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The Ricoh GR IV Monochrome appears to have a white light ring around the power button, rather than the green one found on standard GR IV – that’s attention to detail. Image: Ricoh |
Ricoh has announced that it’s developing two new variants of its GR IV photographer’s compact: a monochrome edition that’s a first for the series and a version that swaps the original’s built-in ND filter for a highlight diffusion filter (HDF).
The two editions will be based on the original GR IV; that means they’ll be in the same pocketable body with great controls and use a 18.3mm F2.8 (28mm, F4 equiv) lens*. The HDF version will use the same 26MP APS-C sensor with a bayer color filter, and the monochrome one has the same resolution and size, but drops the color filter.
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From the front, the GR IV HDF is indistinguishable from the original GR IV and the Monochrome. |
We enjoyed the original GR IV, which launched last month, so it’s exciting to see Ricoh following it up so quickly. Neither version is especially surprising – Ricoh hinted at a monochrome GR when we interviewed its executives at CP+ last year, and there was an HDF model of the GR III – but both are interesting additions. There are a lot of fans of the soft, diffuse look that an HDF filter provides, and monochrome sensors have typically come with a 1EV noise improvement compared to their color counterparts.
Ricoh says the monochrome GR IV will have “Image Control options specialized for black and white photography,” likely building on the already popular black and white modes on the original GR IV.
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Sadly the GR mono doesn’t share the beautiful ‘Monochrome’ lettering with from the Pentax K-3 III, Ricoh’s first mono camera. |
The company didn’t provide exact release dates for either model, and says pricing is to be determined. However, its press releases say we can expect the HDF model in “winter 2025 or later,” with the Monochrome one coming in “spring 2026.”
* Those hoping for an ‘x’ variant with a 40mm equiv. lens will have to keep waiting, it seems.
Ricoh GR IV Monochrome press release
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