Checking a used Ricoh GR before you pay
Every check below exists because owners keep reporting that specific fault. None of them need tools, and the whole list takes under ten minutes with the camera in your hands. Do them in this order — the first one is the one that can cost more than the camera is worth.
Dark specks appear in photos, most visible on bright even areas at small apertures
Photograph a plain bright surface (a wall, the sky) at the smallest aperture, then review zoomed in. Dark specks in fixed positions are sensor dust. Some is near-universal on used GRs; a lot is a bargaining point.
Reported in 77 owner posts and 1051 comments. Reported repair cost: Owners report EUR 525-600 quotes for main-board work; a clean alone is far cheaper. What this fault is →
Battery swells, drains while the camera is off, or dies early
Take the battery out and stand it on a flat surface. It should lie flat and drop cleanly back into the bay. A cell that rocks or sticks is swollen — walk away or budget for a replacement.
Reported in 82 owner posts and 846 comments. What this fault is →
Firmware update will not run, or the camera misbehaves after updating
Check the firmware version in the menu and compare it against Ricoh's current release. A very old version on a used body may just mean a neglected camera.
Reported in 54 owner posts and 272 comments. What this fault is →
Camera will not read the memory card, or reports it as full or unwritable
Bring your own card of the right type. Confirm the camera recognises it, can format it, and writes a frame.
Reported in 32 owner posts and 172 comments. What this fault is →
Camera will not switch on, starts inconsistently, or freezes in use
Start it from cold several times rather than once. Intermittent starting is the reported pattern, so a single successful power-on proves little.
Reported in 9 owner posts and 48 comments. What this fault is →
"Lens Error" on screen, or the lens sticks part-way in or out
Power on and off at least five times, watching the barrel. It should extend and retract smoothly and squarely every time, with no grinding and no hesitation.
Reported in 7 owner posts and 38 comments. Reported repair cost: Owners report ~EUR 600 for drop-related lens repair. What this fault is →
Camera forgets its settings, or resets to the language-select screen on power-up
Power the camera fully off, wait, then on. Confirm it kept the date, time and user settings, and did not ask for the language again. This fault can cost more to fix than an older body is worth.
Reported in 5 owner posts and 23 comments. Reported repair cost: Owners report ~EUR 525 quoted for main-board replacement. What this fault is →
Two things that are not faults
Some sensor dust is normal. The lens retracts into the body and draws dust with it; nearly every used GR has some. A few specks is a negotiating point, not a reason to walk. A field of them is different.
A high shutter count is not decisive on a GR. The failure modes owners actually report are dust, batteries and the settings memory — none of which track shutter actuations in the way they would on an SLR.
Before you go
- Take a memory card of the right type — full-size SD or microSD depending on the model. Bringing the wrong one wastes the trip.
- Take a phone, if you want to test pairing. Expect it to be fiddly; the official apps rate badly and that is not the seller's fault.
- Check which body you are buying — the GR III and GR IIIx look identical and take different accessories.