Dedicated to the Ricoh GR III digital camera, the GW-4 Wide Conversion Lens is a 0.75x-magnification lens, which provides a wider, 21mm equivalent focal length. Use of this adapter requires the additional GA-1 Lens Adapter for attaching to the camera and, additionally, a petal-shaped lens hood is included to reduce flare and ghosting.
Image quality is sharp. I keep this permanently attached to the GA-1 adapter for quickly attaching to the GRIII on the go. The lens is very heavy, but it’s the only way to get a quality, wider angle from the GRIII’s built-in lens. If the GRIII has a built-in lens equivalent to 24mm (35mm equiv.) or wider, I obviously wouldn’t have bought this lens.
The GRIII+GA_1+GW_4 combination should be perfect for shooting street action with the standard 28mm lens and then, once inside a crowded caffe or indoor market, quickly and discretely switching to 21mm. In reality, the switchover is finicky and requires more deliberate attention than changing lenses on an SLR or MILC. One has the impression that the individual pieces were designed separately from one another with little concern for overall ergonomics and convenience in the field. Having the GA-1adapter, GW-4 converter and the rubber hood (finicky to keep in place, too) integrated into one sturdy and easy to handle piece similar to the SEL075UWC, would be far superior and more in line with the price and the optical quality of the GW-4 and GRIII.