How The Ricoh GR IV Changed My Street Photography
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Intro: 6 Months With The Ricoh GR IV
As of the time of writing this blog, it has been 6 months since I bought the Ricoh GR IV, and in that time I’ve taken over 15,000 photos with it. I’ve been using it almost on a daily basis and carry it with me everywhere I go. Most of my other cameras have barely left the shelf since I got it, and I have to admit, it’s hard to go back once you get used to the Ricoh GR IV.
For all these reasons, I feel like I’m in a good place to talk about how this tiny camera has changed the way I approach street photography, both for better and for worse. This isn’t a technical review, but rather a real-world look at the Ricoh GR IV after using it every day.
It Made Me Luckier
The Ricoh GR IV is not much bigger or heavier than my smartphone. It fits in my pocket and basically removes all the friction of carrying a camera.
I don’t really have to think anymore about whether I should bring a camera with me or make time just for photographing. I simply always carry it with me when commuting, going for a walk or running errands. And that completely changes everything. I now end up capturing moments I would have completely missed if my camera had stayed at home.
Street photography is really a numbers game. The more you’re out shooting, the higher your chances of getting something interesting. Luck in street photography is about being at the right place at the right time WHILE having a camera with you. And in that sense, yes, the Ricoh GR IV has made me a lot “luckier”.
More Hunting, Less Fishing
The Ricoh GR IV has changed my shooting style. Before, I used to divide my time 50-50 between fishing and hunting for scenes. Since I started using the GR IV, I now spend most of my time hunting.
In the past, I could easily spend an hour in one spot I liked, just waiting for things to happen. Now I rarely find myself waiting more than 5 minutes. I find myself impatient of waiting and I want to constantly keep moving when I have the GR IV in my hands. I haven’t figured out the exact reason yet but maybe it has to do with how easy this camera is to shoot with or the lack of a viewfinder.
Because I do more hunting now, it has also made me better at noticing moments before they happen and improved my reaction time when taking the shot. Last but not least, I feel like most of my photos now have more energy and movement compared to before.
Getting Closer & Staying Closer
The GR IV has also changed how I approach distance in street photography. I was already used to getting close, but before I would take one or two shots and quickly move on. Now I am comfortable getting close and staying close until I get the shot I want. Because it is so small and completely silent (due to its tiny leaf shutter), people rarely notice it, and even if they do, they often don’t react.
I think this is about as close as you can get to being invisible in street photography. There is no other camera that offers that with such great image quality. Being invisible is something I’ve started to take for granted. I really notice the difference when I switch back to a bigger camera. When I use larger gear and follow the same approach, people immediately notice me and in many cases react by hiding their face or telling me not to take their photo.
The No Viewfinder Curse
When I first switched to the GR IV, my biggest struggle was constantly looking for a viewfinder that wasn’t there, since I was always used to shooting with one. It took some time to adjust, and it felt clunky using a screen at first. Since I’ve been photographing a lot with the GR IV’s screen, I’ve noticed some downsides worth mentioning:
Many times my images come out crooked, even if they look straight on the screen, which leads to extra corrections in editing
Since the screen does not flip out, it makes it harder to photograph from low or high angles
In bright light, you may get strong reflections on the screen, making it hard to see what you are photographing
You also lose some of the immersive experience a viewfinder gives and small framing details are easier to miss
There are external viewfinders you can buy for the Ricoh GR IV but none of them offer exposure metering which for me is a must.
Interestingly, I’m now so used to shooting with the screen that I instinctively use it even on cameras that have a viewfinder. Overall, for me the lack of a viewfinder is the biggest drawback of the GR IV. I guess that’s the price I have to pay for using such a small camera.
Too Many Photos
Because I now carry the GR IV everywhere, I take more photos and not just street photography anymore. I’ve also started using it for everyday moments with friends and family since it is so convenient to use, something I never really did with my previous cameras.
But more photos also means more time behind the laptop, importing, curating and editing. I now have a backlog of photos of months instead of weeks and I also need more storage and hard drives. To manage this, I use JPEG and custom recipes for family moments and RAW for street photography. I’ve also stopped using continuous shooting.
So yeah, the Ricoh GR IV made me photograph more, but it also made me spend more time behind my laptop.
Final Thoughts
The Ricoh GR IV have been the only digital camera that brought so many changes to my daily photography and workflow so far. Using a camera of this size has made me not only photograph more but also to keep enjoying it. It simply reminded how much fun is to carry a camera with me every day, despite the challenges that come with it.
If you are curious to see the results of using this camera for the last six months, take a look at my Instagram account. Almost every photo I’ve uploaded there for the last half-a-year was shot on the GR IV, so you can see exactly what I am talking about. Feel free to watch my YouTube video to learn more.
