It’s been a long time coming. The Ricoh GR III has been a smash hit among photographers who value a compact, discreet point-and-shoot camera since its release in 2019. I couldn’t accuse it of being long in the tooth, although it was getting close.

All that’s forgotten now that Ricoh has pulled the wraps off its successor, the GR IV. As you’d expect for a digital camera six years newer, it carries a few improvements. Is it worth replacing your GR III? I’m not sure. But if you don’t own a GR III, it’s absolutely a quality camera to add to your arsenal, especially if you’re into travel or street photography.

You can pre-order yours at B&H Photo Video and Adorama, with an estimated ship date of September 12.

modest improvements

On the sensor front, the improvement isn’t that huge. The GR IV gains a 25.4MP APS-C sensor, a very modest improvement over the GR III’s 24.2MP APS-C sensor. The ISO sensitivity leaps from ISO 102,400 to ISO 204,800, though.

The lens remains a fixed 18.3mm f/2.8 model, but Ricoh beefed up the image stabilization from a 3-axis system to a 5-axis system. Internal storage improves massively from 2GB in the GR III to 53GB in the GR IV.

If you forget your memory card (microSD in the GR IV, now), you’ll still be able to carry on snapping pictures. For a little while, at least.

One of my professional photographer buddies in New York has said the Ricoh GR III is a frequent sight in Brooklyn among street photographers. They prize it for being very low-key. It doesn’t scream “Hey, I’m taking a picture of you!” nearly as loudly as hoisting a DSLR up to eye level.

Being light and easy to whip out at a moment’s notice means the GR IV, like the GR III, is easy to tuck away into a pocket for impromptu photo sessions without it being a burden to take along. And that means there’s less of a chance you’ll miss that magic shot when the skies part, the planets line up, and it presents itself.