Ricoh GR II for Portrait Photography

Is the Ricoh GR II good for Portrait Photography?

$639.95

Ricoh GR II Portrait Photography Score

AVERAGE

Ricoh GR II has a score of 52 for Portrait Photography which makes it an AVERAGE candidate for this type of photography. If Portrait Photography is important for you, we recommend you to check the Alternative cameras at the bottom of this page.
Read our detailed Ricoh GR II Review

Ricoh GR II Portrait Photography Detailed Analysis

Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm) sensor

Large sensors provide shallower depth of field and a nice blurry background for your portrait shots.

RAW shooting capability

RAW files contains more color information compared to JPEGs, so it is easier to get a natural skin tone and colours during post processing, which is very important for portraits.

External Flash Shoe

Use of External flash creates many creative lighting opportunities for portrait photography. Techniques like bounce and fill-in flash will make your portraits stand-out from the crowd.

Optical (Optional) Built-in Viewfinder

During a portrait shoot, using a viewfinder allows the photographer to stabilize the camera and reduce the camera shake since it is closer to the body. Besides, it comes handy where LCD screens are very hard to read under bright sunlight.

Manual Focus Mode

You have to nail the focus perfectly for a good portrait shot. Compact cameras are not great at focusing at low light and complex lighting conditions, so manual focus mode is very useful at these times.

Manual Exposure Mode

A correct exposure of portrait model is crucial. Even though modern digital cameras features advanced algorithms to calculate the right exposure, they still may fail some difficult conditions. Manual exposure mode in these conditions helps a lot in order to achieve correct exposure.

Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP

Ricoh GR II's 16.0MP resolution is not the best in its class but you can still manage relatively large prints of your portrait shots and crop without losing too much detail.

No Image Stabilization

Lack of Image stabilization may result in blurry photos especially in long exposures and at long focal lengths

Not so good Ergonomics&Handling

Good handling and existence of well placed physical controls on the camera body is very important during portrait shooting. It is faster and more intuitive to change the camera settings with dedicated buttons and knobs instead delving into the menus on the LCD.

You may also be interested in these reviews:

Ricoh GR II for Street Photography
Ricoh GR II for Sports Photography
Ricoh GR II for Carrying Everywhere
Ricoh GR II for Landscape Photography

Ricoh GR II Alternatives in Large sensor compact cameras for Portrait Photography

Leica Q2 Compare GR II vs Q2	47 MP \| Full frame CMOS Sensor 28 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #30 Rank in Compact Cameras: #1
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability Overall Score	Portrait Street 90 Sports Daily 90 Landscape

Leica Q Compare GR II vs Q Typ 116	24 MP \| Full frame CMOS Sensor 28 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #61 Rank in Compact Cameras: #4
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability Overall Score	Portrait Street 90 Sports Daily Landscape

Zeiss ZX1 Compare GR II vs ZX1	37 MP \| Full frame CMOS Sensor 35 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #64 Rank in Compact Cameras: #3
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Sony RX1R II Compare GR II vs RX1R II	42 MP \| Full frame BSI-CMOS Sensor 35 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #56 Rank in Compact Cameras: #2
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Ricoh GR III Compare GR II vs GR III	24 MP \| APS-C CMOS Sensor 28 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #339 Rank in Compact Cameras: #37
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 94 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Leica Q2

Leica Q

Zeiss ZX1

Sony RX1R II

Ricoh GR III