Ricoh has confirmed that it is working on the next generation of its GR premium compact camera. The Ricoh GR IV is scheduled for launch later this year, and will boast a new lens and a new fixed wideangle lens, a new 26-megapixel APS-C sensor, and a new imaging engine.
The changes to the specification of the existing GR III are designed "to further upgrade image quality" we are told in the development announcement released on May 22.
The successor to the Ricoh GR III will also provide "more advanced communications functions and is compatible with a new application designed for smart devices to improve operability and functionality". The new GR World app will be released 'soon' and will offer support for all GR models from the GR II onwards.
At the same time, Ricoh tells us that it is working on a HDF version of the Highlight Diffusion Filter that was released with the Ricoh GR III HDF. This will be released in "after winter 2025", which we interpret as meaning in early 2026.
The new GR IV will go on public display a Ricoh's GR SPACE stores in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai from May 31, 2025.
Production of the current GR III will end in July, with the replacement model going on sale in the following quarter – with the company acknowledging that it has had difficulty procuring parts and components for the current version. Production of the GR IIIx, with its longer lens, will continue.
The Ricoh GR range of cameras has an impressive heritage, dating back to the first GR1 which was launched almost 30 years ago in 1996. Back then, the camera shot 35mm film – but the discrete high-quality camera with a fixed non-zoom wide-angle lens has become a favourite amongst serious photographers who wanted a camera they could keep in their coat pocket for occasions they didn't want to carry a bulkier system camera. The first digital version of the camera, the Ricoh GR Digital, was released in 2005 – with the current GR III first going on sale in 2018.
