Film Simulation vs RAW Edits | Ricoh GRiii/X

Comparing straight out-of-camera film sim jpegs to my Lightroom raw edits.

Edit: Check out this companion street photography video to this article.

This will be a relatively low word count comparison. I’ll let the photos do the writing in most of this post.

I have generally found both the Ricoh film sim jpegs and the raw files to be above my initial expectations for a point-and-shoot camera. If you’ve read my other articles by now, you’ll know I’m a fan of these niche little cameras, but they still continue to surprise me.

Read my previous review: Will the Ricoh GRiii replace my Canon R6?

This specific side-by-side covers my experience with my second Ricoh GRiii, the GRiii X.

What makes the ‘X’ different you ask? It’s 40mm equivalent, opposed the regular ‘iii’ being a 28mm. I think there’s a random other feature in the autofocus that may be different, but otherwise they’re identical besides the lens focal lengths.

In case you don’t know what the “film sim jpegs” are, they are a built-in feature in Ricoh GR cameras that lets the camera save a rendered jpeg with settings that closely replicate “film” style shooting.

How exactly it does this, I can’t say, but the aesthetic is unique and the feature convenient. Does it always nail the “film” vibe? Not really, but it’s fun and easy. Something I don’t always say…