Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 oz) (including batteries). Ricoh GR Digital III has external dimensions of 109 x 59 x 26 mm (4.29 x 2.32 x 1.02″) and weighs 208 g (0.46 lb / 7.34 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III. Ricoh GR Digital III is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 18mm narrower, 35mm shorter and 22mm thinner than Sony A7S. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh GR Digital III has a built-in lens but Sony A7S doesn't. Once you put a lens on A7S, its thickness will increase significantly.
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III.
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III.
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III Size
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Ricoh GR Digital III is significantly lighter (281g ) than the Sony A7S which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on A7S, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Weather Sealing
With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over GR Digital III which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.
On the other hand, Sony A7S features a
Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Ricoh GR Digital III has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.
Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Ricoh GR Digital III has a 10.0MP 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features GR engine III processor.
Below you can see the A7S and GR Digital III sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III Cameras
As seen above, Sony A7S has a 20.6x Larger sensor area than Ricoh GR Digital III. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Sony A7S for Portrait Photography
Ricoh GR Digital III for Portrait Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
External Flash Shoe
Optional External Viewfinder
Small 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Sony A7S for Street Photography
Ricoh GR Digital III for Street Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Small Body
Live-view
Fast Lens at Wide: f1.90
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Optional External Viewfinder
Small 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Sony A7S for Sports Photography
Ricoh GR Digital III for Sports Photography
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
External Flash Shoe
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
No Image Stabilization
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Focus Points
28 mm Tele Lens
Read the details
Sony A7S for Daily Photography
Ricoh GR Digital III for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Sony A7S for Landscape Photography
Ricoh GR Digital III for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Sony A7S and Ricoh GR Digital III scores compare:
Sony A7S
Ranked
#39 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#71 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Ricoh GR Digital III
Ranked
#128 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked
#624 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Sony A7S is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Ricoh GR Digital III in all criteria except one: Portability. Ricoh GR Digital III is significantly smaller than Sony A7S. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Ricoh GR Digital III. Otherwise, Sony A7S is the better camera overall.
General |
Sony Alpha A7S |
Ricoh GR Digital III |
Brand |
Sony |
Ricoh |
Announced |
2014-04-06 |
2009-07-27 |
Body Type |
SLR-style mirrorless |
Compact |
Sensor |
|
|
Type |
CMOS |
CCD |
Size |
Full frame |
1/1.7" |
Dimensions |
35.8 x 23.9 mm |
7.44 x 5.58 mm |
Area |
855.62mm2 |
41.52mm2 |
Megapixels |
12 megapixels |
10 megapixels |
Max Resolution |
4240 x 2832 |
3648 x 2736 |
Max Native Light sensitivity |
409,600 ISO |
1,600 ISO |
Min Native Light sensitivity |
100 ISO |
64 ISO |
RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
AF Touch |
|
|
AF Continuous |
|
|
AF Single |
|
|
AF Tracking |
|
|
AF Selective |
|
|
AF Center |
|
|
AF Multi Area |
|
|
AF Live View |
|
|
AF Face Detection |
|
|
AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
AF Phase Detection |
|
|
Number of Focus Points |
25 |
n/a |
Lens |
|
|
Manual Focus |
|
|
Lens Mount |
Sony E |
fixed lens |
Lens Focal Range |
no lens |
28 mm (1×) |
Max Aperture |
no lens |
F1.9 |
Macro Focus Range |
no lens |
1cm |
Screen |
|
|
Type |
Tilting |
Fixed type |
Size |
3 |
3" |
Resolution |
1,230k dots |
920k dots |
Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
Viewfinder |
Electronic |
Optical (optional) |
Viewfinder Resolution |
2,359k dots |
no electronic viewfinder |
Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
n/a |
Viewfinder Magnification |
0.71x |
n/a |
Photography Features |
|
|
Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/8000s |
1/2000s |
Shutter Priority |
|
|
Aperture Priority |
|
|
Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
Custom White Balance |
|
|
Image Stabilization |
No |
No |
Built-in Flash |
|
|
Flash Range |
no built-in flash |
3.00 m |
External Flash |
|
|
Continuous Shooting |
5.0 fps |
n/a |
Multi-Segment |
|
|
Average |
|
|
Spot |
|
|
Partial |
|
|
AF-Area |
|
|
Center Weighted |
|
|
AE Bracketing |
|
|
WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
Max Video Resolution |
3840 x 2160 |
640 x 480 |
Video Formats |
MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC |
n/a |
Microphone Port |
|
|
Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
Environmental Sealing |
|
|
Weight |
489g |
208g |
Dimensions |
127 x 94 x 48mm |
109 x 59 x 26mm |
Battery Life |
360 shots |
n/a |
Other Features |
|
|
Timelapse Recording |
With Downloadable App |
|
GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
DxO Overall Score |
87 |
not tested |
DxO Color Depth |
23.9 |
not tested |
DxO Dynamic Range |
13.2 |
not tested |
DxO Low Light ISO |
3702 |
not tested |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |