The Ricoh GR IV is officially "in development", with Ricoh teasing a spec list for the new model alongside a couple of images. And there is a lot to love.
The lens is getting a redesign, but still keeping the popular 28mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture. There is 5-axis in-body image stabilization, up from 3-axis on the Ricoh GR III, and the internal storage (which more cameras really should have) has been bumped up to 53GB from 2GB.
Yet when it comes to video, the proposed spec sheet still tops out at a decidedly last-decade FullHD 1080p. Yes, in 2025, and we’re still talking a $1,000+ camera with a max 1,920 x 1,080 video – the same resolution as its predecessor managed 6 years ago.
Now, I will be the first to champion the GR lineage as a stills-first camera built for unobtrusive street photography rather than vlogging. But thanks to social media’s skew towards Reels, TikToks and YouTube Shorts, video is becoming the new norm – and I would struggle to choose a camera that has video specs I couldn’t call upon if needed for a few quick clips.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not looking to shoot a feature film on my GR IV. It doesn’t need log profiles, ProRes or a fan – just a clean 4K 30p option would give me enough options for cropping and enable my GR footage to seamlessly integrate with footage from my phone or other cameras.
If you look around, other niche photography-first compacts have embraced high-resolution video. Fujifilm’s X100VI, hardly a cine camera, records an impressive 6.2K 30p that can be downsampled for sharp 4K or simply reframed in post. It doesn’t have a rotating screen and there are no ‘vlog modes’, but top-spec video is there because it should be.
To be clear, Ricoh’s press release ends with the caveat that designs and specifications are subject to change, so I sincerely hope that something will change in the video department between now and release.
Until then, the GR IV is shaping up as the best pocket camera of the year… that I may still need to pair with my phone for video.
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