Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: two-minute review

With its large APS-C sensor and fixed 40mm f/2.8 lens, we already rated the Ricoh GR IIIx as one of the best premium compact cameras for travel and street photography. This version features a niche tweak that gives it a specific appeal: where the original had a built-in ND filter, the GR IIIx HDF instead has a highlight diffusion filter.

There’s no software trickery at work here. This is a physical filter that's built into the shutter unit and is enabled with a push of the Fn button, and it reduces contrast and blurs bright whites, producing soft, dreamy stills with an ethereal glow that harks back to the days of analog.

Based on our time with both the GR IIIx and the HDF version, the latter is the more creative tool. Whether you're capturing reflections shimmering off water or sunlight through leaves, it allows you to experiment with unique, film-like lighting effects.

The GR IIIx HDF also benefits from a couple of new firmware features: there’s support for up to three custom white balances, while zone-select AF gives you more flexibility to target automatic focusing within the center area. These are minor tweaks which will also be introduced to the GR III / IIIx down the line.

Otherwise, the GR IIIx HDF is identical to the existing version. That includes everything from the pocket-friendly dimensions and direct access controls to the APS-C sensor and 40mm lens combination we praised in our original review. It also retains the same drawbacks, though, including average battery life and a fixed screen.

The GR IIIx HDF isn’t the major update that many Ricoh fans were hoping for, and it’s certainly not worth buying if you already own the GR IIIx. But if you’re choosing between the two versions, we think the highlight diffusion filter makes it the more artful and unique option, especially if you’re a fan of the vintage aesthetic. It costs marginally more, but it’s the one we’d pick.

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: price and availability

• Launched on 28 March 2024, alongside the GR III HDF
• Priced at $1,146 / £1,099 / AU$1,899

The Ricoh GR IIIx HDF was announced in March 2024 with a launch price of $1,146 / £1,099 / AU$1,899. That makes it $147 / £100 / AU$120 more expensive than the standard Ricoh GR IIIx, which already commanded a pretty premium ask. At that price, the GR IIIx HDF is close to mid-range mirrorless money, with cameras like the Sony A7 III available for a similar amount.

While that might seem hard to justify for a compact with a fixed lens, the point here is that Ricoh is making a niche version of an already niche camera. You’ll buy the GR IIIx HDF not because you want the best possible performance for the money, but because you want a sharp-shooting compact with a relatively large sensor, with the added value of a unique built-in filter.

If you’re in the market for one of the best travel cameras, the GR IIIx offers better value objectively. Whether the highlight diffusion filter is worth the extra expenditure will come down to how you plan to use the camera and whether you’ll appreciate the creative aesthetic it’s capable of. But for our money, it’s the more compelling proposition, even with the increase in cost.

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: design

• Physically identical to the GR IIIx
• Truly pocketable dimensions
• 3-inch, 1.03 million-dot touchscreen

Other than its silver shutter button, the GR IIIx HDF is identical to the GR IIIx. That means it’s a genuinely pocket-friendly compact, measuring a tidy 109.4 x 61.9 x 35.2mm and weighing an impressively light 262g, including the battery and an SD card. It’s pretty much as small as a camera with an APS-C sensor inside can be, making it a portable yet powerful shooting tool.

Not only do those dimensions mean the GR IIIx HDF is a convenient camera to travel with, but it’s also one you can comfortably use with one hand, making it ideal for discreet street photography. Ergonomically, there’s enough of a front grip to get your fingers around, with a moulded thumb rest on the rear.

Direct-access controls are plentiful, including a mode dial and scroll lever for adjusting exposure, and are neatly set out within easy reach of your thumb. Most prominent among them is the function button, which by default is used to activate the highlight diffusion filter. The control layout doesn’t clutter the body, but the camera’s proportions mean some of the rear inputs do require a bit of nimble finger-work to avoid accidentally hitting other buttons.

Like the GR IIIx, the HDF version has a fixed 3-inch LCD touchscreen. It’s sharp enough at 1.03 million dots, although it’s not the brightest, which can make framing in direct sunlight slightly tricky. That’s not helped by the absence of an electronic viewfinder and, while there is a hot-shoe mount on top of the body, the only optional viewfinders available from Ricoh are analog ones.

All that being said, the GR IIIx HDF is just as fun to use as the standard GR IIIx. The touchscreen is responsive, and touch-focus support makes it as easy to shoot with as any smartphone. Its point-and-shoot design also strikes a good balance between accessibility for beginners and creative control for more experienced users.

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: features and performance

• Highlight diffusion filter
• Fixed-focal-length f/2.8 lens
• New zone-select AF functionality

The headline feature of the GR IIIx is its highlight diffusion filter, which replaces the neutral density filter found in the GR IIIx. The HDF is a physical filter that’s part of the shutter unit, and it has the effect of reducing contrast and softening bright whites when enabled. The net effect of this is dreamy stills with a blurry glow that mimics the look of film photography.

Based on our tests, it’s more than a gimmick. The effect’s strength depends on what and where you’re shooting, but it can be surprisingly potent. In backlit or overcast scenes we found that it could lead to unwanted halo effects; but in the right conditions, such as warm sunlight filtering through trees or lights reflecting off water at night, the filter makes the GR IIIx HDF capable of producing some genuinely unique, creative images.

On paper, it’s a niche feature. But at a time when analog is all the rage again we can see it appealing to a lot of people. Not only does the GR IIIx HDF produce images with a film-like aesthetic, it does so by way of a genuine physical filter, which lends the results a feeling of authenticity which can’t be achieved with post-processing. It also makes the GR IIIx HDF feel like a fun tool to experiment with creatively, with none of the associated costs of film.

Otherwise, the Ricoh GR IIIx HDF shares most of the rest of its features and spec sheet with the standard version. That’s true of the effective sensor-shift shake reduction system, useful Snap Focus tool and decent macro mode. Unfortunately, it’s also true of the modest 200-shot battery life, lazy burst speeds, and maximum Full HD video resolution.

Also inherited is the 40mm f/2.8 lens, which offers a focal length that’s more versatile for portrait work than the 28mm lens of the GR III. The depth of field is lovely and shallow, although you do need to be careful when using Snap Focus as it’s easy to miss your focus point. Rather than repeat the same observations here, we recommend reading our GR IIIx review for a full insight into how these features stack up in real-world use.

Operation of the HDF version is just as quick as with the GR IIIx, with rapid start-up and shutter response times. Less impressive is the autofocus performance, which suffers from the same laggy tracking as before. One thing that is new for the GR IIIx is zone-select AF. This essentially allows you to zone the AF in on a specific region within the auto-area AF coverage. We could see this being useful for street portraits, but it’s a relatively minor addition, and one that’s also due to be added to existing models in a later firmware update.

More useful is the introduction of three programmable white balance settings, which means you can easily shift between different custom presets without having to dive into the manual settings. We think many users of the GR IIIx HDF are likely to use auto white balance, but it’s nevertheless a welcome addition.

Should I buy the Ricoh GR IIIx HDF?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Ricoh GR IIIx HDF

• I used the camera for two weeks
• I shot more than 150 stills
• I took pictures in a range of conditions

Testing the Ricoh GR IIIx HDF involved taking it out into the world and using it as I would use any camera day to day. I took more than 150 photos over the course of a fortnight, in a whole range of shooting scenarios and lighting conditions, from day to night, and from portraits to street details.

As the highlight diffusion filter is the key point of difference between this camera and the standard GR IIIx, I focused in particular on capturing images with the HDF enabled. I also shot a range of reference images across different shooting modes, to assess the actual effect of the filter.

First reviewed October 2024

Two-minute review

When I was a photography student I used to constantly complain about the cost of film, despite buying my medium-format 120 films in bulk for a discount, with which you only get between 8-12 photos per roll. How little did I realise how expensive film costs would shoot up in the future, and it's the surge in price, together with a spike in analog photography popularity that has led many to half-frame cameras like the Kodak Ektar H35.

The Kodak Ektar H35 is a point-and-shoot half frame 35mm camera that's as simple as they come. It's part of a fairly recent resurgence of half frame cameras, which is most likely because they provide two exposures for every 35mm frame, which doubles the number of photos you can shoot on a 35mm film. So, that's 48 exposures on a 24 exposure film and 72 on a 36 exposure film.

This is a point-and-shoot camera, much like a disposable camera in many ways including image quality from the lens. The main difference is that you can change the film to reuse the camera, and also the AAA battery that's required to power the built-in flash. The H35 is enjoyable in its simplicity, pocketable, nicely designed and reduces the cost of film. But whether or not it's one of the best film cameras is debatable.

One of the hurdles to this camera for me, alongside other points we'll delve into later is the cost. Remember, this is essentially a stylized disposable camera made reusable, so at $45 / £49 / AU$100 it's not expensive in the wider sense, but it is for what you get in terms of build and image quality, it's arguably overpriced.

Kodak Ektar H35: specs

Kodak Ektar H35: design

The Kodak Ektar H35 may be a Kodak camera by name, but it's actually a licensed use of the trademark and the camera is manufactured by a company called RETO Production. This is neither here nor there because it's a film camera, and it works, but it's worth mentioning that you're not getting a high-quality Kodak camera here.

The H35 is available in four colors: black, brown, sand and sage. I opted for the brown version where the brown leatherette finish set against the brushed chrome, ahem plastic, gives the camera a distinctively 1970s look. Aesthetically, the H35 is a great-looking camera that's bathed in retro charm and is incredibly lightweight and highly portable.

Being made entirely of plastic, except for the electronics used in the battery compartment and for the flash, build quality is pretty low. Like I've said already, it's basically a disposable camera remade as reusable. Although saying that, disposable cameras are probably more robust despite being single-use.

There's a built-in flash that's activated by turning the wheel around the lens. The power output is impressive for such a small flash, and there's a red light on the back of the camera that indicates that the flash is fully powered and ready to be used. But this setup does make it easy to leave the flash on and waste power in the single AAA battery.

One aspect of the camera that you have to get used to, and it doesn’t take long, is that photos are captured in portrait format when shooting with the camera in landscape orientation, and vice versa. The viewfinder is also small, but it's perfectly adequate for composing shots.

Kodak Ektar H35: performance

In terms of overall performance, I have to admit that I wasn't impressed in the slightest. Yeah, I'm a film camera snob and prefer higher quality medium-format, but I also know that there are much better half frame cameras available. Some truly vintage half frame cameras, such as the Canon Demi, don't even cost much more than the H35 and they're much better quality in every way, while if you want the latest albeit pricier option, there's the new Pentax 17.

You'll be lucky to get a sharp shot from the H35's fixed focus plastic 22mm lens (an equivalent 35mm focal length when shooting half-frame). The shutter speed is fixed at 1/100 sec with a fixed f/9.5 aperture, so you may now be wondering how this camera can correctly expose shots.

Cameras like this rely on the fact that print film has an exposure latitude of two stops, which means you can get a printable image from a shot that's anywhere between two stops under and two stops overexposed, so a four-stop exposure window.

Image quality generally is low because you're using such a small amount of celluloid, where fewer silver halide crystals create the image compared to a full 35mm frame. This coupled with the poor lens quality certainly creates a lo-fi aesthetic that some will love and others will hate.

In terms of handling, the H35 couldn’t be easier to load with film and use, being a point-and-shoot camera. You can pretty much switch your brain off while using it. When shooting I found it as easy as that, but one thing I did experience was stiffness in the film advance dial when winding the film on. This came and went, but with the all-plastic construction, I did wonder how much stress was being put on the film advance mechanism.

It didn't stop there either; when rewinding the film, the flimsy handle on the dial at the bottom of the camera didn’t feel robust at all, quite the opposite. So once again, I was left wondering how many films you could put through the camera before something breaks. Plastic construction will undoubtedly help to keep the price of the camera down, but I'd rather pay a bit more for something that's better built with the potential to last longer – ideally for years.

Should I buy the Kodak Ektar H35?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Kodak Ektar H35

• One roll of film
• Point-and-shoot pictures of a city center

I tested the Kodak Ektar H35 over a couple of hours walking around a city like a tourist shooting a range of subjects in different lighting conditions. Being a point-and-shoot camera with only a flash that can be turned on and off, it was simply a case of shooting and seeing how the photos came out at the end.

With this in mind, my main focus was on the handling and build quality of the camera since these were tangible at the point of shooting. A roll of film was enough to get an idea of these aspects of the camera because you have to go through the whole process of loading, exposing, winding on and then rewinding the film manually before processing the film.

First reviewed September 2024

One-minute review

It might be the unmistakable Leica style of the D-Lux 8 that initially grabs the attention, but the pocketable camera with the famous red-dot logo offers more than just good looks. The Four-Thirds sensor is a big upgrade on the 1-inch sensors found in some of the best compact cameras, and the image quality is a massive leap from what you would expect from a mobile phone. Combine that with a physical aperture control ring, a shutter-speed dial, and other tactile controls, and you have a camera that will appeal to fans of a more retro shooting experience. The menu is also straightforward to navigate, partly due to the 3-inch 1.8m-dot touchscreen being useable for changing settings. 

However, the Leica D-Lux 8 isn't a major upgrade over its predecessor, which was essentially a rebranded version of the Panasonic Lumix LX100 II, released in 2018. Besides a few new design cues that simplify the design and make it look like the Leica Q3, the main new feature is a 2.36 million-dot viewfinder. This new EVF may seem like a downgrade on the 2.76-million-dot EVF of its predecessor, but the important thing here is that the screen tech is new – the D-Lux 8 uses an OLED panel, which offers a better experience thanks to not having color tearing. 

Leica D-Lux 8: design

The core of the Leica D-Lux 8 is based around a 21-million-pixel Four-Thirds size sensor. Focusing the image on to this sensor is a Leica DC Vario-Summilux 10.9–34 f/1.7–2.8 ASPH lens, the equivalent to a 24-75mm lens on a 35mm or full-frame camera. This lens doesn't create an image circle large enough to cover the entire surface of the Four Thirds sensor; instead, it produces images that are up to 17 million pixels.

Rather than seeing the lack of complete sensor coverage as a negative, Leica has actually used this to its advantage, allowing photographers to change the image aspect ratio in-camera. You can choose between 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, and 16:9, and you can select these via a ring around the base of the lens. 

As mentioned, the D-Lux 8 is very similar to its predecessor, the D-Lux 7, which itself was virtually identical to the Panasonic Lumix LX100 II, which was released in 2018 – that's a long time ago, and we've seen considerable advances in camera technology since then.

Thankfully, its features hold up well, particularly given the lack of competition in the high-end compact camera market, and the Four-Thirds sensor size is significantly larger than the 1-inch sensors typically used in this size compact camera.

Leica users have certain expectations for their cameras: manual controls, simplicity, and a minimalist style that echoes the industrial German design of all of the Leicas that have come before them. Thankfully, the Leica D-Lux 8 offers all of these things, and it both looks and feels like using a Leica camera, notably the Leica Q series. 

Weighing 397g, including the battery, and measuring 130 x 69 x 62mm, the D-Lux 8 is a (jacket) pocketable camera with a manual aperture ring, shutter speed dial, hotshoe, and there's even a cable release screw thread in the shutter button. On the camera's top plate there's a zoom control around the shutter button, a custom dial, and a small on/off button. 

The most significant change compared to the D-Lux 7 is the improved electronic viewfinder. The new 2.36 million-dot EVF is a lower resolution than the 2.76 million-dot EVF of the D LUX-7. However, the new viewfinder is an OLED display, whereas previously, it was a sequential display, where the RGB LEDs changed very quickly, given the perception of the correct color. This works well in static subjects but can cause jarring RGB edge effects, particularly when you're panning quickly. The OLED EVF solves this. 

For those not using the EVF, there's the 1.8m-dot fixed touchscreen. I have to say that with the camera's manual controls and retro design I found myself gravitating to the viewfinder instead of the touchscreen, or perhaps it was because the screen is fixed rather than the versatile tilting or flip-out type. 

The viewfinder has a 0.75x magnification, which, although it isn't huge compared to a mirrorless camera, is large enough that your eye can still roam around the scene and you can see details. And there is, of course, a dioptre adjustment if your eyesight requires it.

Where the screen comes in really useful is its touch functionality. Pressing the Menu button on the rear of the camera pulls up all the current shooting settings, which can be quickly changed using the touchscreen. The touchscreen can also be used to select the AF tracking area.

Overall, the design of the D-Lux 8 could be described as streamlined; all of the key features are easily accessible, without the camera being littered with buttons, dials, and labels. Everything else can be quickly changed using the directional pad on the camera's rear, or easier still, by using the touchscreen.

Leica D-Lux 8: performance

Leica cameras are known for their popularity amongst documentary photographers, who demand that their cameras can be operated quickly, which is often where compact cameras fall down. After you press the power there's a wait of about a second before you can take a photo with the D-Lux 8, which is an acceptable amount of time. The aperture ring and shutter speed dial make changing the exposure extremely quick, and also easy to do when you're looking through the viewfinder. That said, I'm a left-eye shooter, which made the dial a little more awkward to use with the camera held to my eye, although I largely had the camera set to aperture priority mode, so the camera was adjusting the shutter speed automatically. 

Zooming the lens from 24mm to 75mm is steady without ever being fast. If you wish to manually focus the lens, there's a small switch on the barrel of the lens, close to the camera's body. A fly-by-wire electronic focusing ring allows for manual focusing, and it feels naturally responsive, something that's helped by the magnified view presented on the screen or through the viewfinder.

The autofocus system is as comprehensive as you would expect from any mirrorless camera. There are options for eye/face detection and tracking, as well as the more automated Zone Field and Multi-spot autofocus. I generally left the camera set to eye/face tracking, and used touchscreen focus when I wanted to select a particular subject within the scene. I had no issues with the focusing, and the camera felt snappy and responsive.

There are a few continuous shooting modes for moving subjects, each with a varying degree of quality. At 2fps, images can be saved at 12-bit, with autofocus. Shift to 7fps, and the bit rate drops to 10-bit with no autofocus. There's also a higher option of shooting 11fps in 10-bit without autofocus. Everything is kept simple, with these shooting rates working for JPEG, raw DNG, and when in JPEG+DNG mode. 

One of the more enjoyable aspects of using the Leica D-Lux 8 is Leica's film styles. There aren't an overwhelming number, with Standard, Vivid, Natural, Black and White Natural, and Black and White High Contrast options. The contrast, saturation, and sharpness of each of these can be adjusted, and there's also the option elsewhere to change the I[ntelligent]-DR and Highlight/Shadow settings. I found that images taking using the default settings looked great, although after using the D-Lux 8 for a while I changed the settings to make the shadow areas slightly brighter. It all comes down to personal preference, but having limited options that aren't overwhelming combined with excellent 'default' image quality is refreshing. 

The larger Four-Thirds sensor makes a difference in image quality. Images look closer to what you'd expect from an APS-C sensor than the 20-million-pixel 1-inch sensors typically found in compact cameras. The dynamic range is good, with there usually being plenty of detail in highlights and shadows. I was also impressed with the low noise and good detail at higher sensitivities, with the camera performing as you'd expect it to with a Four-Thirds sensor. Images shot at up to ISO 1600 are perfectly useable, and even images taken at ISO 6400 look acceptable when you need to shoot in low light. Beyond this level, the image quality does start to break down, but we need to keep in mind what and who this camera is for; this isn't a camera for shooting landscapes or high-end commercial work. It will most likely be used for travel and street photography; it's a camera that's easy to take with you and can take better images in situations where you may tend to use your phone.

It is a pretty versatile little camera. The maximum f/1.7 aperture creates a shallow enough depth of field when the subject is quite close to the camera, and I tended to shoot a lot with the lens in this setting, particularly when photographing people. It's roughly the same as shooting at f/3.5 on a camera with a full-frame sensor, so it's enough to throw the background out of focus to isolate your subject. 

I didn't shoot much video, reserving this for a few family clips and social situations, as this is how I expect the camera to mostly be used, video-wise. This is not a video-first camera. It only offers 4K capture at 30fps at 100Mbps and Full HD at 60fps at 28Mbps, and there's no articulated screen or external mic socket. The Leica D-Lux 8 simply isn't designed to shoot a video longer than a few seconds; even content creators would be better off using their smartphones and being able to upload footage directly.

Should I buy the Leica D-Lux 8 Camera?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Leica D-Lux 8

• I used the camera for a couple of weeks in a variety of situations 
• I shot documentary images at a local event
• I paid close attention to the depth of field the camera captured

I tested the Leica D-Lux 8 over a couple of weeks in the summer in the UK, which included a family holiday. During this time, I used the camera at a local festival, a day out at a farm, and took lots of photos of friends and family.

Overall I aimed to use the D-Lux 8 as an everyday camera, which I believe is how it will mainly be used. Using the camera in this way allowed me to experience it as the target user would, and to try all of the various shooting options in various situations. I also took it with me on a morning walk around London, shooting a few street photos, which I'll admit I am not very good at.

I viewed my images in Adobe Bridge on a computer, examining details in images taken at different ISO settings, and I also edited some images in Adobe Camera Raw to see how much latitude they offered for manipulation.

First reviewed September 2024