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RICOH GR Live View Shooting

The creator: @Tinker_ZhangOriginal post

Hot-shoe remote on a StickS3.

Full build guide

RICOH GR Live View Shooting
No photo in the source; GitHub repository card, served from HardwareLab.

By TinkerZhang (@Tinker_Zhang)

View original on GitHub View original on X View original on youcanjustbuildthings.openai.chatgpt.site
Posted
GitHub stars
45 (GitHub)
Likes on X
6 (X post)

What you need

Difficulty
Beginner · Our suggestion
License
GPL-3.0 (source)

Parts

  • M5Stack StickS3 (ESP32-S3, 8 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM) (board)
  • RICOH GR II, GR III/IIIx or GR IV, 3D-printed hot-shoe adapter (STL and STEP in the repo), USB-C data cable
AI model or service
Codex AI assistant (co-developed the firmware, per the README)

Overview

TinkerZhang (sky18Dragon on GitHub) turned an M5Stack StickS3 into a remote for RICOH GR cameras. The firmware makes it a remote shutter and wireless live-view screen, with printable hot-shoe adapters in the repo; the README says it was developed together with the Codex AI assistant. The GR IIIx, GR IV, GR IV HDF and GR II are hardware verified; the GR III is implemented but still needs a full regression test, and the GR III/IIIx HDF models are experimental. GPL-3.0.

How it works

GR III and GR IV cameras pair over Bluetooth LE, which also switches the camera's Wi-Fi on and off; the GR II has no Bluetooth, so it uses manually enabled Wi-Fi and the official GR Remote HTTP API. Hold the StickS3 upright for the BLE shutter with the camera's Wi-Fi off; turn it sideways and the IMU switches to live view, streaming the camera's MJPEG preview over Wi-Fi and decoding it on the ESP32-S3. One Button A press runs autofocus and the shot. Flash it from M5Burner (search “GR”) or build it with PlatformIO.

Hardware

  • M5Stack StickS3 (ESP32-S3, 8 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM)
  • RICOH GR II, GR III/IIIx or GR IV
  • 3D-printed hot-shoe adapter (STL and STEP in the repo)
  • USB-C data cable

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