Ricoh unveils GR IV design details, including a thinner body and new movie mode filters

After confirming the launch of the GR IV development project in May of this year, Ricoh finally unveiled more design details and key hardware upgrades today (August 5st). The new camera maintains the GR series' core philosophy of "lightweight, intuitive, and ready to capture," while further enhancing shooting performance through a new sensor, enhanced electronics, and the addition of a "Movie Mode" filter.

With the launch of GR IV, the original GR III series will also be discontinued, but the GR IIIx series with a 40mm focal length design will continue to be available, and the GR IV HDF, which focuses on special highlight filters, is expected to be launched this winter.

The body is thinner, the grip is improved, and the operation returns to pure

The GR IV is similar in appearance to the GR III, still building on the styling of the film-era GR cameras. However, the body is thinner and narrower, with a deeper grip for a more comfortable grip, while maintaining the sturdiness and lightness of the magnesium alloy frame. The rear controls have also been redesigned, returning to the intuitive layout of the GR and GR II eras. The original integrated directional pad has been replaced with a scroll wheel that doubles as a rear dial, allowing users to quickly adjust exposure settings.

The GR IV also adds a new P Ex mode, allowing users to switch between aperture and shutter priority settings using the front and rear dials while in P mode. The fixed button now doubles as a "green button," allowing users to quickly return to automatic mode. Battery life is 25% longer than the GR III, and the camera features a micro SD card slot with 53GB of built-in storage. It also features dual-band Wi-Fi and supports the GR WORLD app for instant image sharing and remote control.

New sensor, processor, and movie mode filter

In terms of core specifications, the GR IV is equipped with a 2574 million pixel APS-C sensor and the new GR Engine 7 image processor, supporting a maximum sensitivity range of ISO 204800. It also has an anti-static coating design to reduce dust accumulation on the sensor. The boot speed is shortened to 0.6 seconds, and the dark focus performance is also significantly improved.

A new "Movie Mode" has been added to the filter section, allowing users to choose a yellowish or greenish tonal style, and adjust the saturation, brightness, contrast and grain effects. It also provides additional "intensity" and "grain size" parameters to make the image presentation closer to the texture of film.

Optical system upgrade and enhanced anti-shake

The GR IV uses a newly designed 18.3mm F2.8 lens (equivalent to 28mm) composed of three aspherical lens elements and high-refractive-low-dispersion glass elements. The focusing speed and standard/macro switching speed are comprehensively improved, and two-level focus range limits are provided for near and far, making it convenient to quickly capture specific subjects.

The body's image stabilization has also been upgraded from 3 axes in the previous generation to 5 axes, with a maximum shutter compensation of 6 levels, and a built-in two-stop ND filter to provide more stable image quality for handheld shooting.

Overall, the GR IV not only returns to pure operation in terms of appearance design, but also has a comprehensive upgrade of its internal hardware and imaging system. Coupled with the newly added movie mode filter, it is a major evolution created to meet the needs of street photographers and everyday creators.

The launch date and price of GR IV in Taiwan have not yet been announced.

GR IV vs. GR III Specifications Comparison: