I’ve brought the new Ricoh GRIV with me on my latest trip, alongside its predecessor and the Fuji X100VI, as I want to see how they compare in real life and whether the GRIV is worth upgrading to fro Ricoh GR owners. Below are my notes from the first quick session of shooting.
Autofocus
The AF speed is the first thing I noticed — it’s a big step up from the GR III. It feels more assured and snappier in a way you immediately feel.
Face AF though? Still not good enough to rely on most of the time. It’s usable, but you can’t trust it in the same way you can trust Fuji or Nikon.
Battery Life
Battery life seems improved.
Which is fortunate, because when I bought mine there weren’t any spare batteries in stock anywhere and I’m running on the single original for now. With the GR III the battery always felt like a limiting factor — I’ll continue to test if it still is with the GRIV.
Controls / Handling
There’s a slight change in the rear controls and I’m still adjusting. Not worse — just different. If you’re coming from a GR III your muscle memory will catch you out for the first few days.
Image Quality
I need to shoot more — especially in low light — but on first glance, image quality is very, very similar to the GR III.
And that’s not a criticism. The GR III files already had the exact character that made the GR line so loved. But if anyone is expecting the GR IV to suddenly leap to a different look… it doesn’t feel like that.
IBIS
IBIS is improved on paper (3-axis to 5-axis), but I haven’t had a chance to test specifically for that yet. That’s something I’ll be pushing more when I head out in Dumaguete for some night / street tests.
Startup Time
Quoted as being fractionally quicker — in practice it basically feels the same as the GR III. If there’s a difference, it’s marginal.
Early Summary
Better AF, slightly different controls, same GR look.
That’s where I’m at after a handful of frames.
Next step is to simply shoot a lot more with it.