A premium APS-C compact camera six years in the making, the new Ricoh GR IV Digital Camera is the latest in the GR series and the flagship follow-up to the cult classic GR III and GR IIIx cameras.
The IV bears a close resemblance to its predecessor, albeit slightly smaller and lighter, while completely renovating the camera’s innards to include a new sensor, a new processor, a new lens, and a new battery. This translates into faster, more accurate autofocus, sharper, higher resolution images, improved image stabilization, longer battery life, and a laundry list of user experience improvements that solidify the GR series’ position as a premium pocketable camera and the ultimate snap shooter.
The revamp revolves around speed, accuracy, and performance. The new sensor has a higher resolution, 25.74MP back-illuminated CMOS array that improves light-gathering and benefits shooting in the low-light scenes. Joining it is the GR ENGINE 7 processor, contributing to improved autofocus speed and accuracy with new algorithms, reducing camera start-up time to a series-best .6s, and boosting the ISO sensitivity a full stop to ISO 204800. Face-tracking and continuous focus tracking are now supported as well.
The redesigned lens build adds an element and a group to total seven elements in five groups, with aspherical, high-refractive index, and low-dispersion glass yielding even sharper, more detailed images. The lens’s maximum aperture remains at f/2.8 with a fixed focal length of 18.3mm, a 28mm full-frame equivalence. The construction retains the GR III’s built-in, two-stop neutral density filter. Minimum focus distance is the same for both normal and macro modes at 3.9” and 2.4”, respectively, while the new design does extend the far end of the macro range to 5.9”.
Importantly, the new lens build also improves protection against dust accumulation on the sensor—a bête noire for many GR III shooters.
Also improving low-light performance is the camera’s improved in-body image stabilization. The GR IV adds two axes for a full five-axis IBIS system that yields an extra two stops of shake reduction over the GR III. That’s six total stops of improved low-light performance, on top of the gains in low-light autofocus speed and ISO sensitivity.
Adding to the new hardware are software changes geared toward snap shooters. The mode dial includes a new Snap Priority mode (“Sn”) that allows the camera to automatically adjust the aperture with a user-defined depth-of-field. A focus-limiter function allows users to set the near and far-side priority for autofocus. The Program Shift function allows users to briefly shift into Aperture Priority mode or Shutter Priority mode by engaging either the front or rear mode dials.
Two new film simulations, Cinema Yellow and Cinema Green, will also be available.
The GR IV has undergone some body redesign as well. As mentioned earlier, the mode dial atop the camera adds the “Sn” Snap Priority mode. The hot shoe features a new design that remains backward compatible with P-TTL flashes. The rear interface sees a big redesign, with three major changes:
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A rear adjustment dial replaces the GR III’s horizontal toggle design
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Exposure compensation moves to a new vertical, plus-minus selector button in the top right corner of the camera, with the play button moving beneath it
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An ergonomic cross-key pad replaces the rotating quick control dial
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The front of the camera sees a bit of a design as well, with the ridged grip gaining a new shape. The body loses about 2mm in width and .8mm in height.
Another major change to the GR IV is the decision to put 53GB of internal storage in the body, up from 2GB in the GR III, and pivot external storage to a MicroSD card without losses in write speed.
GR III shooters will be pleased with the new, bigger DB-120 battery, which increases the number of shots per charge by approximately 25% to roughly 250. Another new, enticing, and battery-saving feature is automatic rear LCD brightness adjustment based on the external lighting environment.
The new GR IV weighs only 9.2 oz including battery and media, a slight, .2 oz bump from the GR III but a significant improvement in efficiency considering the serious hardware upgrades and bigger battery.
Ricoh recently released the new GR World app in preparation for the release of the GR IV, which sees upgraded 2.4/5 GHz dual-band Wi-Fi. The new app allows remote shooting and image playback, simplifies camera-to-phone workflow for social media sharing, and even allows users to name their camera.
Accompanying the GR IV are several optional accessories, including a GF-2 mini-flash with auto and manual modes, a lens strap, and a lens adapter for the current 21mm ultra wide-angle conversion lens.
Lastly, video in the new camera sees no change from the GR III, remaining 1080p at 60p. Maligned in its predecessor, video in GR IV is at best a last-ditch option and mostly an afterthought, as all the improvements remain geared towards the series’ proven lane as the ultimate snap shooter.
For more information about the new camera, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product page for the Ricoh GR IV.
