I'll be right up front about this: I have mixed feelings about Ricoh's update to the GR, the GR IV. While I've not had the chance to use one for photography yet, just going through the details via press release and other Ricoh-provided information makes me feel like there's a bit of contradiction now going on.
Specifically, price versus design (and by implication, use).
The original GR in 2013 was one of the early APS-C compacts, and sold for US$800 against a plethora of smaller-sensor compacts that were morphing in all directions (simple auto, breadth of features, more pixels/lens, etc.). As a basic, shirt pocket camera with considerable 16mp image quality, it became a carry-everywhere and street photography staple. The GR II in 2015 added Wi-Fi at no price increase. The GR III in 2018 added 24mp and sensor-IS, but lost the flash, with the price bumping up to US$900.
Today Ricoh officially introduced the GR IV, with a 26mp sensor, a better IS, a redesigned 28mm (equivalent) f/2.8 lens, better image processor, 53GB of internal storage, and a microSD slot (instead of SD), all for...wait for it...US$1500. We're now nearing Fujifilm X100VI territory, but frankly, the control structure, lack of an EVF, fixed Rear LCD, lack of weather sealing, and poor video specifications start to raise some real questions in my mind at the price point.
Yes, the GR IV is pocketable and half the weight of the X100VI. That's probably it's key selling attribute. But the GR IV, unlike the Fujifilm, still seems very compact camera-ish to me. Small, fiddly physical controls that haven't changed in over a decade and challenging battery life (despite a bigger battery not compatible with earlier GR's), for example.
Despite what I just wrote, the GR IV's real competition isn't the Fujfilm X100VI or Sony RX100VII, it's your mobile phone. So the real question here is whether you're getting the value for substituting a dedicated camera for the current mobile phone in your pocket. And that's exactly where my mixed feelings come in. Yes, I'd prefer Sony's 26mp APS-C sensor that's used in the GR IV to the trio of little beasts that in my current iPhone. But that really only happens at 28mm ;~). While the Ricoh offers "crop" focal lengths, suddenly things start to even up some.
But here's the real issue: even Ricoh's press release doesn't provide enough distinction about why you'd want the compact, as it uses the word "snapshot" as it describes the camera (e.g. "...excellent choice for snapshot photography, even for professional photographers."). Most professional photographers I know are using their phones for so-called snapshots.
Am I glad Ricoh continues to iterate the GR? Sure. But I get this distinct impression that they're tackling that with a fairly narrow mind now. At the new price point, I expect better (and more). The basic UX hasn't changed a lot since the old GXR modular camera design, though it seems to have a cheaper feel than the GXR's.
