Ricoh GR III and GR IIIx get new bonus features as free firmware arrives

Ricoh GR III being held in a man's hands.

The Ricoh GR III and GR IIIx compact cameras are to get a couple of useful new features with a new firmware update that has just been released.

The Ricoh GR III is one of the best compact cameras for street photographers with its big APS-C sensor - and the latest firmware update will be the 13th update to the camera since it first went on sale just over five years ago.

The newer Ricoh GR IIIx, launched in September 2021, which is similar to the GR III but with a less wide-angle lens, will also the feature-enhancing refresh through the firmware.

The updates will also work with the customized GR III Street Edition and GR III Diary Edition models.

Arguably the most useful update is to the autofocus system, which gets the "Zone Select AF" as an option in the focus selection menu. 

By selecting Zone Select AF and pressing the OK button on the live view screen, the user can freely move the 3x3 area using the up/down/left/right keys to automatically focus on the appropriate position within the area. The area can also be moved by touching the screen.

The new Zone Select AF gives the user the option of a large, movable focus target (Image credit: Ricoh)

Additionally, the two cameras now get three custom white balance settings. 

By selecting one of Custom 1-3 and going to the detailed setting, you can set a combination of the base white balance of your choice and then fine tune the color temperature to a more precise value.

(Image credit: Ricoh)

The three new custom options are added to the white balance menu (Image credit: Ricoh)

The v1.91 firmware for the Ricoh GR III is now available to download here.

The new v1.41 firmware for the Ricoh GR IIIx is available to download here