Buying guide

Ricoh GR IV vs Fujifilm X100VI

These two get compared because they are the two fixed-lens APS-C cameras people actually want, and they could hardly be more different to carry. The Ricoh GR IV is 262g and slips into a jeans pocket; the Fujifilm X100VI is 521g with a hybrid viewfinder and sits on a strap. The GR sees 28mm at f/2.8, the Fuji 35mm at f/2. The GR is a snapshot camera in the literal sense, built around a shutter button that fires at a preset distance. The Fuji is a small rangefinder-style camera you compose with. This is a Ricoh site, so read the rest with that in mind; the numbers, at least, are both makers' own.

The two side by side

From Ricoh's GR IV specification page and Fujifilm's X100VI specification page, both re-read the day this was written. Prices are US launch MSRPs.

Where the Fuji wins

• The viewfinder: a hybrid optical and electronic finder against no finder at all. If you cannot shoot from the screen, this decides it and nothing below matters.
• Resolution and lens speed: 40.2MP against 25.7MP, and f/2 against f/2.8. More to crop, more to print, one more stop for dim rooms and a shallower background at 35mm.
• Battery, ND and weather: about 360 to 450 shots a charge against about 250; a 4-stop ND against 2; weather resistance when the adapter ring and protection filter are fitted, where Ricoh states none.
• Video: the X100VI shoots up to 6.2K. The GR IV tops out at 1080p and is not pretending otherwise.

Where the GR wins

• You will have it with you: half the weight, 32.7mm deep against 55.3mm, a lens that retracts flush. The GR is the camera in the pocket on the day you did not plan to take pictures, and that is where most of the good ones come from.
• Snap focus: set a distance, 1.5m or 2m for street, and a full press of the shutter fires there with no autofocus lag at all. Ricoh calls it Full Press Snap and it is on by default. Nothing on the Fuji works quite like it.
• 53GB inside and a 0.6-second startup: no card needed for a trip, and the camera is ready before it has finished leaving the pocket.
• Price: $100 less at launch, and Ricoh's accessories are a fraction of what the Fuji's hoods, rings and filters add up to.

The part that matters if you shoot JPEG

Both cameras are bought by people who want finished photos out of the camera, and both have a recipe culture built around their color modes. Fujifilm's is bigger and older: 20 Film Simulation modes and a decade of recipe sites behind them. That is a real advantage if you want a large library to pick from.

The GR's system is simpler and, for a JPEG shooter, that is where it wins. Every one of the 14 Image Controls exposes the same nine sliders, from Saturation and Hue to Contrast (Highlight) and Contrast (Shadow), plus a white balance shift on a 29 by 29 grid, grain with a size setting, and three custom slots that sit on the mode dial as U1, U2 and U3. A whole recipe fits on a card. You dial it in once, save it to a dial position, and the camera is that look until you turn the dial. The Image Control guide documents what each slider does, measured on Ricoh's own frames, and the GR IV recipes are ranked by how often people actually save them. Fuji recipes do not translate to the GR, and this site does not carry any; the recipe builder will draft you a GR look from a few questions instead.

So which one

Buy the X100VI if you compose through a finder, want 35mm, and the camera will be the reason for the outing. Buy the GR IV if the camera has to disappear into your day and come out fast, if 28mm is your view, and if the pictures you want are the ones you would otherwise have missed. If you are on the GR side and still deciding between the bodies, the which-GR guide compares the GR IV with the HDF, the Monochrome, the GR III and the coming 40mm GR IVx, and the GR IV accessories page is what owners actually add to it.

Questions people ask

Which is better for street photography, the GR IV or the X100VI?

The GR IV if you want to carry a camera all day and not be noticed with it: half the weight, a third of the depth, snap focus that fires at a set distance the instant you press the shutter, and a 28mm view that takes in the scene. The X100VI if you want to compose through a viewfinder and shoot at 35mm f/2 with a slower, more deliberate rhythm. Both are used for street by people who would not swap.

Does the Ricoh GR IV have a viewfinder?

No. You compose on the rear screen, which Ricoh gives an Outdoor View setting for bright light, or you fit an external optical finder in the hot shoe. The X100VI has a hybrid finder built in, optical or electronic at the flick of a lever, and it is the single biggest reason to pick the Fuji.

Is the X100VI sharper than the GR IV?

It has more pixels: 40.2MP against 25.7MP, so a Fuji file crops further and prints larger. Sharpness in the sense of a crisp 28mm frame straight out of camera is a GR trademark, and the GR IV's lens is a new 7-element design. For anything viewed on a screen the difference is resolution, not sharpness.

Can I use Fujifilm recipes on a Ricoh GR?

Not directly. A Fuji recipe names a Film Simulation and Fuji's own sliders; a Ricoh recipe names an Image Control and Ricoh's nine sliders plus a white balance shift. The ideas travel, the numbers do not, and this site publishes Ricoh recipes only. The Image Control guide explains what each GR slider does so you can build a look yourself.

Which is cheaper?

At launch the GR IV, by $100: $1,499.95 against the X100VI's $1,599.95. What either costs today depends on the week and on whether you can find one; both have spent time out of stock.