I was ready to buy Ricoh’s incredibly niche black-and-white compact camera — but then I saw the price and it’s an absolute dealbreaker

• The new Ricoh GR IV Monochrome is the first B&W-only model in the series
• At $2,199 / £1,599, it costs at least 25% more than the regular Ricoh GR IV
• Besides being optimized for B&W photography, it's otherwise essentially identical

Ricoh has actually just done me a favor. You see, I was so excited for the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome – the first in the series of premium digital compacts that's optimized for black-and-white photography – that I was ready to buy it. However, it has been launched today with a shocking price bump, and the deal is off. So I guess that's a saving.

Let's be clear – I've not used the GR IV Monochrome but, even still, I know I wanted it. You see, I really do love black-and-white photography and I'm a fan of the Ricoh GR series.

I recently published my Leica Q3 Monochrom review – which unpacks the gains and pitfalls of a black-and-white only camera – and my first-hand experience with that premium compact, coupled with the regular Ricoh GR IV too, only whet my appetite for the GR IV Monochrome.

I count the GR IV a decent upgrade from my GR III – I have the 'x' version of the GR III which I've used regularly for years. Again, there was a price hike there from the GR III, but the GR IV's new 26MP sensor with five-axis stabilization, improved lens, better battery life and increased internal memory add up to make the regular GR IV worth it.

Even still, when I heard about the monochrome version ahead of its announcement today, I thought that's the camera for me, given that I tend to shoot a lot with my own Ricoh GR IIIx in black-and-white.

I expected a small bump in price given how incredibly niche this black-and-white-only version if the GR IV is, and the presumably shorter production run. That's true of the Leica Q3 Monochrom, which costs more than the regular Q3. However, I was thinking a sub 10% increase, not a whopping 25% in the UK (and more in the US)!

At $2,200 / £1,600, I could pick up a Fujifilm X100VI instead of the GR IV or, more temptingly, a Nikon Z6 III – and that's a serious mirrorless camera.

I love black-and-white photography, especially with a Ricoh GR camera, and I really, really like the GR IV – size to quality, it's the best compact camera available – so I was banking on the GR IV Monochrome being my next camera.

However, I don't think those incremental gains of a model optimized for black-and-white photography are worth this extra outlay. If anything, my attention is back on the regular GR IV instead, which feels like a wiser choice now.

Charting the price of the Ricoh GR series

I purchased the Ricoh GR IIIx back in 2022 for £1,000 in the UK (the 'x' version in the GR series features a 40mm f/2.8 lens rather than a 28mm f/2.8 lens), at which point the original GR III (launched in 2019) cost $1,100 / £900. I counted that price as fair.

Given its popularity, GR III cameras saw a small price bump over the years. Then came the Ricoh GR IV at the end of 2025 for $1,500 / £1,200. I initially thought that price hike was unfair, but the upgrades in that model just about merited the bump, which didn't exactly favor those in the US hit by additional tariff-related price increases.

Now we have the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, which costs $2,200 / £1,600. In the US, that's twice the price that the GR III was and $700 more than the Ricoh GR IV. It's a 25% increase in the UK. Let that sink in.

You've got to really, really love black-and-white photography to buy the GR IV Monochrome over the GR IV. I expect many people still will, because what optimized alternatives are there? The Leica Q3 Monochrom costs much more (but it is much more camera).

I'm now in for the GR IV instead. But what do you make of the new monochrome version? Is it worth the extra cost? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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The best compact cameras

➡️ Read our full best compact cameras guide
1. Best overall
Fujifilm X100VI
2. Best with zoom
Sony RX100 Mark VII
3. Best small
Ricoh GR IV
4. Best full-frame
Leica Q3