Ricoh Caplio GR Digital

The GR Digital IV is the 2011 version of Ricoh's compact camera for serious photographers. With a fixed focal length 28mm wide-angle lens, high-sensitivity 10 megapixel sensor, excellent 3 inch LCD screen and faster auto-focus system, can the Ricoh GR Digital IV justify its equally serious price-tag of £499 / $599? Read our Ricoh GR Digital IV review to find out...

Announced almost a year ago - and rumored for a long time before - the GR Digital was always going to be something of a niche product. Described as a 'professional grade high resolution compact' the GR Digital echoes the design and ethos of the popular and very highly regarded GR series of film compacts and is unusual in having a fixed 28mm equivalent F2.4 lens and full photographic control. The 8MP GR-D (as we'll call it from now on) is also fairly expandable; with an optional optical viewfinder, 21mm equivalent ultra wide converter and dedicated flash available (though by then you've spend well over $1000). Originally released only in Europe and Asia, the GR-D has recently made its way to North America, though you're still unlikely to find it on the shelves of your local camera store. So does the GR-D live up to all the hype or is it just another 8MP compact with pretensions?

Following on from Hamish's thoughts shooting his recently discovered Ricoh GR Digital, I asked him if I could share my story of shooting one from new in 2007. When I got this little camera new, in a so-called "Creative Set" with the wide angle adapter and add on viewfinder, it felt like a compromise from the start - I didn't really want yet another compact camera with a wide-angle lens, I was much more interested in an entry level DSLR such as the Nikon D50 with a nifty-fifty.

From Japan With A Wide Angle

Ricoh GR Digital II review, find out how the GR Digital II stacks up against the competition in our real-world review with in-depth image quality comparisons.