According to this post on flickr, the new Ricoh GR Digital IV will be announced on September 15th, 2011. The new camera will have the same sensor and some minor tweaks:
"Body looks V similar, slightly lowered hot shoe, more colors in screen (up to 1.25million from current 800 or so), an extra autofocus sensor on front of body, slightly larger thumb area. Same sensor, new processing engine."
The current Ricoh GR Digital III ($419) model was announced back in July, 2009.
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Please note HamishT’s comments are unverified, as are his credentials.
However, the new model, date and specs are plausible. Unfortunately.
That’s what makes it a rumor
>ZDP-189
‘Please note HamishT’s comments are unverified, as are his credentials’
That makes two of you then. Meeow!
Mine, mine, mine
Yes, but on 1 oktober they will start the Ricoh-Pentax thing.. So the name on the camera is not sure yet.
Guess they must have done some market research, but I just don’t understand the point with the GR-series anymore.
The Canon S90/95 stole the GRD’s thunder in 2009 (compact 1/1.7″ with raw, ‘fast’ lens, and decent manual controls) though the GRD line still was a bit slimmer, had a better chassis (eg, with a grip) and also still the best controls in the compact camera world, plus it had a small ecosystem with wide-angle converters and external optical viewfinders.
And the GRD line had a long lead time starting with the GRD I in 2005 and the GRD II in 2007, long before the S90 in 2009. Not to speak of the film GR cameras. And some people still prefer a prime even if it adds only small optical quality advantages (and no speed advantages) and only small size advantages (and compared with a LX-3, LX-5, XZ-1 or TL500, the size advantage is still pretty obvious).
There was a S80 when the first digital GR was launched and S80 beat it on IQ (no RAW though). What I liked about the GR was Ricoh’s build quality, handling and interface. Ricoh’s processing wasn’t good enough though and offset any aperture or sharpness advantage of the fixed focal length lens.
Today we have the S95, also with wery good handling and fast aperture at 28mm. And if you can accept a slightly larger camera then there are lots of models to choose from. IMO the X100 is much closer to the original analog GR and what GR digitial could and should have been.
“the S80 beat it on IQ (no RAW though)”, which is almost an oxymoron. And it was significantly thicker: S80: 39 mm vs. GR D: 25 mm
1/1.7″ + slim + raw + ‘fast-ish’ lens + good manual controls: that was the niche the GR series occupied. The S90 was the first to come close to it (raw, slim, controls). Of course there was the LX-3 before (and Ricoh’s take on that with the GX-100/200), but they were just thick enough to not fit into a coat pocket without a significant bulge.
Sure, the Fuji X100 is in a sense a spiritual successor (‘large-ish’ sensor = IQ, fast lens, good controls, relatively compact because limited to a prime). But there is a space for something smaller but as I said before, the S90/95 is getting close.
If I had no inhibitions about spending on cameras, I might own an iPhone 4 + GR D III + LX-5/XZ-1 + GF3 w/14 mm + X100 + NEX7+24 mm + D700. But even then I would martyr my brain which to take with me on any given day. As it is I ‘only’ have an iPhone 4 + GR D II + GF1 w/20 mm + D3. And I have to admit that the iPhone 4 and GF-1 have put a tight squeeze on the GR D II.
>Spam.
‘Ricoh’s processing wasn’t good enough though and offset any aperture or sharpness advantage of the fixed focal length ‘
No no. That won’t do. Saying that a Canon compact has better IQ than the GRD is a purely subjective and unverifiable viewpoint, if not plain wrong. For example, I’ve used my friend’s Canon G12 and the image processing quality really isn’t funny, Excessive NR in image processing engines is the enemy of the small sensor camera.
‘I just don’t understand the point with the GR-series anymore.’
Well, until we’ve seen the IQ in the GRD IV and improved AF I think we can safely say one thing – handling. I really think no other compact camera comes close to the GRD in design and build.
>Spam,
Oh, yes, one more reason for the GRD. Superlative lens design.
Super build quality, compact, great to handle, the best control set, great glass, all in all a revelation. The only area in which I feel it’s not quite up to the top flight of compacts of a similar size is the sensor performance. When the GRD I was released, it was totally top class, but sensor tech has lagged a little. I still use my GRDs as much as my Fujis (including the X100) and far more often than the XZ-1 or Lumixes I have.
Completely agree. Camera manufactures could also learn from it’s menu.
agreed.
Outstanding BW camera….
>Outstanding BW camera….
Agreed, but ‘Outstanding camera’ is more accurate.