6 Months with Ricoh GR IV
I got my Ricoh GR IV in January 2026 and I’ve been using it quite extensively since then. I’ve already formed an opinion about this little miracle and I wanted to share it with you.
Small & Mighty
GR IV is a fantastic little camera. I’ve never had a digital point-and-shoot before, and after some time with it I was surprised by how versatile it is. For me, its two best qualities are compactness (size × weight) and speed (startup time × write into memory time).
I developed a useful habit of always carrying a camera with me, and with GR IV, I sometimes forget if it’s still in my backpack or not because of how small and lightweight it is. It is so light that I pat the bag like a nervous parent, checking it hasn’t somehow climbed out. I can carry it around my neck all day long without even feeling it, not to mention that it practically adds nothing to what I’m already carrying (which usually isn’t heavy anyway, unlike my monthly expenses).
When you need to use GR IV, you press the power button and it’s ready to shoot in the blink of an eye. It has an amazingly fast startup time, faster than any camera I’ve ever seen in my life. By the time some other camera has finished its dignified little boot-up ceremony, the GR IV has already taken the photo, judged your composition, and lost interest. That makes it ready in any condition and particularly good for street photography.
The build quality is very good, too. It definitely has weak spots, such as the retractable lens that is the most fragile part physically and a magnet for dust, but the feeling it gives is of a sturdy, hefty little brick.
Mostly Hits
The pictures the GR IV produces sometimes exceed my expectations and sometimes disappoint me (in low light, for example, it is about as much use as a brick with the lens cap on). Luckily, it’s mostly the first case. Honestly, I cannot expect a lot from such a tiny thing, but the APS-C sensor in it is capable of fantastic shots. Especially in black & white.
The first thing I wish I had is an “x” version of the camera, like the GR IIIx. I recently realized that I’m not a big fan of short focal lengths. Hand me anything wider than 35mm and I freeze, like someone has asked me to parallel park while they watch. I lose control over the frame, and I don’t know how to compose when everything is in it at once. I discovered that my comfortable working focal length starts somewhere around 50mm. So, the imaginary IVx version of GR, with a focal length of at least 40mm in full-frame terms, would work so much better for me.
The second thing I wish I had is a monochrome version of that IVx model. I think Ricoh GR IV somehow made me love black & white images. It has quietly turned me into the sort of person who says “I mostly shoot black & white now”, and for that I can only apologize. I always shoot in RAW and then edit my pictures, but I’ve found a good black & white color profile for GR IV and set it on the dial for quick access, so that when I shoot I can already preview what the black & white version will look like. It is very handy, not only for previewing the result, but also because when composing the frame I can focus (no pun intended) on light and shadow instead of being distracted by colors. I’ve seen pictures the GR IV Monochrome makes, and it’s obviously even more impressive than my GR IV with a black & white color profile.
Color Profiles
Sharing the two color profiles I use every day with my GR IV with you:
- Colored
Film simulation: Negative Film · Saturation: +3 · Hue: -1 · High/low key: 0 · Contrast: +2 · Contrast (highlights): -2 · Contrast (shadows): -4 · Sharpness: 0 · Shading: 0 · Clarity: -1 · Highlight correction: on · Shadow correction: off · Noise reduction: off · White balance: auto · WB shift: G:5 A:12 - Black & White
Film simulation: Monotone · High/low key: -1 · Contrast: +2 · Contrast (highlights): -4 · Contrast (shadows): -4 · Sharpness: +1 · Toning: off · Filter: 3 (red) · Shading: 0 · Clarity: 0 · Grain: 1 · Highlight correction: auto · Shadow correction: medium · Noise reduction: off
User Interfæces
My real complaint about Ricoh GR is not about its hardware at all. I can deal with 28mm and a color sensor. What is making me absolutely lose my mind is the GR IV’s user interface. It’s true that I’ve never seen better startup times in any camera than the GR IV, but it’s also true that I’ve never seen a worse user interface than the GR IV’s. It’s horrendous, awful, unacceptable.
Before I explain what I mean, I should say that I come from using Leica SL3, my dream camera. One of the reasons I wanted the SL3 is the user experience of shooting with it. Everything about the SL3 is designed to make you love taking pictures with it, including its user interface. The menus make sense, they’re arranged conveniently, and there are tons of little details that make navigating settings and using the camera a pleasure. You can immediately see how much effort and thought have been put into the SL3’s UI. After one of the recent firmware updates, Leica Q3 owners can enjoy this great user experience, too. I’ve heard that there is only one camera system that can compete with Leica’s interfaces, Hasselblad, but I’ve never tried it myself. It’s made for the sort of person who doesn’t turn the price tag over, and unfortunately I’m not that person. Damn it, even Sigma fp’s UI feels better than GR IV’s! But we’re talking about Ricoh here, so let’s get back to it.
Managing color profiles in the GR IV is a nightmare. Profile parameters are cryptic. Button mapping is unintuitive. The UI asks you for too many unnecessary confirmations; changing a setting feels like an interrogation, as if the camera suspects I don’t really want a different profile and would like me to sit with that. Sections are named in a way that gives no hint of what they do unless you read the manual. Saving a color profile and assigning it to the quick-access dial meant watching a stranger on YouTube teach me how to use a camera I paid for, which is roughly the photography equivalent of needing a manual to open a door. The interface is slow in response and visually ugly. I hate it so much that at some point I just gave up trying any new color profiles other than the two I already use the most.
The third and most important wish of mine for Ricoh GR would be a total rework of its user interface. It can be done well if Ricoh does some benchmarking, looking at good camera interfaces and copying what others have already done. Ricoh should listen better to their audience to learn what is wrong with GR’s UI. Ricoh could even afford to hire a user-experience designer for once if they can’t do it themselves. Don’t get me wrong: I wish Ricoh all the best and hope they will fix this and make their cameras even better than they already are. But I firmly believe that the UI is the camera’s weakest point.
Accessories
Even before the camera was delivered to me, I researched thouroughly what accessories people use and recommend. I’ve tried some of them made specifically for GR IV and here is my verdicts.
- Squarehood Thumbgrip
Absolutely masterfully crafted brass grip for your thumb that attaches to the hot shoe and makes holding the camera a little bit more secure. ★★★★★ - Squarehood v2 for GR IV
Very well-made protection for the lens that prevents dust getting onto the glass and, as a bonus, adds the “mist” effect. It never leaves my camera. My only complaint is that it attracts dust by itself quite a lot. ★★★★☆ - Apple Crossbody Strap
This strap looks very nice and is very well-made, but it “losens” with every movement and over time becomes longer (you may think that GR IV is too heavy for it but it happens with iPhone Pro Max, too; what a failure). I ended up using it as a decoration for the insides of my drawers. ★☆☆☆☆ - Peak Design Form Strap
Not long after I got disappointed in Apple’s strap, Peak Design released this leather “neck”-sized strap which is exactly what I always wanted. I don’t like long straps because cameras dangle agains my belly, but when they hang against my chest, it’s comfortable enough. Thinking about getting a second one for my Sigma fp L. ★★★★★ - SmallRig Leather Case
It’s okay-ish but I just didn’t like it, so not using it anymore. ★★☆☆☆ - Random glass screen protector
It does its job, looks and feels good, what else can I say? ★★★★★
A Good Note
Despite my rants about GR’s user interface, I still love the camera and I can easily recommend it to anyone who wants a point-and-shoot that they can carry in their pocket every day and enjoy using. It will probably keep being a permanent resident in my own pocket as well. Ah, yes: if you would like to see what kind of pictures I take with GR IV, you can find them on this website of course, but it’s easier on my Glass profile, where each photo has camera and lens metadata.
If you would like to share impressions and experience with your GR, you are welcome in my Telegram channel. I will be waiting for firmware updates and maybe even new models that Ricoh may release in the future. You can wait alongside me if you subscribe to my Journal.