Ricoh GRIII / GRIIIX Photography Settings & Set Up Guide
In this blog, I will share with you the key settings you need to be aware of when setting up your Ricoh GRIII and GRIIIx. I will also share with you the photography settings I use for travel and street photography. If you want to read my review of the Ricoh GRIIIx, click here.
Custom Buttons
The GRIII doesn’t have many custom buttons, so making the most of them is important. To make any changes, go to Menu > Customise Setting > Fn Button Setting. This is how I set them up:
Fn - Snap Focus
ISO Button - ND
Drive Button - AE Metering
Movie Button - Face Detect
Movie Button Hold - Off
ADJ Menu
The Ricoh has a quick menu that can hold up to five different adjustments. It’s called the ADJ menu and can be summoned by pushing in the rear dial. This is where you want to keep settings that you will frequently change. To set it up, go to Menu > Customise Settings > ADJ Mode Setting. This is how I set mine up:
Setting 1 - Focus
Setting 2 - Snap Focus Distance
Setting 3 - Drive Mode
Setting 4 - Outdoor View Settings
Setting 5 - Touch settings
Important Settings
Below are a few settings that are scattered around the camera that I think are very important:
Shutter Button Setting - I set this to AF+AE Lock. This allows the shutter to lock both exposure and focus when half-pressed. You can use this technique to lock the camera and change to composition without impacting any parameters.
AF Light Assist - Off. You don’t want the camera emitting any lights.
Minimum Shutter Speed - Under Auto ISO setting, make sure to set a minimum shutter speed of between 1/160 and 1/200. This will avoid blurry photos in low light.
Volume - Make sure to turn off and mute all sounds. You don’t want the camera emitting any sounds when in operation.
Link AE and AF Point - Leave that off unless you want to be extremely precise with where the camera meters.
Mode Dial Set-Up
I published a detailed guide on the Mode Dial that you can read here.
Ricoh GRIII Guide
If you’re finding this blog useful, and wish to learn more about setting up your GRIII / GRIIIx, then please check out my in-depth guide. Learn how I set up the camera, and how to squeeze the most out of it. By purchasing this guide, you’re directly supporting my work and helping keep this blog ad-free. Thank you.
This Ricoh GRIII/GRIIIX set-up guide is designed to save you time and get your camera set up and working just like I do. This guide covers all GRIII variants.
You will learn what the major features do and why I chose to set them in a certain way. I will show you how to assign the buttons and custom menus in order to have the most important features at your fingertips. Finally, I will walk you through how I expose and focus.
This guide is not a replacement for your user manual and does not cover 100% of the features. It covers the features that, in my experience, 90% of the people use 90% of the time. This is based on years of photography and video experience.
This guide is best suited for those who want to be up and running quickly with a tried-and-tested set-up.
This is a digital download and not a physical product. The download is around 23mb.
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally, I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying this guide is the most direct way you can support my work, thus allowing me to make more videos, photos, and tutorials for you.
Thank you for your support!
Photography Settings - Exposure
90% of the time I shoot in aperture priority. This gives me control over the depth of field and impacts the image drastically. I usually start at around f5.6 if the light is good and then adjust up or down depending on light and how much of the scene I want in focus. I set the Auto ISO between 100 and 6400 with the minimum shutter speed around 1/200. I then use the Multi-Segment exposure mode for most scenarios. Sometimes I want to create slow shutter speed effects, so for this I change the mode to shutter priority and reduce the shutter speed to around 1/25. If shooting on a sunny day, I can also turn the ND filter on to help control the light coming in.
Photography Setting - Focus
The Ricoh GRIII comes with a generous selection of focus modes. With that said, I find myself using only three of them. The first one is called Select AF. This is the one I use most of the time as it’s accurate and, in my experience, very efficient. However, for times when you might not have the luxury to change the focus point location, I suggest using Zone Select AF. This mode I use for spray and pray style photography, while the first one is for slower-paced shooting where precision is more important. Finally, I love the Snap Focus feature and I covered it in detail in this blog.
Instead of telling you how these will change your life, I would rather be practical and answer the most common questions that people tend to have when buying presets.
What are presets?
They are editing settings that are saved in a file and can be applied to any image.
Why do people buy presets?
Sometimes because they like the work of the photographer and want that style for their own photos. Mostly because they would like to see how other people edit and learn by reverse engineering the presets. Other times it’s just to support their favourite photographers, thank you!
What’s the overall style of these presets?
- Filmic
- Minimal
- Soft
- Bright
What are these presets suitable for?
Street & Travel Photography
Some Nature (with further editing)
Some Portraits (with extensive editing)
What do these presets look like?
These presets 100% reflect my current editing style. Please see examples of work below.
Do these presets get updated?
Yes, as my style changes, these presets will also be updated. Any time a new update is available, you will get a free update via email. Of course you also keep all the old presets in case you prefer the older looks. Only presets purchased from 2025 onwards will receive the updates.
What file types are these presets for?
- All RAW files
- JPEGs & TIFFs (not recommended)
What camera brands are these presets for?
These were designed around Fujifilm, Sony, and Leica sensors. With that said, they will work with all camera brands. While there might be subtle colour changes due to individual camera colour science, the overall feel of the preset will carry over.
Will these work with JPEG files?
Yes, but you will need to reduce the intensity and make further edits. I strongly recommend editing RAW files.
Are these one click edits?
95% No. You would need to do some basic adjustments as each image is different. These adjustments can include exposure, colour balance etc. In 5% of cases you can just apply and leave it alone.
Do I need to know how to edit?
You need to have a basic understanding of adjusting exposure, highlights, shadows, etc. A more comprehensive editing skillset will let you get the most out of them.
How many presets are included?
15 in the main pack and 20 in the extras pack
Why two packs?
The main pack is what I use for 99% of my edits. The extras pack is random test presets, one-off looks, and looks I don’t use often.
What software do I need?
These presets will work with any of the following:
- Photoshop (adobe camera raw)
- Lightroom Classic
- Lightroom Desktop
- Lightroom Mobile
Will these presets work with free versions of the above software?
You need to research and double check before buying. These presets were designed for the full paid versions.
Will these presets work with very old versions of the above software?
You need to research and double check before buying. These presets were designed on and for the latest software.
What file type do I get?
XMP
What else do I get?
- Comprehensive PDF guide
- Short video of me editing using these presets
Can I modify these and turn them into my own?
Yes! In fact I encourage you to modify them and play around. Use these to help you get your own style.
I have more questions…. What do I do?
Make a cup of tea and drop me an email on hello@snapsbyfox.com
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying these presets is the most direct way you can support my work thus allowing me to make more videos / photos / tutorials for you.
Thank you for your support!