Hello everyone. My name is Okubo, Product Planner.

I would like to talk about the special models “RICOH GR III HDF” and “RICOH GR IIIx HDF” that we announced today.

These models are special editions of the GR III and GR IIIx that are equipped with the Highlight Diffusion Filter (HDF), a light diffusion filter that reduces overall image sharpness and diffuses highlights. With this filter on the GR, you can instantly apply and remove the filter to control the softness of the image.

The resolution of images has increased and they have become more detailed as the image quality of digital cameras has improved. On the other hand, soft rendering with low contrast has been given much lower priority as a camera feature because it can be post-processed with image editing software.

Let me explain what I mean by soft rendering. If you look at paintings in museums, you will see that it was practiced in paintings (religious paintings) before photography. For example, in "The Nativity," the painter Gerard van Honthorst (link) covers the figure (in this case, God) with light, creating a divine effect and implying a story to be told (in this case, the Bible).

In photography, Brassaï is known as the master of night photography. His famous snapshots of Paris powerfully capture the city and its people at night（link）.

As you can see, soft lighting tells a story, is poetic, and touches the viewer's heart.

　
The GR III and GR IIIx are capable of producing sharp, clear images with high resolution. By adding a soft and gentle touch, and by allowing you to quickly switch between these two types of image rendering so that you never miss an opportunity, it is possible to expand the range of expression in snapshots. That's what the new models have to offer.

To help you tell your story, we have designed the filter effect so that it can be used for over time in a variety of situations, rather than aiming for a single, eye-catching photo.

And the filter is printed using Ricoh's inkjet technology, which has been cultivated over many years.

The conventional GR III and GR IIIx have an ND filter in the lens barrel, while the new models have the newly developed HDF in place of the ND filter.

The HDF can be inserted and removed by pressing the Fn button, so you can react immediately when you want to soften the image.

When I was at a GR event, some participants showed me an SLR camera with an old lens and said, “I like the sharp images of the GR, but I also like soft images,” and showed me their photos, some of which had a soft flare that gave a sense of light. Some also showed me their photos taken with a soft filter and a black mist filter, which gave a cinematic or emotional impression. I'm sure they're going to love the new models.

The photos shown above were taken by Yukio Uchida, who was responsible for the official HDF sample photos and product photos.
*Excludes GR and coffee cup

We have also added two new features to the GR III HDF and GR IIIx HDF.

- Up to three custom white balance settings can now be saved.
- Zone Select AF, which allows you to move freely within the central 3x3 distance measurement areas, has been added.

Existing GR III and IIIx users can install these new features via a firmware update (sorry, HDF is not a firmware feature). Please see the product page (link) for details.

In addition, we are pleased to present more HDF work by three photographers on our gallery page.

Takehiko Nakafuji's black and white images of Tokyo at night
Shiori Iwakura's beauty of nature in winter
Samuel Lintaro Hopf's casual scenes of everyday life

The three artists have their own unique styles, each expressing the beauty of everyday scenes. You can feel their stories based on the extraordinary feeling created by the emphasis of light in even the most casual scenes of daily life. Please have a look at their works.

We hope you too will also enjoy a different way of capturing the world with HDF.

In the next issue, I would like to go deeper into the effects of HDF by interviewing the creator of the filter.

For more information on the release date and sales of the “RICOH GR III HDF” and “RICOH GR IIIx HDF,” please see the press release.

Thank you very much.


（Okubo）