The wildly popular GR IV now comes in black and white, and we’re not simply talking about the body! No, from the inside out, the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome is a fully monochrome-dedicated compact camera designed to deliver rich black-and-white photos as timeless as those captured on film. Let’s run down the highlights of this afternoon’s announcement.
» Pre-order the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome
Each pixel of the GR IV Monochrome’s image sensor is dedicated to brightness data. Unlike a standard sensor that must filter light for red, green and blue, and interpolate that data to generate a colour value, the newly designed APS-C-sized sensor skips all that to produce an evocative monochrome image rich in tonal gradation. The sample image below shows off just how striking the images from the GR IV Monochrome can be.
Sample images courtesy Ricoh
To help users achieve the look they are chasing, Ricoh has developed two Image Control options for the GR IV Monochrome. “Solid” deploys a hard tonal curve for a crisp, clean look with vivid edge clarity. “Grainy,” on the other hand, creates an image similar to a silver-halide print, keeping highlights in check while preserving shadow detail and producing grain that's easily visible even when displayed on your phone.
Finally, Ricoh has included a red filter that can be activated with the press of a button. With only red wavelengths hitting the image sensor, you can achieve wonderfully contrasty skylines and isolate red subjects with brilliant clarity.
Other Features
- 28mm (35mm equiv.) F2.8 lens.
- 25.74 Monochrome CMOS APS-C image sensor.
- ISO160 to ISO 409600 sensitivity range.
- 5-axis sensor-shift Shake Reduction (SR).
- Image sensor dust removal using ultrasonic vibrations.
- AA Filter Simulator: Moiré reduction using SR unit.
- Electronic shutter enabling high-speed shooting up to 1/16000 second.
The Ricoh GR IV Monochrome is available for pre-order now at McBain, retailing for $2,499.99. Expected arrival is February 2026.
