Ricoh
GR III 2018
Best for Street photography & urban reportage
£899
list price · used from £452 at eBay
Decision tools · Compare
GR III vs A1
Quick take: The A1 has the highest resolution at 50MP; the GR III is the most affordable; only the A1 is weather sealed.
16 specs side by side·15 genres scored·UK prices from Wex Photo Video and Clifton Cameras
How to read this page. Highlighted cells win that row on the spec alone. Genre scores are the engine's base scores (enthusiast, photo and video); Camera Match re-weights them for your level and priorities. Price buttons are affiliate links; the price you pay is the same.
Sony
A1 2021
Best for Professional sport, wildlife, portrait & hybrid shooting
£4199
new today at Wex Photo Video
Price buttons are affiliate links — GearFrame may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects a score. Learn more
Verdictwhich should you buy?
GR III — Street Photography & Urban Reportage: The purest street photography compact — APS-C sensor, 28mm perspective, IBIS, and cult-favourite JPEG rendering in a shirt pocket.
A1 — Professional Sport, Wildlife, Portrait & Hybrid Shooting: 50MP, 30fps, 8K — the Sony A1 is the most complete professional camera ever made.
Who should buy what
GR III (2018)
is the right camera for you if…
- Street photographers who want a classic 28mm perspective in a pocketable body
- Documentary photographers who want a discreet, fast APS-C compact
- GR IIIx buyers who prefer the wider 28mm field of view
- Anyone who wants serious APS-C image quality without carrying a bag
A1 (2021)
is the right camera for you if…
- Professional photographers who need resolution and speed without compromise
- Sports and wildlife photographers demanding the absolute fastest Sony
- Studio and fashion photographers who also shoot sport or events
- A9 III or A7R V owners who want a single body that does everything
Full specificationsthe better value in each row is highlighted
| Specification | GR IIIRicoh · 2018 | A1Sony · 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £899Best | £4,199 |
| Sensor | 24.2MP APS-C CMOS | 50.1MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Exmor RS |
| Resolution | 24.2MP | 50.1MPBest |
| Video | 1080p/60p | 8K/30p, 4K/120p, 1080p/240p |
| Autofocus | Hybrid contrast/phase-detect AF with subject detection | Real-time Tracking, AI subject recognition — 759 phase-detect points |
| Stabilisation | 4-stop IBIS (Shake Reduction) | IBIS — up to 5.5 stops |
| Burst Rate | 4fps | 30fps electronic with full AF/AEBest |
| Battery Life | 200 shots (CIPA) | ~430 shots (CIPA)Best |
| Weight | 227g (body only)Best | 737g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 109.4 × 61.9 × 33.2mm | 128.9 × 96.9 × 80.8mm |
| Weather Sealed | Not weather sealed | YesBest |
| Viewfinder | No viewfinder | EVF, 9.44M dots, 0.90× magnification, 240fps |
| Screen | 3.0" fixed touchscreen | 3.0" fully tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Fixed 28mm-equiv f/2.8 lens | Sony FE mount (full-frame E-mount) |
| Memory Cards | Single SD UHS-I | Dual CFexpress Type A / SD UHS-II |
| Connectivity | USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | USB-C, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth, Ethernet, HDMI |
Wins the row — price, resolution, burst, battery, weight and sealing are compared; text specs aren't ranked.
How they score by genreengine base scores out of 10
Genre
GR III
A1
Portrait
4.0/10
8.2/10
Street
8.0/10
6.1/10
Travel
6.6/10
5.9/10
Wedding & Events
4.3/10
7.9/10
Documentary
4.4/10
7.6/10
Landscape
4.9/10
7.6/10
Casual
5.9/10
4.8/10
Food
5.2/10
7.4/10
Macro
3.8/10
7.3/10
Architecture
4.8/10
7.9/10
Astrophotography
4.2/10
6.8/10
Fun & simple
5.1/10
—
Filmmaking
—
7.8/10
Sports & Action
—
8.8/10
Wildlife
—
8.7/10
Scores come from the same engine as Camera Match: verified specifications weighted by what each genre needs, with documented adjustments. The product page and this table show the enthusiast base score. See how scores are calculated →
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