It has been some time since my last article, and it behooves me to say a word or two about a recent camera release which hits close to home: namely, the most recent iteration of the Ricoh GR series. And, yes, there has been a further announcement, one which a clamorous niche of the photography community has been asking for – the Monochrome edition, releasing next year. That camera will have to wait for a future article.
For some perspective, I have long enjoyed using the Ricoh GR series (not as long as some, since I got my first in 2018, while the series has existed since the analog days of the 1990s), and have owned the GRII, GRIII and GRIIIx. I don’t currently own a GR, having shifted towards using Pentax SLRs, especially the excellent K-3 Mark III Monochrome.
I have been able to (very briefly) use a GRIV. While I wasn’t able to take enough photographs to really analyze the image quality, or any differences from the GRIII due to the updated lens or sensor, I got a good sense of the haptics and the camera performance. In many ways, the GRIV is a minor, iterative upgrade from the GRIII, but in many small ways which cumulatively add up to a significant update. I didn’t feel that the aforementioned lens and sensor themselves presented much of a difference: there’s still a mild vignette (though less obvious than the GRIII), and the files are still very crisp and sharp. But the much-derided autofocus has a more significant bump, as does the IBIS, going from 3-axis to 5-axis and at least a couple more stops effectiveness in my experience.
The remainder of the meaningful changes are to the camera’s controls/buttons. You can see it in plenty of product photos: the return of the vertical rocker for exposure compensation (it was on the GRII but was removed from the GRIII), as well as a change to twin dials for controlling the other main exposure settings. There’s also some functionality to the tiny lock button which sits next to the mode dial; when pressed, it now has a function similar to the Pentax “green button.” Look that up for more on that function.
I’m of two minds about the changes to the control scheme. On the one hand, the rocker is useful, and the rear dial, replacing the previous toggle, is faster to use. On the other hand, the additional control removes some of the already small real estate for resting one’s thumb to grip the camera. I’d be even more inclined to use a hot shoe thumb grip accessory with the GRIV than with the GRIII. Also, for some reason, the very positive feel of the front dial on the GRIII has changed to a loose feel on the GRIV, with less defined clicks. I’m sure I would get used to this with time, but subjectively I don’t like it as much as the feel of the GRIII front dial.
Perhaps now is the best time to change gears. I have to let you know that writing about minor changes between camera models isn’t very interesting to me. It might be interesting to you if you are strongly considering moving from a GRIII to a GRIV. Apropos of that, my final remark on this camera will be fiscal: the price. In the U.S., this camera costs $1,499. That’s coming from the original retail price of the GRIII in 2019 of $899. If that isn’t an indicator of the times, I don’t know what is. Bear in mind, this camera isn’t substantially “better” or higher-end than the GRIII was in 2019. It’s just where we are at now for the same caliber of camera in 2025.
This isn’t just a complaint about what has happened to the price of photography gear. It also directly affects the fundamental premise of the GR series of cameras, a sort of elevated snapshot style called by the Japanese “snap photography.” This style relies on carrying the camera with you often, and not merely for dedicated photography sessions. It’s a camera meant for this “everyday carry” scenario: it’s small and light, fitting into a pocket better than any other large APS-C-sensor camera. And yet, there’s the issue of durability and the potential for damaging the camera, now more serious than ever given the price.
I love the GR series. I even love the way they are constructed. They feel solid and are made with premium materials (for the most part). But they are slightly delicate, there’s just no way around it. The collapsing lens design contains a small, precise motor. The front lens element is protected by very delicate plastic petals when closed. The very concept of a collapsing lens introduces the problem of “inhaling” dust when the lens is extended. Last but not least, very small, premium cameras being carried about in the pockets of our clothing are much more likely to encounter mishaps than a larger and heavier camera which needs its own protective case, or constantly asserts its presence by its physicality. The “premium pocket camera” is a concept with some liabilities. It’s part of the equation which we come to accept when we decide that we need one. It’s just harder to accept that equation when the price variable is so high.
The question of photographic budget is subjective. If $1,499 doesn’t sound like a financial strain for a slightly delicate camera that you may need to repair or – God forbid – replace, then I congratulate you. The GRIV is a truly good camera, extremely fun to use, and capable of very high-quality photos. If you can’t begin to afford the camera, I can understand your situation, having been there before myself. If you’re in the middle of the two, though (and I think many if not most who may eventually read these words are with me in this category), then the price will give you pause. And I’m afraid that, if you get this camera, it will also curtail the method of usage in which this camera shines the most: the carry-everywhere, spur-of-the-moment freedom of turning non-photographic moments into photographic ones. If the pang of unaffordability hits when you pick this camera up; if it caused a strain to your wallet, or necessitated selling off a lot of other gear; if you’re not 100% convinced that today could be the day that you see an unforgettable photograph in the world around you… then you may leave the camera at home, or at least pack it around in a very protective (and harder to get into, in the spur-of-the-moment) case.
This is why I think price is actually the biggest “feature” change from the GRIII to GRIV, and it’s a negative change. Yes, I know the GRIII series has crept up in price a lot since release. Its last price hovered around $1099. The GRIV is still $400 more than that. It’s not simply a matter of personal finances. It’s a matter of the democratic moment: the GR’s ability to be anywhere, at any time, in anyone’s hands, to record a moment. It was always on the pricier side of compact cameras, I understand that. But it was never intended to be a lifestyle flex, or a burden to purchase. Now, not, I think, at the fault of Ricoh, but world macroeconomics, it is sitting in an uncomfortable place for some of us. And that’s a shame.
The Sprocket Docket 