- Ricoh confirms that Gr IV is in development and the launch of ‘Autumn 2025’
- A variation with diffusion filter will be followed in ‘Winter 2025’
- Compacts will pack a new design sensor and processor
Ricoh has announced the development of Ricoh Gr IV, the next generation of one of the best compact cameras. As a GR IIIX user for a long time, I couldn’t be more excited about what is in the store.
We have been speculating for months if not years on when and if a GR IV would be revealed. Along the way, the leaks have given us false hopes, since more Iterations of the GR III have been launched, such as the GR III HDF.
Now, finally, we know (approximately) when the GR IV will be launched: a press release says that we can wait for the GR IV in “Autumn 2025”, while a version of Dissemination Filter of Niche highlighted (HDF) will continue in “Winter 2025”. There is still no word about an iteration ‘x’.
In the preparation of these releases, the GR III will be suspended, although the GR IIIX production will continue for now.
I have already written about the updates that I hope to see in the Ricoh Gr IV, and now the press release has caused some things that we can expect.
How big will the Ricoh Gr IV be update?
Ricoh says that the “GR IV inherits the basic concept of the GR series, while incorporating totally new components, including a new design lens, a new image sensor and a new image of images, to further update the image quality.
“It also presents more advanced communications functions and is compatible with a new application designed for smart devices to improve operability and functionality.”
These improvements could make the GR IV, in Ricoh’s words, “the best snapshot camera in the history of the GR series”; But as a real GR IIIX user, there are some updates less worthy of headlines that I would also like to see.
The image quality of the GR III series is already stellar, but I hope we see some design improvements, particularly a better construction quality, a built -in flash and, provided that the truly compact dimensions remain, an inclined LCD screen.
As for performance, the GR IV needs a better automatic approach, and the mention of a new processor and sensor hopes that this is the case.
Ricoh says that GR IV prototypes will be exhibited in the Space GR exhibition rooms in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai from May 31. That should give us more clues about any design change, including the new lens.
The Ricoh Gr IV is a camera that I have been waiting for a long time, and with the particularly popular premium compact at this time it cannot arrive sufficiently, and is scheduled to be one of the most popular cameras of 2025.
