{"id":515851,"date":"2026-04-06T13:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/515851\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T13:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:06:16","slug":"i-shot-with-a-color-compact-camera-in-one-hand-and-a-black-and-white-in-the-other-this-is-what-i-captured-with-the-ricoh-gr-iv-hdf-and-gr-iv-monochrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/515851\/","title":{"rendered":"I shot with a color compact camera in one hand and a black-and-white in the other. This is what I captured with the Ricoh GR IV HDF and GR IV Monochrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s a photo style that will never go out of style, it\u2019s black and white photography. But, when I had the chance to try a camera with a dedicated monochrome sensor for the first time, I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect \u2013 so I shot with its color sibling at the same time. I spent two weeks shooting with both the Ricoh<\/a> GR IV HDF and the GR IV Monochrome.<\/p>\n

The Ricoh GR IV series looks so similar that I could barely tell the two cameras apart \u2013 the lack of color on the GR logo on the front and the Red Filter shortcut on the back is what gives the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome away, at least without powering the cameras on.<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Nearly every modern digital camera can shoot in black-and-white in-camera by switching the color profile to a black-and-white option. But the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome can\u2019t see color at all. It\u2019s missing the color filter array that allows digital cameras to see in color.<\/p>\n

Article continues below <\/p>\n

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The missing color array on the GR IV Monochrome<\/a> means the camera can\u2019t shoot color \u2013 though there are multiple monochrome color profiles to choose from. Why take the time to build tech that can\u2019t shoot in color in the first place, when color cameras have a monochrome mode? Eliminating the color filter array allows more light to come through and hit the sensor.<\/p>\n

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Ricoh GR IV HDF (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

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Ricoh GR IV Monochrome (Image credit: Hillary K Grigonis \/ Future)<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t sure just how much of a difference that missing color filter would make, but I was blown away when I examined the images up close. The images from the GR IV Monochrome were much cleaner, with not only less noise but also smaller, smoother grain in the high ISO shots.<\/p>\n

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Viewed at 100 percent, the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome is the image on the left (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

What I found even more surprising is that the difference was even noticeable at base ISO \u2013 the GR IV Monochrome can shoot as low as ISO 160, and the GR IV HDF at ISO 100. Still, the Monochrome camera had far less noise.<\/p>\n

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Ricoh GR IV HDF, ISO 12800 (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

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Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, ISO 12800 (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Looking at the RAW files, I could also brighten up the shadows on the GR IV Monochrome quite a bit more than the shadows on the GR IV HDF<\/a>, even when using a black-and-white profile on the color camera.<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

The difference is one that\u2019s best viewed by looking at the photos in full resolution. I\u2019d be hard-pressed to tell which photo came from which camera in, say, an Instagram<\/a> post.<\/p>\n

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Ricoh GR IV HDF (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

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Ricoh GR IV Monochrome (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The Ricoh GR IV Monochrome was my first experience with a dedicated monochrome camera \u2013 and I certainly didn\u2019t hate it. If I wanted a documentary-style camera that churned out JPEGs that didn\u2019t need retouching, the GR IV Monochrome would be on my short list.<\/p>\n

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I loved shooting with the GR IV HDF too \u2013 and I\u2019m particularly fond of the positive film color profile. Some scenes are just better in color.<\/p>\n

I never thought I would have trouble choosing between a more expensive monochrome camera and a more affordable variant that can shoot in both color and black-and-white. But, after trying both cameras, I suddenly understand the hype behind monochrome-only cameras.<\/p>\n

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Today’s best Ricoh GR IV HDF and Ricoh GR IV Monochrome deals<\/p>\n

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For a deeper comparison between the two cameras, read the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome review<\/a>. Or, dive into the Ricoh GR IV HDF review<\/a>, or, if you prefer a built-in ND filter over a diffusion filter, the Ricoh GR IV review<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If there\u2019s a photo style that will never go out of style, it\u2019s black and white photography. But,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-515851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}