Release notes

Every addition, fix and improvement is listed here. Changes marked "Firmware needs rebuilding" take effect once you rebuild and flash.

Current version of each feature

All changes

GRLife Prov2.4.1Improved

GRLife Pro 2.4.1: new film Ferry, 93 films in the film library

Ferry is a colour negative look of our own design for scenes that mix indoor light with daylight from a window: cream whites, amber yellows, teal greens and deeper, quieter blues. It is part of the film collection; owners get it by downloading their film library file again on the film library page. No reflash: generate again on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.x page and copy GRLPRO.GRP from the ZIP’s GRLIFE folder onto the card, replacing the old one, and Ferry is listed under “Other brands”. Without the new GRLPRO.GRP the film still works; it is listed under “More films”.

Confirmed on a GR IV 1.21 and a GR IIIx 1.71
GRLife Prov2.4Improved

GRLife Pro 2.4: new “Live photos”, a short clip saved with every photo (GR III / IIIx / GR IV)

To use it, the camera needs the newly generated firmware: generate again on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.x page, flash the firmware from the ZIP, then copy GRLPRO.GRP from its GRLIFE folder onto the card, replacing the old one. Keep the FILMS.GRF already on the card; the film library has not changed. Afterwards GRLife Pro’s About page in the camera shows App version v2.4.0. If you don’t use Live photos there is no need to update; nothing else has changed.

Live photos

  • Choose on GRLife Pro’s Features page: Off / Before + after / After only.
  • While it is on, the camera saves a short silent clip with every photo: “Before + after” is about 1.5 s before and 1.5 s after the shutter, “After only” just the 1.5 s after it.
  • Clips go to the SD card’s GRLIFE folder; the photos themselves are unchanged.
  • “Live photo” (Off / On) can be assigned to ADJ, to pause and resume it while shooting without opening GRLife Pro.
  • The site’s Live Photo Export page turns photos and clips into iPhone Live Photos or Android motion photos; files are processed in your browser and are not uploaded.
  • It uses more battery while on; turn it off when you don’t need it.

Known limits

  • Photos recorded as RAW only get no clip; JPEG and RAW+JPEG do.
  • GR III / IIIx: in a burst, only the first 3 photos get a clip.
  • GR IV: in a burst of up to 3 photos, the first photo gets a clip; a burst of 4 or more gets none. After a long burst, Live photos resume once the card access lamp has gone out.
  • If you power off right after a shot, the camera first finishes writing the clip, so it turns off a few seconds later.
  • The clip records the live view, at a lower resolution than the photo.

Models and testing

  • Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.71 and a GR IV 1.21; the GR III and the other firmware versions run the same code and are checked offline.
  • On the GR IV it is in Beta, like the rest of the GR IV version; the GR IV does not support the anamorphic lens yet.
Confirmed on a GR IV 1.21 and a GR IIIx 1.71Firmware needs rebuilding
Live photosv1.0New

New: Live photos, a short clip from around the shutter saved with every photo

A new feature: once switched on in GRLife Pro’s Features page in the camera, every photo comes with a short silent clip of about 1.5 s before and 1.5 s after the shutter, saved to the SD card’s GRLIFE folder; the site’s Live Photo Export page turns them into iPhone Live Photos or Android motion photos. Photos recorded as RAW only get no clip. Only in GRLife Pro 2.x, for the GR III / IIIx and the GR IV (Beta). Available after generating and flashing the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IV 1.21 and a GR IIIx 1.71Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov2.3Improved

GRLife Pro 2.3: a new “Anamorphic lens” switch desqueezes live view and photos in the camera (GR III / IIIx)

To use it, the GR III / IIIx needs the newly generated firmware: generate again on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.x page, flash the firmware from the ZIP, then copy GRLPRO.GRP from its GRLIFE folder onto the card, replacing the old one. Keep the FILMS.GRF already on the card; the film library has not changed. Afterwards GRLife Pro’s About page in the camera shows App version v2.3.3. If you don’t use an anamorphic lens there is no need to update; everything else is the same as 2.2.

Anamorphic lens (GR III / IIIx)

  • Pick your lens’s ratio on GRLife Pro’s Features page: Off / 1.25× / 1.20×.
  • While the lens switch is on, the aspect ratios become three wide ones: Wide 1.88:1, Wide 2.22:1 and Wide 2.71:1 (at 1.20×: Wide 1.80:1, Wide 2.13:1 and Wide 2.60:1).
  • Live view shows the desqueezed picture; JPEGs are desqueezed in the camera and stay 6000 pixels wide.
  • RAW (DNG) gets a desqueeze tag, so Photoshop (Camera Raw) opens it already desqueezed; with RAW+JPEG, the preview inside the DNG is desqueezed too.
  • After taking the lens off, set the switch back to “Off”.

Known limits

  • With RAW only, the preview in camera playback still looks squeezed; the file itself is fine.
  • The freeze frame right after a shot is not desqueezed; the bars are hidden while the ADJ quick menu is open.
  • While the lens switch is on, processing after each shot takes a few seconds longer than usual.
  • While the lens switch is on, multi-exposure (half frame included) and interval composite photos are not desqueezed, and the height recorded in the photo information does not match the picture.

Models and testing

  • Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.71; the GR III and the other firmware versions run the same code and are verified offline.
  • The GR IV does not support the anamorphic lens yet; nothing changes for it in this version and there is no need to flash again.
Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.71Firmware needs rebuilding
Anamorphic lensv1.0New

New: anamorphic lens, with live view and photos desqueezed in the camera for 1.25× / 1.20× lenses

A new feature: with an anamorphic widescreen lens mounted, pick the lens’s ratio on GRLife Pro’s Features page in the camera. Live view shows normal proportions, JPEGs are desqueezed right in the camera and RAW files carry a desqueeze tag. Only in GRLife Pro 2.x, for the GR III / IIIx; the GR IV is not supported yet. Available after generating and flashing the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.71Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov2.2.1Fix

GR IV: the card light no longer blinks for long after power-on, and an early film change no longer freezes the live view

GR IV only. Each time the camera started, the card access light blinked for more than ten seconds, and if you opened GRLife Pro and changed film during that time, the live view could freeze when you returned to shooting. Now the light blinks a few times; the time the camera spends preparing the film library in the background went from about 23 seconds to about 2.5 seconds (measured with the 92-film library), and changing film right after power-on no longer freezes. If you press OK in the first two or three seconds after power-on, GRLife Pro waits until the camera is ready and then opens by itself; one press is enough. The November 11 update said this was fixed, but it was not fully fixed; this is the complete fix. Build the firmware again and flash it (official firmware 1.20 or 1.21); leave the GRLIFE folder on the card as it is. Firmware 1.20 gets the same change and is not tested on a 1.20 body. The GR III and GR IIIx do not have this problem and need no update.

Confirmed on a GR IV 1.21Firmware needs rebuilding
Official firmwarev1.1New

Ricoh’s November 10 firmware supported: GR IIIx 1.71, GR III 2.21, GR IV 1.21

Ricoh’s official firmware released on November 10, GR IIIx 1.71, GR III 2.21 and GR IV 1.21, can now be customised on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.x page, with the same features as on the earlier versions. The version of the official BIN you import decides the version you get, so import the official firmware that matches your camera; leave the GRLIFE folder on the card as it is, your films and settings stay. Cameras on 1.70 / 2.20 / 1.20 keep working as before and do not need to update. Note: an official firmware update cannot be undone. The GR III 2.21 uses the same port as the GR IIIx 1.71 and is not yet confirmed on a camera. The GR IV Monochrome firmware 1.11 is not supported yet. Also fixed on the GR IV (1.20 and 1.21): with a large film library, changing films right after power-on could freeze the live view; on a GR IV 1.20 this takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IV 1.21 and a GR IIIx 1.71
GRLife Prov2.2Improved

GRLife Pro 2.2: new “Snap distance in feet” switch; GR IV (Beta) updates the App and film library by itself at power-on and no longer freezes the live view on a film change

The GR III / IIIx and the GR IV all need the newly generated firmware: generate again on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.x page, flash the firmware from the ZIP, then copy GRLPRO.GRP from its GRLIFE folder onto the card, replacing the old one. Keep the FILMS.GRF already on the card; the film library has not changed. Afterwards GRLife Pro’s About page in the camera shows App version v2.2.0.

Snap distance in feet (GR III / IIIx / IV)

  • GRLife Pro’s Features page in the camera gains the “Snap distance in feet” switch, off by default.
  • When it is on, the snap focus distance shows in feet in MENU, on the shooting screen and in ADJ: 0.3m → 1ft, 1m → 3ft, 1.5m → 5ft, 2m → 7ft, 2.5m → 8ft, 3.5m → 11ft, 5m → 16ft; ∞ stays as it is.
  • Only the text changes, the focus distance is the same; it works in every display language. Switch it off and the distances are back in metres.

GR IV (Beta)

  • When the card carries a newer App or film library than the camera holds, the camera opens an update screen by itself after power-on, shows the progress and returns to shooting when it is done.
  • Changing film while the film library is still loading now asks you to wait instead of acting on a half-loaded library.
  • Fix: changing film in the App while the card access lamp was lit could freeze the live view. The camera now leaves the card alone around a film change.
  • Known: pressing OK right after power-on may open GRLife Pro’s entry in MENU instead of the App, and a film picked at that moment may not be applied; wait two or three seconds after power-on.

GR III / IIIx

  • No update screen at power-on yet; the App and the film library update the way they did before.
Confirmed on a GR IV and a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Snap distance in feetv1.0New

New: snap distance in feet

A new feature: the snap focus distance shows in feet in MENU, on the shooting screen and in ADJ (2.5m → 8ft). Only the text changes, the focus distance is the same. It is built into GRLife Pro 2.x: switch on “Snap distance in feet” on GRLife Pro’s Features page in the camera, on the GR III / IIIx and the GR IV. On the v1.4x store you can tick it on its own; there it is always on, with no switch in the camera, and that build runs the same code and is verified offline. Available after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IV and a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov2.1.1Improved

GRLife Pro 2.1.1: 92 films in the film library, the film page lists the films you have, About shows the App version; GR IV (Beta) no longer lists films in movie mode

No reflash on the GR III / IIIx: generate again on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.x page and copy GRLPRO.GRP from the ZIP’s GRLIFE folder onto the card, replacing the old one. On the GR IV, flash the newly generated firmware for the movie-mode fix, and replace GRLPRO.GRP as well. Keep the FILMS.GRF already on the card; if you own the film library, download FILMS.GRF again from the film library page to get the 28 new films. GRLife Pro’s About page in the camera then shows App version v2.1.1.

App (shared by GR III / IIIx / IV)

  • About has a new “App version” row.
  • On the GR III / IIIx, About shows the model as “GR III / IIIx”; it used to say GR IIIx on every body.
  • Film page: when your film pack holds bought films, only the films in the pack are listed, so picking a few films no longer leaves a row of locked ones. With only the five built-in films, the other films still show with a lock, and you can open them to read about them.
  • The “About › Hide locked films” switch is gone; the point above takes care of it.
  • Knows the 28 new films of the film library: names, descriptions and the new brand groups.

GR IV (Beta)

  • In movie mode the ADJ panel no longer lists films (they could be picked but had no effect on video). The film for photos is unchanged. Needs the newly generated firmware.

Film library

  • 28 new films, 92 in all: second versions (V2, simulated again from spectral data) of Portra400, Ektar100, Gold200, Pro400H, CS 800T, Instax and more, plus Velvia 50, Astia 100F, Aerochrome, Eterna 500, Lomo Purple, Turquoise, IR Color and others.
Confirmed on a GR IV and a GR IIIx
GRLife Prov2.1Fix

GRLife Pro 2.1: fixes the live view freezing after a film change, and texture settings lost after a restart

Takes effect after you generate the firmware again on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.x page, flash it, and replace GRLPRO.GRP in the GRLIFE folder on the card with the newly downloaded one. GRLife Pro’s About page in the camera then shows GRLife Pro v2.1.

Fixed

  • Pressing OK for GRLife Pro right after turning the camera on (before any menu or the ADJ strip had been opened) froze the live view on the way back to shooting, after a film change or any setting: no focusing, no shooting, and only turning the camera off brought it back.
  • Film grain, HDF diffusion and film softness set on GRLife Pro’s Texture page went back to their earlier values after a restart.

Changed

  • OK on a film goes straight back to shooting; the canister drop animation is gone.
  • With the camera recipe in use, film grain, HDF diffusion and film softness show “—” and cannot be changed: they only work with a film, as in v1.4x.
Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov2.0New

GRLife Pro 2.0: one firmware with every feature, and a new interface in the camera

A major release. The firmware store now makes one version, GRLife Pro 2.0, and every feature you used to pick on the web page is built in: the film library (films, texture, imprint), the shutdown screen, HDR photo, more aspect ratios, half frame, golden ratio guides, the slider level, nine ADJ settings and the rear dial for ISO. You set them up and switch them on or off in GRLife Pro, a new interface in the camera: press OK on the shooting screen, or choose MENU › GRLife Pro › Open GRLife Pro. Recipes stay an optional step in the store. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page, flash it and put the GRLIFE folder on the card.

The new interface

  • Five pages: Film, Texture, Imprint, Features and About. Push the ADJ lever left or right to change pages; half-press the shutter to go back to shooting. The text follows the camera’s menu language: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and English for every other language.
  • Film page: the film canisters stand on a shelf; ◀▶ picks a film, ▲▼ changes the shelf, OK loads it and returns to shooting, Fn goes back to the camera recipe. The film you pick goes into film position 1; the five positions can still each get a film in MENU › GRLife Pro › Change film, and ADJ still switches between them.
  • Films are grouped by brand on 13 shelves: Kodak Color, Kodak Cine, Kodak Slide & B&W, Fujifilm, CineStill, Ilford, Agfa, Polaroid, Hasselblad, Pentax, Leica, Ricoh and Creative, each under its maker’s full name, such as Kodak Portra 400 or CineStill 800T City.
  • Films you have not bought are grey with a lock. OK opens a card with the canister, a line about the film, ISO, process and type, and the body code to give when you buy or redeem at GRLife.app. To see only the films you can use, turn on Hide locked films on the About page (off by default).
  • Films fitted from your own LUT are on the My films shelf; films newer than the app are on More films.
  • The Texture page (film grain, HDF diffusion, film softness, CineStill halation, light leak) and the Imprint page (date, caption, film name, font, colour, glow, corner, size) offer the same options as the earlier menus, with a preview sketch; each film still keeps its own texture.
  • Features page: one switch per feature, with where it appears in the camera once on. “GRLife Pro shortcut” is here too; when it is off, OK on the shooting screen no longer opens the interface.
  • The shutdown screen has a page of its own: preview and choose the factory screen, the picture in the camera, or BYE1–BYE9.JPG from the card’s GRLIFE/BYE folder (720×480 baseline JPEG, up to 128 KB); the one you choose is copied into the camera.
  • About page: firmware version, camera, film library and body code, and Clear GRLife data, which deletes what GRLife keeps in the camera’s memory: the app copy and its settings (with the disclaimer agreement), the film library copy, and the texture, imprint, HDR and shutdown screen settings. Camera settings, photos and the files on the card stay as they are; turn the camera off and on afterwards.
  • First use: OK on the shooting screen opens a short guide, first the two ways to open the interface, then the disclaimer, which you scroll to the end before you can agree. Until you agree, GRLife changes nothing and the camera works as stock.
  • The app is on the card: the interface is the file GRLIFE/GRLPRO.GRP, and the camera keeps a copy of it, so it works without the card. When a new version comes out, put the new GRLPRO.GRP on the card and the camera updates itself, usually without flashing the firmware again.

How to upgrade

  1. Open the GRLife Pro 2.0 page of the firmware store: choose the camera, set up recipes if you want them (optional), import the stock firmware, then generate and download the package.
  2. Flash the firmware from the package’s SD folder as before.
  3. Copy the GRLIFE folder from the SD folder to the root of the SD card. If the card already has a FILMS.GRF (films you bought or your own LUT films), copy only GRLPRO.GRP and do not replace it with the package’s FILMS.GRF, which holds only the five built-in films.
  4. Turn the camera on with the card in, press OK on the shooting screen, and read and accept the disclaimer in the guide.
  5. Turn on the features you use on the Features page.

Upgrading from v1.4x

  • Every feature starts switched off. Ratios such as 16:9, half frame and the golden ratio guides go back to the stock settings; turn them on on the Features page and choose them again. Your nine ADJ assignments are kept and come back when you turn the feature on.
  • The store’s earlier page stays and keeps making v1.4x firmware (features picked on the web page, no new interface); it gets fixes for serious problems only.
  • The film library is unchanged: the firmware is free and paid films are unlocked on the Film Library page; the same film library works with v1.4x and 2.0.
  • Supported: GR III (2.10 / 2.20) and GR IIIx (1.60 / 1.70). GR IV is not supported yet.
  • Fn in RAW development, for the texture and imprint of one photo, stays on the camera’s own page.
Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.9Improved

Switched on and off in the camera; back to 3:2 when off

From GRLife Pro 2.0, more aspect ratios are built into the firmware and switched on the Features page of GRLife Pro; they start off. When off, the aspect ratio menu and ADJ offer only the stock 3:2 and 1:1; a camera still set to an added ratio such as 16:9 goes back to 3:2 on the shooting screen, and an added ratio is no longer saved at power-off. When on, 7:6, 5:4, 4:3, 16:9 and 65:24 are back in the menu. v1.4x firmware is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page and flash it.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Half framev1.1Improved

Switched on and off in the camera; back to Average when off

From GRLife Pro 2.0, half frame is switched on the Features page of GRLife Pro and starts off. When off, the multi-exposure composite mode has no “Half Frame”; a camera still set to it goes back to the stock “Average” on the shooting screen, and half frame is no longer saved at power-off. v1.4x firmware is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page and flash it.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Golden ratio guidesv1.1Improved

Switched on and off in the camera; back to 3×3 when off

From GRLife Pro 2.0, the golden ratio guides are switched on the Features page of GRLife Pro and start off. When off, the grid style menu has only the stock 3×3 and 4×4; a camera still set to the golden grid or a golden spiral goes back to 3×3, and they are no longer saved at power-off. v1.4x firmware is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page and flash it.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Slider levelv1.1Improved

Switched on and off in the camera; the stock level when off

From GRLife Pro 2.0, the slider level is switched on the Features page of GRLife Pro and starts off. When off, the electronic level shows as stock; when on, electronic level design type 3 becomes the two slider tracks. v1.4x firmware is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page and flash it.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.9Improved

Switched on and off in the camera; the stock five when off

From GRLife Pro 2.0, the nine ADJ settings are switched on the Features page of GRLife Pro and start off. When off, the ADJ mode setting has the stock five and the menu no longer turns to a second page; what you assigned to settings 6–9 is kept and comes back when you turn it on. v1.4x firmware is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page and flash it.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Rear dial sets ISOv1.2Improved

Switched on and off in the camera; the stock rear dial when off

From GRLife Pro 2.0, the rear dial for ISO is switched on the Features page of GRLife Pro and starts off. When off, the rear dial works as stock. v1.4x firmware is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page and flash it.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
HDR photov1.3Improved

Switched on and off in the camera; no gain map when off

From GRLife Pro 2.0, HDR photo is switched on the Features page of GRLife Pro and starts off. When off, photos get no HDR gain map and the HDR menu shows Off, with choices there taking no effect; your saved setting stays and comes back when you turn it on. v1.4x firmware is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate the firmware on the store’s GRLife Pro 2.0 page and flash it.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.43New

Classic film grain is back

Some users told us they preferred the grain we had before, so it is back as “Classic”: little grain in the highlights and more in the shadows and mid tones, coarser on high-speed films, with clumps on high-speed black and white and faint colour specks on colour films, as in v1.41 and earlier. Film texture → Film grain, ADJ and RAW development now offer Low / Medium / High classic after fine and coarse; the X half-style fine and coarse grain is unchanged. The level is still kept per film, the size (fine / coarse / classic) is one for all films, and your current choice stays as it is. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.8Improved

Classic film grain in ADJ

With GRLife Pro 1.43: the film grain you can assign to ADJ now offers Off / Low fine / Medium fine / High fine / Low coarse / Medium coarse / High coarse / Low classic / Medium classic / High classic, as the menu does. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.42Improved

Film grain in the X half’s manner, fine or coarse

Film grain is redone the way Fujifilm’s X half does it: the same amount in highlights, mid tones and shadows (you see it on a bright sky or a white wall too), on the luminance only with no colour specks, and the same for every film. Its strength and size are fitted to the X half’s grain; none of Fujifilm’s data is used. New: a grain size. Film texture → Film grain, ADJ and RAW development all offer Off / Low fine / Medium fine / High fine / Low coarse / Medium coarse / High coarse; the level is still kept per film, the size is one for all films, and a size chosen in RAW development holds for that development only. Each photo gets newly made grain with no repeating pattern. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.7Improved

Film grain in ADJ with fine or coarse grain

With GRLife Pro 1.42: the film grain you can assign to ADJ now offers Off / Low fine / Medium fine / High fine / Low coarse / Medium coarse / High coarse, as the menu does. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.41Improved

The “Edge” light leak becomes “Glow”

The light leak is redesigned: 20 light patterns (bands, diagonal streaks, spots, a glowing corner, stripes and more), one picked at random for each photo and turned a random way; two photos in a row never get the same one. The light is added as brightening, so it never burns out to plain white and the shadows are not lifted into flat patches. “Edge” is renamed “Glow” in the menu and in ADJ; a camera set to Edge gets Glow after the update. First roll is unchanged. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.6Improved

Light leak option “Edge” becomes “Glow”

With GRLife Pro 1.41: the light leak you can assign to ADJ now offers Off / Glow / First roll. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.40Fix

With the date imprint off, photos taken in U1/U2 still carried the date

With the imprint set not to print the date, photos taken right after power-on could still carry it, most of all in U1/U2 (since GRLife Pro v1.37): until the settings were read back after power-on, the imprint used its default, date on. Now the settings are read back at once, and nothing is imprinted before they are; the grain and softness levels come back with them. Fixed after user feedback. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.40Fix

Stability fixes: live view after quick film changes, softness in RAW development and more

After two quick film changes in ADJ, live view sometimes kept the previous film’s look; the softness setting had no effect in RAW development; and a few rare cases, such as running short of memory, could hang or restart the camera. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.5Fix

Opening the ADJ strip could restart the camera when memory ran short

With settings 6 to 9 in use, if memory ran short and not all of the strip’s extra tiles could be made, the next refresh could restart the camera. Missing tiles are now simply not drawn, and two more bounds checks were added. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
HDR photov1.2Improved

With HDR on, photos show up in playback much sooner

The processing after each HDR photo is much shorter, so playback no longer lags noticeably; the photos themselves are exactly the same as with 1.1. Two rare memory issues were fixed as well. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.8Fix

Without “Nine ADJ settings”, pressing ADJ froze the camera on a black screen

With “More aspect ratios” and GRLife Pro but without “Nine ADJ settings”, power-on replaced ADJ setting 4 with the film function, which the stock ADJ menu does not know, so pressing ADJ froze the camera on a black screen (since GRLife Pro v1.34). Without Nine ADJ settings this no longer happens, and a setting 4 that was already replaced goes back to “File Format” at power-on. Fixed after user feedback. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Half framev1.0New

New: half frame, two portrait shots in one 3:2 photo

A new feature, added after user feedback: the stock multi-exposure gains a “Half Frame” composite mode. To turn it on, set the aspect ratio to 3:2, press the right key of the four-way controller (drive), choose “Multi-exposure”, press Fn and set “Composite mode” to “Half Frame”. Live view dims both sides and shows a portrait frame in the middle; each shot gives the portrait crop from the centre of the frame, the first goes on the left, the second on the right, with a black line between them. While you take the second shot there is no ghost of the first, and after it the menu offers only “Finish / Retake”. Needs “More aspect ratios” as well (added with it); GRLife Pro is not needed. At power-off the settings file stores “Average”, so after flashing back to the stock firmware the composite mode is “Average”. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.4Fix

After flashing back to stock, an ADJ setting holding the light leak shows off

With Light leak assigned to ADJ settings 1 to 5, power-off wrote it into the stock settings file as it was, so after flashing back to the stock firmware the camera read a function it does not know. Now it is kept aside like the film, grain and other GRLife functions: the stock file says off, and GRLife puts it back at power-on. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.39New

New light leak: edge leaks and first-of-the-roll burns

MENU → GRLife Pro → Film texture has a fifth row, Light leak: off, edge or first roll. Edge lets an orange-red leak creep in from a side or corner; first roll imitates the frame fogged while loading the film: the left of the picture burns out (mostly white or cream, sometimes yellow or peach) behind a narrow yellow, orange and red fringe, straight, torn or in layered bands. Shot upright, it lands at the top or bottom, following the way the camera was turned. Every photo gets its own leak; it applies to film bay films only, black-and-white films change in brightness only, and the imprint stays on top. You will not see it in live view; it appears in the saved JPEG, and JPEGs from RAW development follow the setting too. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.3New

Light leak can be assigned to ADJ

ADJ Mode Setting gains Light leak as a function to assign: off, edge or first roll. It needs GRLife Pro as well, is available only while a film is in use, and the strip skips it when no film is in use. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.38New

Stronger CineStill halation with its own strength, and textures for each RAW development

The red halation of the CS films is new: a blown-out light gets back the energy the clipped JPEG lost, so even small street lamps and traffic lights show a clear red inner ring and an orange outer glow, while the light itself stays white. MENU → GRLife Pro → Film texture has a fourth row, CineStill Halation: off, low, medium or high, kept for each film, medium by default (a dash for films that are not CS). In the playback menu’s RAW development, Fn on a film bay film adjusts grain, HDF diffusion, film softness, CS halation and the imprint for this development alone, leaving your shooting settings as they are. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

The texture page in RAW development

  • Playback → MENU → RAW development → Image Control: with the cursor on a film bay film the footer shows “Fn ⚙”; Fn opens the page, as for a stock effect’s fine-tuning.
  • Five rows: G grain, H HDF diffusion, B film softness, L CS halation, 印 imprint. “-” follows the film (the imprint: as set); 0–3 are off, low, medium, high.
  • ▲▼ pick a row, ◀▶ change it; OK keeps, MENU cancels. It holds for this development of this photo only.
  • The preview shows the film’s colour only; grain, diffusion, softness, halation and the imprint appear in the saved JPEG.
Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.7Improved

The live view mask is half-transparent with a white edge

With 16:9, 5:4, 7:6 and full-width 65:24, the area outside the frame is now half-transparent black with a white line along the frame, so you can see what lies beyond it. 4:3 and 1:1 keep the stock black bars. Photo sizes are unchanged. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.37New

The date stamp becomes Imprint: a caption beside the date, LUNA-style dot matrix and glow, and a fix for the first-shot freeze

In MENU → GRLife Pro, Date stamp is now Imprint, with two levels: OK on a row lists its choices, MENU goes back without a change. A caption can go to the left of the date, after the Canon Autoboy Luna: 12 presets (six in English, six in Japanese) or three of your own, typed on the camera’s English keyboard. Type can be seven-segment or a 5×7 dot matrix, LED yellow joins the colours, and the imprint has a soft glow that can be turned off. Also fixed: pressing the shutter soon after switching on could freeze the camera with a garbled screen until the battery was taken out (present since v1.33). Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

The Imprint menu

  • Date: off, 'YY MM DD, date + time, YYYY.MM.DD, DD.MM.YYYY, and new 'YY年M月D日.
  • Caption: off, 12 presets (such as ♥ I LOVE YOU ♥, THANK YOU !, ♥ お・め・で・と・う ♥, GRLIFE IS THE BEST!) and custom 1–3, typed on the camera’s English keyboard, up to 24 characters; <3 prints a ♥.
  • Film name: when on, printed above the date: the film’s name on a film bay position, the stock English name for other Image Controls.
  • Type: seven-segment or 5×7 dot matrix for the date, caption and film name together; a caption with ♥ or kana uses dots on its line.
  • Colour: orange, white, sepia, LED yellow.
  • Glow: on (default) or off; off prints the strokes alone.
  • Position: bottom right, bottom left, top right, and new bottom split: the date on the left, the caption on the right.
  • Size: small, medium, medium-large, large.

Fix

  • Pressing the shutter soon after switching on (before the film bay settings were read back) made the small shooting task check the films itself, which could freeze the camera with a garbled screen. The settings are now read back by the menu task only, and the shooting path uses less memory.
Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Rear dial sets ISOv1.1Fix

Snap Distance Priority: the rear dial sets the depth of field again

Fixed after user feedback: in 1.0 the rear dial set ISO in Snap Distance Priority too, so the stock depth of field control on the rear dial was lost. Now the rear dial sets the depth of field as stock in Snap Distance Priority, and still sets ISO directly in the other modes. Takes effect after you generate and flash a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Rear dial sets ISOv1.0New

Turn the rear dial to set ISO, no ISO key first

A new feature, added after user feedback: while shooting, turn the rear dial (the ring around the four-way controller) to change ISO directly, without pressing the ISO key first. Each click is one step (1/3 EV by default), from AUTO through 100, 125 … up to 102400; below the lowest ISO is AUTO, and turning up from AUTO goes back to the lowest ISO. It works in P, Av, Tv, M and B/T, and the front dial still sets aperture and shutter speed. In M the stock rear dial sets exposure compensation and in bulb timer the time; with this feature it sets ISO there too, and B and T, which have no AUTO, stop at the lowest ISO. The ISO key works as before, and in menus, playback and movie mode the rear dial is unchanged. Tick “Rear dial sets ISO” on the custom firmware page; it can be chosen on its own and has no switch in the camera. After flashing back to the official firmware the rear dial works as stock. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.36Improved

Distinct built-in films, hue-sector colour, and Kodachrome / Ektachrome

After user feedback that the five built-in films looked too much alike, Ektar 100, Gold 200, Pro 400H and Portra 400 were retuned: Ektar vivid, Gold warm and golden, Pro 400H light and slightly cyan, Portra soft; Vision3 250D is unchanged. Films can now adjust colours by hue sector (the camera splits colours into 12 hue sectors, each with its own correction), and 12 more films use it to come closer to their originals. New group Kodak slide film: Kodachrome and Ektachrome. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again and download the film library again; load the five built-in films into the film bay once more. Without the new firmware, films with hue sectors show without them.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.35Fix

Passing the ADJ Film tile no longer changes Image Control

With no film in use, moving the ADJ cursor across the Film tile set Image Control back to Standard, losing an effect such as Bleach Bypass. This is fixed: the Film tile’s first row now shows the Image Control effect in use, and passing over it changes nothing. When no ADJ setting is assigned to Film, Image Control in ADJ lists the films again after Custom2. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.2Fix

No more empty tiles on the ADJ strip

Film grain, HDF diffusion and film softness are hidden while no film is in use; when only settings 1–5 were used they left empty tiles, and now the other tiles close up to the right. HDR photo works on films only, so it is hidden with no film in use as well. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.34New

Each film remembers its own texture levels, and films change right in ADJ

After user feedback, the film grain, HDF diffusion and film softness levels are now kept per film: switch to another film and it comes back with the levels you last used on it. The user boxes U1–U3 no longer store the levels. While shooting, turn ADJ to the Film tile and press up or down to change films; press the ADJ lever to open the film bay for other films; press Fn to adjust this film’s nine image settings. A key hint shows at the bottom. In movie mode, choose films under Image Control in ADJ. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.1New

Film, grain, diffusion, softness and HDR can be assigned to ADJ

ADJ Mode Setting gains five functions to assign: film, film grain, HDF diffusion, film softness and HDR. The first four need GRLife Pro as well, HDR needs HDR photo. Grain, diffusion and softness are available only while a film is in use. In still mode, Image Control in ADJ no longer lists the films; choose them on the Film tile instead. On the first start after flashing, ADJ setting 4 is set to Film once; you can change it back in the menu. After a settings reset, setting 4 is back to the stock File Format; set it to Film again in ADJ Mode Setting. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
HDR photov1.1Fix

HDR photo: highlights no longer glare, and edges no longer step

The HDR gain map is improved after user feedback. Areas already blown out at capture (sky, lamps, bright screens) are no longer all lifted by the full 2.5 stops, only by the brightness they really have, so they no longer glare as a white patch on HDR screens. Highlight edges now fade smoothly: text, thin lines and the rims of bright areas no longer show square steps, and small glints still keep a little sparkle. HDR photo works from a single shot with a gain map that lets HDR screens show the highlights brighter; it is not HDR merged from several exposures. Takes effect after you generate and flash the firmware again.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.33Improved

Cleaner, gentler film grain, and softer colours in film softness again

Film grain is tuned after user feedback: films of ISO 400 and below no longer get the large grain clumps and films of ISO 800 and above keep half, so a whole photo no longer looks dirty on a phone. All three grain levels are one step gentler (the new High is the old Medium, the new Medium the old Low, and Low is lighter still). Film softness softens the colours again, so colour edges are as soft as before. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
HDR photov1.0New

HDR photos straight from the camera, on film slots

A new feature you can add on the custom firmware page (GRLife Pro is needed as well): photos taken on the film bay’s film slots get an HDR gain map with every JPEG (Ultra HDR / ISO 21496-1). On HDR screens such as iPhone, Mac, Android 14 or later and Chrome, highlights like lights, sky and screens look brighter and more detailed; ordinary screens and apps without HDR support show the photo as before. The gain map comes from the RAW highlights before development and brightens only the highlights, so the film’s colours and tones stay as they are; photos taken with the stock image controls are not changed. Switch it in Still Image Settings → D-Range Correction → HDR Photo; the row shows an HDR or OFF icon. Each JPEG grows by about 50–300 KB, and processing after each shot takes about 0.7 s longer. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Nine ADJ settingsv1.0New

Nine ADJ settings instead of five, and the grid style on ADJ

A new feature you add together with GRLife Pro on the custom firmware page: ADJ Mode Setting grows from 5 to 9 settings, on two menu pages (press down on Setting5 to reach Setting6). Press ADJ while shooting and the strip shows every assigned function at once, in setting order. Grid Style becomes an ADJ function, so you can switch between 3×3 and 4×4 right in ADJ, and with the golden ratio guides also the golden grid and the four golden spirals. With settings 6 to 9 all Off, ADJ is exactly the stock one; after flashing back to the stock firmware, settings 6 to 9 and a Grid Style on settings 1 to 5 show Off. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Golden ratio guidesv1.0New

Golden ratio grid and golden spirals in the camera’s grid styles

A new feature you can add on its own on the custom firmware page: besides 3×3 and 4×4, the camera’s grid style menu gets a golden ratio grid and a golden spiral, with its centre lower right, lower left, upper right or upper left. The guides are drawn inside the photo of the current aspect ratio and show while shooting only; photos are not changed, and More aspect ratios is not needed. After flashing back to the stock firmware the grid shows 3×3. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.32Improved

A Med-large date stamp size, and the right turn for upright shots

The date stamp Size row is now Small / Medium / Med-large / Large; the new Med-large sits between Medium and Large (the old Auto, which looked the same as Medium, becomes Med-large). Also fixed: turning the camera right after a shot could print the stamp the way the next shot was held; it now follows how the camera was held when you pressed the shutter. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.31New

Films in video mode too

The Image Control list in video mode now has your 5 film bay positions, so videos can have a film's colours too. Photos and videos each keep their own choice, and a position's settings are shared by both. Video gets the film's colours only, without grain or diffusion. Also fixed: switching the camera on in video mode no longer clears the film chosen for photos. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.30New

Switch the shutdown screen in the camera

The GRLife Pro menu has a new Shutdown screen page: make up to 9 photos into shutdown screens at grlife.app/gr/, put them on the SD card, pick one in the camera, and it shows when you switch off. The chosen picture is stored in the camera, so it keeps working without the card; to go back to the factory screen, choose Factory screen on the same page. A built-in screen, The last frame, is included. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.29Improved

Grain more like film, and half the wait for playback after a shot

Film grain now has the larger, uneven clumps of a negative scan, so a whole photo looks like film even on a phone; at 100 % the fine grain is as before. Film softness and grain are now more than twice as fast, so playback right after a shot comes up in about 2 s instead of over 4 s. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.28New

Films in in-camera RAW development

The Image Control list of RAW development in the playback menu now has your 5 film bay positions, so a RAW can be developed again with a film, using the settings of that position in the shooting menu. "As shot" brings back the film the photo was taken with, even after that position was loaded with another film. RAW-only shots now show their film name in playback too. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.27Improved

The date stamp turns upright on vertical shots

On vertical shots the date stamp now sits in the corner you chose of the photo as it is shown, reading upright: choose bottom right and a vertical photo has it at the bottom right on your computer or phone. Before, vertical shots had it printed sideways, along the landscape frame. The direction comes from the camera’s orientation sensor, the same one that rotates your photos, and shots with the camera upside down are turned upright too. Size and margins are the same as for landscape shots, which are unchanged. With the lens pointing straight up or down the camera may not tell portrait from landscape, and the stamp follows what the camera decides. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.26New

New film softness, and faster processing for playback

New Film softness gives your photos the gentle sharpness of a film scan: fine detail and edges soften a little, highlights roll off more naturally and the hard edge of digital sharpening goes away; with colour films the colours soften too, and faster films come out slightly softer. The amount was measured on real film scans (Frontier SP-3000) and comes in Low, Medium and High; it is off by default. With grain on, the softness comes first and the grain stays crisp on top, as in a scan. In the GRLife Pro menu, Grain and Diffusion are now on one new Film texture page with Film grain, HDF diffusion and Film softness: up and down to choose, left and right to change, OK to go back; the Date stamp page now works the same way. A B after the film’s name in Image Control shows the softness level. Processing before playback is also faster, so you see your photo sooner; Film softness adds about 0.2 s per photo. Note: if you go back to an older version with Film softness on, the grain, diffusion and date stamp settings return to their defaults once, and USER modes saved with Film softness need to be saved again. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.25Fix

USER modes (U1–U3) now keep the film, grain and diffusion

When you saved a USER mode, the film bay slot, grain and diffusion you had chosen were not saved with it: U1–U3 came up in Standard and did not get them back after a restart either. They are now saved with the USER mode and come back as soon as you turn to it, also when the camera starts with the dial on a USER mode; P and the other normal modes keep their own choice. Changes made in a USER mode without saving it again are undone when you turn away and back, as on the official firmware. After updating, save the USER modes that use the film bay once more. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.6Fix

16:9 in the ADJ menu no longer leaves a washed-out view with traces of the old picture

Switching to 16:9 in the ADJ quick menu (especially from 65:24 or 4:3) left the live view washed out, with the brightly coloured parts of the picture from just before the switch frozen on top until you left ADJ. The view is now normal after the switch. Photos were never affected. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.24Improved

More reliable live view refresh after a film change

After you change film or film bay slot in ADJ, every live view path of the camera now applies the new film on its own, so none keeps the previous film’s look. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.23Improved

Grain retuned to real film scans

Grain no longer uses the camera's own grain stage. It is now modelled on scans of real film: it clumps, sits mostly in the shadows and mid tones with almost none in the highlights or on pure black and white, and never repeats across the picture. Its size follows the film's speed (finest up to ISO 200, coarser at 400 and 800, coarsest from 1600); high-speed black and white films get crisper grain, and colour films a faint colour grain. Because the camera has to compute the film grain, with grain on each photo takes about 2–3 seconds longer to process, playing back photos gets a little slower, and after a burst the camera finishes processing before it switches off; if that is too slow for you, turn grain off. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.22Fix

The film you chose is back as soon as the camera starts

If you had chosen a film bay slot before switching off, live view showed Standard (STA) after power-on until you pressed a button or half-pressed the shutter, and photos taken in the meantime came out as Standard. Now live view shows your film as soon as it appears, and so does the first photo. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70Firmware needs rebuilding
Official firmwarev1.0New

GR IIIx 1.70 and GR III 2.20 supported

Ricoh’s new official firmware, GR IIIx 1.70 and GR III 2.20, can now be customised too, with every feature. The version of the official BIN you import decides the version you get, so download the official firmware that matches your camera. Cameras on 1.60 / 2.10 keep working as before and do not need to update. Note: once a camera is updated to 1.70 / 2.20, it cannot go back to the older version.

Confirmed on a GR IIIx 1.70
GRLife Prov1.21Fix

After switching films in ADJ, live view shows the new film’s colours at once

When you switched film bay slots in the ADJ quick menu, live view took a while to show the new film’s colours, and after a half-press of the shutter it still lagged a moment; switching between a film bay slot and Standard did the same. Live view now updates as soon as you switch. Your photos were always correct and are not affected. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.5New

16:9, 5:4 and 7:6 added, and the viewfinder mask is now black like the factory frames

The aspect ratio menu grows from four options to seven, and the area outside the frame in live view is now solid black. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

What’s new

  • New ratios: 7:6 (L 4672×4000) and 5:4 (L 5008×4000) crop only the sides, keeping the full height of 3:2; 16:9 (L 6000×3376) crops only top and bottom, keeping the full width.
  • Menu order: 3:2, 1:1, 7:6, 5:4, 4:3, 16:9, 65:24, the same in MENU, the ADJ quick menu and the aspect ratio shortcut, each with its icon.
  • Black mask: when shooting, the area outside the frame for 65:24, 16:9, 5:4 and 7:6 is now solid black instead of translucent, like the factory 4:3 and 1:1 bars.
  • Digital crop: with the 35/50 mm crop (50/71 mm on the GR IIIx), live view zooms in and the black bars stay put; 16:9 live view now follows the crop too (the factory 16:9 view uses the fixed movie frame).
  • Live preview in ADJ: choosing a ratio in the ADJ quick menu shows its frame in live view right away.
  • Flashing back: the new ratios are covered by the flash-back protection; after returning to the official firmware everything is 3:2.
  • Fix: 3:2 live view could occasionally take the view window of another ratio.

Please note

  • Switching between neighbouring ratios in the ADJ quick menu can occasionally leave a faint afterimage.
  • Photos in 5:4 and 7:6 record their aspect ratio as 4:3 (understood by the official firmware and other software), so in-camera RAW development outputs 4:3.
  • Resize in the playback menu treats 7:6 and 65:24 as 1:1, so the result may be distorted.
Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.20New

Five film bay slots right in the Image Control list, and the camera keeps its own film library

A bigger update: films move from the factory effects to five new slots in Image Control, and the camera keeps its own copy of the film library. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

What’s new

  • Film bay slots in Image Control: the Image Control lists in MENU and ADJ now have five film bay slots after Custom2, shown with the film’s name and icon.
  • Factory effects are back: Vivid, Retro, HDR Tone, Cross Processing and Bleach Bypass are no longer replaced by films and work as Ricoh made them; your films now live in the five new slots.
  • Works with recipes: recipes can go in every slot, including Cross Processing, which the films used to take.
  • Each slot has its own settings: nine settings per slot (saturation, hue, contrast and more), kept when the camera is off.
  • Default films: empty slots start with Ektar 100, Gold 200, Pro 400H, Portra 400 and Vision3 250D.
  • Film icons: live view and playback show the icon of the film you used.
  • CineStill halation: CS films add an orange-red glow around bright lights.
  • The camera keeps its own film library: when you start the camera with a card in, it stores a copy of the card’s film library inside the camera, so your films stay without the card, after swapping cards or formatting one. Resetting the settings or formatting the camera’s own storage does not remove it.
  • Version on the Info page: MENU → GRLife Pro → Info shows the GRLife Pro version on its second line.
  • Fixes: the slot no longer falls back to Standard after turning the mode dial, and shutter speed, aperture and ISO no longer go missing at start-up.

How to upgrade

  1. Generate a new firmware in the firmware store and install it as before.
  2. Make sure your film library FILMS.GRF is in the GRLIFE folder of the SD card, as before.
  3. Start the camera with the card in and wait a few seconds after live view appears. The first time, the camera copies the film library inside, which takes one or two seconds more.
  4. Open MENU → GRLife Pro → Info: the fourth line starts with IN once the library is stored in the camera.
  5. From then on you can format, remove or swap the SD card, and your films stay.
  6. To update the library later, put the new FILMS.GRF in the card’s GRLIFE folder and start the camera once with the card in: the camera’s copy is replaced automatically.
  7. The films you had loaded are kept and appear in the five new slots; the slots’ settings start from their defaults.

Good to know

  • For about two seconds after start-up the films are not ready yet; a shot from a film bay slot in that time may come out as Standard.
  • Film photos taken before the upgrade (v1.11 or earlier) show the factory effect’s icon in playback, such as Vivid; the photos themselves are unchanged.
  • The effect list of in-camera RAW development does not include the film bay slots yet.
  • Going back to the stock firmware is not affected; the film library stored in the camera (under 1 MB) stays inside the camera, and the stock firmware does not read it.
Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.4Fix

4:3 and 65:24 no longer stay in the camera settings when you flash back to the official firmware

If you powered off in 4:3 or 65:24, or saved a USER mode with one of them, the official firmware read an aspect value it does not know after flashing back: the menu showed it wrongly and shooting could hang. Now, when the camera saves its settings at power-off, these two ratios are stored as 3:2 and your real choice is kept separately; it comes back the next time the camera starts under GRLife, and after flashing back to the official firmware everything is 3:2. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware; power the camera off normally at least once before flashing back.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.11Fix

Swapping a film now also resets contrast in the Vivid slot

When you swapped the film in the slot that takes the Vivid position, every other setting went back to its factory value, but contrast kept whatever you had set before. Contrast now also goes back to its factory value of +1, whether or not that slot is the effect in use. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.10Fix

In-camera RAW development uses your loaded films when the camera starts in playback

When you start the camera by holding ▶, the films you loaded into the slots are now put back as soon as the first photo is shown, so the Image Control list in in-camera RAW development shows them and develops with their colours. Before, it could show and use the factory default films in this case. Takes effect after you generate and install a new firmware.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.9Improved

New film library format; firmware generated before 18 October needs regenerating

Film library files now use a new signature format. Firmware generated before 18 October cannot read newly downloaded film library files (it shows Not a GRLife film): generate and install a new firmware, then download the film library again. On the new firmware, an old film library file shows Old library: download again, and films loaded into slots go back to the firmware's default films until you load them again from the new download. The device code stays the same, and the five built-in films and the grain, soft glow and date stamp settings are not affected.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Recipesv1.3Fix

M Mode Dial Setting no longer shows recipe names

With a recipe in Custom1 or Custom2 (or in Standard, Negative Film, Positive Film or Cross Processing), other menus that use the same label showed the recipe name instead, such as the two options of M Mode Dial Setting. Recipe names now appear only in Image Control, and the other menus show the stock labels again. Generate and install a new firmware to get the fix.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.8Improved

Data-back figures for the date stamp, and a retuned soft glow

The date stamp's segment figures now look more like a film camera's data back: each stroke is straight on the outside and bevelled on the inside, with an edge that shades from red-orange to bright orange, wider spacing, and more room from the frame edges. The colours are now orange, white and sepia, with orange as the default; a camera set to yellow, red or black switches to orange. The soft glow now uses two layers of glow that scale with the image size, its weak, medium and strong levels are retuned, and dark scenes are left as they were.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.7Fix

Tiny date stamps keep their upright strokes

With the small date stamp on a small image size (XS, 1920 × 1280, for example), the figures were so small that their upright strokes vanished, leaving the film name as a few horizontal bars. Such tiny figures now get thicker strokes, so every letter reads; date stamps at the usual sizes are unchanged.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.6Improved

The date stamp can show the film name

The date stamp's Enable setting adds Date + film, which prints the loaded film's name above the date in segment-display capitals, in the same colour and slant; modes outside the film slots print the date alone. The figures are now the same size across aspect ratios (3:2, 4:3, 1:1, 65:24) and image sizes, and sit further in from the edges, as a film camera's data back puts them.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.5Improved

Changing film restores the original settings

Saturation, hue and the other settings adjusted on a slot used to carry over to the next film loaded there. Loading a film from the film library (Slot default film included) now puts the slot's nine settings back to their factory values. Restoring films at power-on and choosing the effect leave the settings alone, so manual adjustments stay until the next film change.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.3Fix

No more flicker in 65:24 with grid lines on

In 65:24 with grid lines on, the white frame lines and the grid lines flickered: all the time with the 71 mm crop, and at any crop after power-on until the first focus. The grid now stays put while the translucent mask is shown, so nothing flickers. Photos are not affected.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.4Improved

Change film screens: titles follow the page, with the ADJ hint on the library

The sub menu row is now Change film. The five slots are titled Films in use, and the film choice is titled Film library (ADJ left/right to switch groups); the first item there reads Slot default film.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.3Fix

Playback shows the film each photo was taken with

After another film was loaded into a slot, earlier photos used to show the film loaded now. Every photo taken in a film slot is now noted in a film log (GRLIFE/FLyymmdd.TXT on the card, or in the camera's own storage without a card), and playback shows the film from the log; photos without a line, including those taken before this fix, show the generic image style icon.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.2New

4:3 and 65:24 in the ADJ quick menu

With the aspect ratio on the ADJ quick menu, all four ratios can be chosen there, each with an icon; the shooting screen shows the 4:3 and 65:24 icons too. Choosing 65:24 in the ADJ menu shows the frame letterboxed; the translucent mask is back on the shooting screen.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.1Fix

The 65:24 mask also with crop on

With 65:24 and the 35 mm / 50 mm crop, the view used to be letterboxed without the mask, and it jumped on half-press. It now shows the whole frame with the translucent mask, as without the crop.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.2Improved

Renamed GRLife Pro; the date stamp comes with it

The former Film library feature is now GRLife Pro, and so is its item in the camera menu (formerly Film). The date stamp is no longer offered on its own; it uses the film-style seven-segment figures.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Date stamp (on its own)v1.2Retired

The date stamp on its own is retired

The date stamp now comes with GRLife Pro. Firmware already installed with the date stamp on its own keeps working.

Website change
GRLife Prov1.1Fix

Date stamp in 4:3 and 1:1

Photos in 4:3 or 1:1 used to come out without the date stamp.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
GRLife Prov1.0New

Load films from the SD card in the camera

Five slots take any film of the library at any time, with grain, diffusion and a film-style date stamp. The library file is downloaded per camera on the Film library page.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Film simulationv1.5Improved

The film list keeps the five built-in films and My LUTs

The other 27 films now come with the GRLife Pro film library and can be changed in the camera at any time.

Website change
Film simulationv1.4New

Grain and diffusion per film

Grain uses the camera's own grain stage, diffusion spreads the highlights; each has three levels and is written into the firmware with the film.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
Film simulationv1.3New

Seven Kodak-style films added

Six Kodak film styles and Vision3 500T were added.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
Film simulationv1.2New

20 more film styles

Hasselblad, Pentax, Leica M9, Fuji Superia and other styles, to choose five from together with the built-in films.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
Film simulationv1.1New

Any five films, and your own LUTs

Choose any five films from the list, or import a .cube file, which the page fits on your computer into a film the camera can render.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
Slider levelv1.0New

An electronic level with two slider tracks

Takes the place of electronic level design type 3; the dot turns green inside the ring at the middle of each track.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Date stamp (on its own)v1.1Improved

Orange by default; settings kept across power-off

The main menu shows whether it is on; 4:3 and 1:1 photos get the date stamp too.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Recipesv1.2Fix

45 community recipes could not be built

Building a firmware with any of them was refused.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
Recipesv1.1New

48 recipes, and parameters estimated from a LUT

The community recipes grew to 48; importing a LUT gives an estimate of the nine parameters.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
Film simulationv1.0New

Five films in place of five stock image styles

Ektar 100, Gold 200, Pro 400H, Portra 400, Vision3 250D.

Checked offline; not yet confirmed on a cameraFirmware needs rebuilding
More aspect ratiosv1.0New

4:3 and full-width 65:24

65:24 shows a translucent mask in the viewfinder; the stock 3:2 and 1:1 stay.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Date stamp (on its own)v1.0New

The shooting date on the photo

Colour, format, position and size are set in the camera menu.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding
Recipesv1.0New

Nine parameters preset on stock image styles

Six slots take a recipe, with its name and icon; the stock styles stay.

Confirmed on a GR IIIxFirmware needs rebuilding