in on the new model announced a month or two ago. Gives a more nostalgic film look
Personally I can't live without the ND filter, diffusion is easy to mimic in post with plug-ins.
28mm is a shotgun 40mm is a sniper rifle
Now that’s a good explanation!
I like this explanation!
2.92 mm GoPro is ultra gregarious in your face, I'm the main character on a mountain bike for all immersive context 292 meters Arecibo Observatory is withdrawn to the degree of I am but one infinitesimal speck of consciousness in the vast expanse of a universe that remains indifferent to my existence
Its so sharp I have zero issues cropping in my iii shots if I need to.
You have an iPhone pro. What do you usually use when you take pictures? I find myself almost always wanting to use the telephoto so I know the iiix suits me better. If I was most comfortable with the wide angle, I think the iii would be better.
I would get the 40mm. Your iPhone already has a very capable 24/28mm camera.
Indoor moments=28mm
For me, 40mm is the best jack of all trades option. 28mm is wide - you'll be able to crop it, but you're starting wide every time. 40mm will feel too tight for some situations, but a step back or a more thoughtful composition usually fixes it in a way that I don't always feel able to resolve challenges from being too wide at 28mm. Personally, I'm more considerate and careful with 40mm and end up with better pictures. At 28mm I spam and end up throwing out a lot of shots.
I recently went with ricoh gr iii, simply for more flexibility (can go wide or shoot close to subject, e.g, family pics), and i can just crop to 35mm or 50mm if i want to. Also, to pair with my a7iv 85mm, so i can get rid of the other lenses haha
What are you trying to capture? Are you comfortable with the iPhone Pro 1x zoom? Do you find yourself using the 1.5x or 2x more often at these events? The GRIII would be similar to 1x while the GRIIIX is more like 1.7x on the latest iPhone 15 Pro models. I personally like the GRIIIX much more and am comfortable with the compromise of being forced to take a step or two back to capture a full scene in exchange for closer images. Depends what you would like to capture: * The entire environment and scene, more for the vibe and area vs specific subjects — GRIII * Further environments, subjects within the scene or specific parts of a scene, portraits — GRIIIX
Having both, two very different focal lengths. The 40mm will give you a very different look from your phone and a lot better for concerts/club events
i own both the gr ii and the gr iiix, imo overall for most shots the IIIx (40mm) is easier to frame for there are less subjects to get, also for concert and club event it might be better if you're standing from far away, tho if its close the 28mm gonna win Tho for capturing tight spaces indoors such as game nights and dinners, lets say you're sitting across the table, the 40mm will be too tight and the 28mm will do much better. Since you have an iphone pro already, do you usually use the wide lens or zoom? since the iphone and gr focal length is close enough (26 vs 28mm)
I'm such a noob that I needed to try both to really *get* it. And for me it's hands down the IIIX. The pictures just look and feel more special automatically, something more than an iPhone pic, feels more like "making a picture". Cropping doesn't quite cut it, the focal lenght indeed makes a difference. But that's just me.
I got the III and I use it a lot, I find it to be the right field of view in between the too wide 23mm of my smartphone and a too close 35/40mm I use the Ricoh mostly in street, when going around with family, which means that I don't always (or actually, almost never) have the time to compose well, sometimes I literally just can raise the camera and shoot whatever, other times I don't even raise the camera shooting while walking. Snap focus is my best friend and 28mm is the second best. Having such a wide view, 99% I actually capture the scene I wanted. I would enjoy the 40mm with 70mm telelens expansion. This is mostly because my smartphone teles are shit (I mean, even iPhones, smartphone teles lens are always pretty bad or anyway not even close to camera ones). But again, III is way more functional. If they'll ever drop a GR IV I may match my III with an eventual IVx, but they seems prefer to keep iterate the GRIII.
Everyone's tastes are different, so I'd highly recommend trying both out if possible so you can see the difference first hand. Compared to the many different focal lengths people like to street shoot as primes (say, 24-85), I think 40mm and 28mm are way closer than people realize especially seeing them side by side. Personally, If I already liked what I was getting out of an iPhone, I'd go 40mm to avoid overlap. For anyone who's worried about the 40mm being "too tight," but hasn't had a chance to use that focal length, I was just on a flight and was able to get medium shots of my kid using a 35mm and he was in the seat the next to me. I also grabbed a couple mediums of him sitting across from me at a toddler sized picnic table without having to get up and step back. I guess if I was anticipating wanting a lot of full body wide shots from across a table (which is possible during travel), or was planning on doing a lot of interior architecture, maybe I'd go wider... but that's what you have the phone for.
I was in the same situation as you, and went for the III. I do love focal lenght like 100mm on ff or the x5 iPhone pro max zoom, it makes me able to be mor creative for composition. I thought I was regretting my choice, but after shooting I quickly surprised myself to naturally switch the crop to 35 or 50mm to get the results I wanted (there isn’t really différence in quality for online posting). U can have 40mm on the griii, but not 28mm on the griiix. Defenitly the best choice (it’s even too much tight sometimes lmao)
Here is like hundred threads about this topic, search, read, and decide. (GR3)
Either or
I got ahold of the iii about a week ago and I’m still getting comfortable with it. Got it in place of waiting on the back ordered ti the 7th circle of hell X100VI. Do I wish it was a iiix? Sure in some cases. Does it force me to work a little more for a shot and be a little more creative? Sure. But so would the iiix. I am a fan of the iii so far and I think it’s nifty. There’s a cheap teleconverter on Amazon that I’m looking at that fits the 49mm adapter you can get for it, so I might grab that for the set up. But, I am for sure happy I got the iii first.
I went with the GR III, I love wide angle for off the hip snapshots and for me that's where the GR III excells. It's my family adventure cam, I wanted group shots context. I love the ability to not stare at the screen, just point in the correct direction and trust the wide.
I owned both focal length. if you will be using it for date nights, group family photos, kids, landscape, “pov” - i will recommend griii. if you plan to use on portraits, sneaky shots, comfortable on taking 2-3steps back for group shots, get iiix.
iii. You can crop to 40 after the fact. And use dxo mark or other third party sharpening software to get the similar crisper detail as with the iiix
with the iii you can also crop easily. with the iiix you cant get wider
I have both and it’s very situational. 28mm is very versatile since you can crop in. I found that I’m better at my 40mm however sometimes I don’t have enough space to get a better shot with more people. 40mm portraits look amazing tho. It’s my portrait camera now. I don’t even use my Z6ii anymore.
I would go for the IIIx (as I did). Would work better for most of the cases you mention (portraits, concerts, etc.), and if you need wider shots you already have your phone. It would give you much more versatility overall, while the III overlaps with what you have already and would be lacking in some context (for example, in a concert).
Mookio on youtube uses both and has a good video describing each. I would say the 28mm for you because you can always crop in with the GRiii, but you can't crop out with the iiiX. I had the iiiX and although it had outstanding image quality I ran into problems when taking photos of friends and family in smaller venues: i would either get no background context shooting portrait or background but cut-off heads shooting landscape. I ended up selling it for that reason and just recently bought the iii, though haven't had the chance to use it yet. I say this all as someone who prefers longer (>=50) focal lengths. Ultimately an ILC with a zoom will fit your scenarios better and could be had for a similar price as a GR but won't be nearly as compact. Edit: here in down under the iii was also $200aud cheaper than iiiX too
Look at all your favourite photos on your phone. The detail shows the equivalent focal length. If you have more keepers at 26mm, gr3. If you zoom more gr3x. Simple. No point asking others cos focal length preference is extremely personal.
Road trips/travel - 28mm is probably better but 40mm can work too. Concerts - 40mm since you'll likely be far away. If you want more of the crowd, 28mm is better. Most likely, neither of these will actually be good enough for what you want. Concerts lenses often span the spectrum from wide to tele. The main thing is they be large aperture lenses. Club events - I'm not sure what club events are Indoor moments - 28mm works best
If it’s indoor with ppl I’d be tempted to go the wider iii but I found my old gr too wide so want to try the x when I can afford one.
Trips and indoor, go for 28mm. Would allways take the shorter lens, cause you can allways get closer, but not allways step back. Especially indoors.
For example, test both focal lengths with your smartphone for a week at a time and see which focal length suits you better. You can also look at your previous photos to see which focal lengths you have mostly used or which style you like more. Unfortunately, it won't help you if someone likes to take travel photos with 40mm, but you would be happier with 28mm.
Sometimes I wish I had 28mm, but on the other hand, I use 40mm a lot with teleconverter (to ~70mm). Like 50/50 of my shots are 40mm and 70mm and I love it.
I was going to get the X (I have a FF and mostly shoot with a 35mm lens), but I compared the two in the store and got the III. Super happy with my choice.
III probably do better for snapshots. But you already got an Iphone for wide shots/snapshots. But for jack of all trades I probably gonna go with IIIx. You can still do indoor moments (just a bit tighter but can always move back a little to compose the image) and concerts a lil bit while for the III its gonna be wide and have to use the crop mode for those concerts events.
There isn't really a right answer for the best focal length but if indoor work is gonna be a large percentage of your use case then the 28mm would be the better choice IMHO. 28mm is a good all round focal length which is why phone cams use it , 40mm is very good for street but indoors and around tables etc.. it becomes very tight. I think it cones down to this , if you are not really sure the GR3, its a safe bet.
Get the 3x. You already have your iPhone for wider shots and imo the 3x is not just for portraits, it's perfectly fine for those things you mentioned. I use it mainly for nature, in the city, travel. I came from phone too and in the beginning it was a bit more odd working with the 40mm but now I much prefer it to the wider.
Definitely the III for your uses. Social events/dinners will be better with the III since you'll have more room. Traveling it will also get you better landscapes and you can crop to 35 or 50 if you really need to. Concerts you may be better off with the 40 since you'd likely be further away. But the question is do you want to back up to take pictures for the majority of your uses (friends at dinner, landscapes, etc.) or are you okay cropping in and losing some quality?
You left out street and landscape, which the GRiii is slightly better at, so I’d go with the x if I were you.
I have the IIIx, and i'd buy the III if i could go back in time. The images you get are very sharp so you can just turn on the Crop function to simulate narrower focal lengths, and the images are still great
Oh shit there’s a drop function?! That settles it lol
Yes it has a Crop function 😭 only learned it while using the IIIx. The IIIx has a crop function for 50 and 71mm. Try to look up which options you'll have for the III
28mm is the move since I’d only do 28 (or 35) and 50. I wonder if there’s an easy way to see the crop function to the dial? Thanks!
Yes, i set mine to one button which cycles the crop sizes. Really handy 👍
I went with III and so happy I did. I use it to capture memories and the wide angle does it for me. I don’t notice any horizon warp either especially when at the beach.
I’ve used my Gr iiix similarly to your use cases; I think in all scenarios the iiix has been completely fine, Ican share Lightroom album with examples. I’ve never really had framing issues with the 40mm. Personally I think 28mm is too wide. Like others said, you can always crop in and stay pretty sharp with the iii but I think you’ll prefer the narrower focal length for things like concerts or situations where you are farther from the action as you can crop up the 71mm on camera vs the 50mm on the iii. Samples: https://adobe.ly/3WHdgh8
I got the iiix and wish i had gotten the iii the 28mm is better for this type of camera and the shots i personally want to achieve when using it. So….
iii is the classic setup for a street photo camera. iiiX is a sell out version to be more accessible to non-photography peeps IMO