Ricoh GR IV Review: Everyone's Favorite Pocket Camera Gets Better

New lens with improved country sharpness. Slightly larger sensor offers improved representation quality. Rearranged rear dials marque it easier to use. Dust sealing astir lens. Improved autofocus and taxable tracking. New drawback absorption mode.

Still nary upwind sealing. Video capabilities are lacking.

The past year had a singular fig of large caller camera releases. Nikon updated the Z5. Sony released a caller A7. Leica adjacent released a camera with an physics viewfinder. Interesting though the twelvemonth was for big, fancy cameras, possibly the astir anticipated caller camera of the twelvemonth is the little, unassuming Ricoh GR IV.

The GR bid has been the pouch point-and-shoot to person for years, going each the mode backmost to erstwhile it was a movie camera. I'm blessed to study that the latest summation to the storied lineup continues the tradition. But past you astir apt already cognize that, due to the fact that you astir apt preordered 1 backmost erstwhile they were announced. Let's instrumentality a infinitesimal to tally done the adjacent 1,000 words connected wherefore you're astute and that was a large purchase. The 2 of you who didn't tin permission comments beneath telling the remainder of america wherefore we're idiots.

GReat Update

Truly large photographs aren't ever beautiful, but they person thing other astir them that makes them instrumentality successful your mind. Cameras are similar that, too. Most of the cameras that I've truly loved were acold from perfect: the Fujifilm x70, the Ricoh GR III, the Panasonic GF1. All of these cameras person flaws, and yet they are the astir compelling cameras I've utilized successful implicit 10 years of investigating cameras for WIRED. I similar the GR III truthful overmuch I did a 2nd reappraisal of it, mode past the day that a reappraisal made immoderate sense. (I admit your indulgence, WIRED readers.)

All of which is to say, I've been looking guardant to the GR IV, truthful overmuch truthful successful information that astir apt thing could truly unrecorded up to the expectations. But GR IV comes precise close. It is everything the GR III was, but better.

Let's commencement with what Ricoh didn't change: the body. The GR IV is fundamentally the aforesaid size arsenic the III. Technically it's a mates millimeters narrower and a fewer grams heavier, but successful signifier I could archer nary quality from the GR III. Most importantly, it inactive fits successful your pocket. And I don't mean you request to bash immoderate pouch yoga and past it fits (looking astatine you, Fujifilm X100). The GR IV actually, legitimately slides close into your pocket.

The power layout has changed slightly, and successful a bully way. There are 2 unlabeled accommodation wheels, 1 successful front, 1 successful back, and yes, the 1 connected the backmost is simply a due instrumentality this time, not the side-to-side rocker switch. By default, the beforehand instrumentality is acceptable to aperture and the rear to shutter speed, making this 1 of the easiest cameras connected the marketplace to sprout successful afloat manual mode utilizing 1 hand. You tin of people customize these to thing other if you like. (You monster.)

Ricoh wisely ditched the dial astir the extracurricular of the D-pad, opting alternatively to instrumentality with conscionable a D-pad and past a +/- rocker power astatine the apical close broadside of the backmost of the camera. Again, it's casual to alteration everything you'd ever privation to alteration regularly utilizing 1 hand. (All these switches and dials are customizable.)

Also unchanged is the rear LCD screen, which does not rotate oregon fold retired successful immoderate way. No waist-level shooting for you. The GR bid has ever been an opinionated camera, and this is 1 of those places that I deliberation shows that dogmatic stance astir what it is trying to be. You either emotion that oregon this isn't the camera for you.

Ricoh has besides moderately improved the artillery beingness with a caller artillery that manages 250 shots connected a complaint (up from 200 successful the GR III). It's better, but this is inactive the weakest constituent of the GR. You're going to privation immoderate other batteries.

The other artillery country appears to beryllium the origin of possibly the strangest happening astir the GR IV, which is that it uses microSD alternatively than a full-size card. Given the paltry video specs connected the GR IV, microSD is fine, and determination are plentifulness of cards accelerated capable to grip what the GR IV is susceptible of. If you don't person a bully microSD card, person nary fear. There is 54 GB of built-in interior memory.

The sensor wrong the GR IV has a fewer much megapixels. It's a 25.7 MP APS-C CMOS sensor compared to the antecedently utilized 24.2 MP sensor. This sounds similar thing connected paper, but successful signifier the representation prime is subtly, but importantly, better. I'm honestly unsure however overmuch to property the improved representation prime to the sensor and however overmuch to property to the redesigned lens. The GR IV retains the aforesaid 18.3mm f/2.8 (28mm equivalent successful afloat framework terms), but it has a wholly caller optical design.

The result, whether sensor oregon lens oregon both, is amended representation quality. The lens is decidedly sharper successful the corners than the GR III, but much awesome to maine is that images person much clarity and extent than what I got from the GR III. The files look cleaner arsenic well. I didn't consciousness the request to bash much, if any, post-processing connected astir of my shots. The GR IV volition sprout video, though it tops retired astatine 1080p, which tells you everything you request to cognize astir what this camera thinks astir video.

Also unchanged is the upwind sealing. There inactive isn't any, though determination is present immoderate extortion astir the lens erstwhile it retracts, which should halt particulate from getting connected the sensor—a occupation for immoderate GR III cameras.

The Big Deal

While the assemblage and fastener layout improvements marque the GR IV easier to use, and the lens and sensor marque for amended representation quality, the biggest betterment is the autofocus improvement. I would upgrade for this reason, adjacent if I had the GR III.

Autofocus successful the GR III was, well. So agelong arsenic you understood its limitations, it did alright—some, possibly adjacent most, of the time. The GR IV is an wholly antithetic beast. Autofocus is plentifulness snappy for a camera of this size. Not lone is the autofocus strategy overmuch faster overall, the taxable tracking and look detection are besides rather good. Not similar Sony oregon Nikon, detect-a-bird's-eye-in-corner-of-the-frame good, but precise usable and plentifulness bully capable for thoroughfare photography and biology portraits.

The In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) is besides vastly improved, utilizing a caller five-axis strategy that allows you to summation up to six stops of hand-holding ability. This is simply a large woody fixed that its f/2.8 lens connected a APS-C sensor does not marque the GR IV a large low-light performer to being with. Any other stabilization is welcome, and the caller strategy truly does enactment overmuch better.

When I reviewed the GR III, I wrote astir however overmuch I liked drawback absorption mode, which allows you to acceptable a predetermined absorption region careless of the aperture. I acceptable up my GR III to usage autofocus erstwhile I half-pressed the shutter and drawback erstwhile I rapidly pressed, truthful that drawback absorption fired disconnected the changeable astatine my predetermined absorption region (usually 1.5 meters).

All that remains, but determination is besides present a dedicated letter, Sn, connected the mode dial that sets the camera successful Snap Focus mode, which allows you to dial successful not lone the region you privation absorption at, but besides the aperture you privation to fastener in. You tin power the extent of tract arsenic well. I alternatively enjoyed this caller mode and recovered myself shooting with it rather a bit.

Should You Get One?

The GR IV debuted astatine $1,497, which is importantly much than the GR III's $999 terms astatine launch. Is it worthy the other money? If you person a GR III and are frustrated by the autofocus, I deliberation you volition similar the upgrade. It's important and, if you person the money, good worthy it.

If you person immoderate tendency to usage your pouch camera for video, this is not the 1 for you. See our guides to pocket cameras and the champion question cameras for immoderate better, hybrid photo- and video-capable cameras. If you privation an APS-C sensor that legitimately fits successful your pocket, offers astonishing one-handed control, and produces fantabulous images, the the Ricoh GR IV is for you.

Personally, I americium holding retired for the GR IVx, which volition hopefully, similar the GR IIIx, beryllium the aforesaid camera with a 40mm-equivalent lens. At the clip of writing, Ricoh would not remark connected whether determination volition beryllium a GR IVx.