The preceding GR film cameras, released starting in 1996, were popular with Japanese
street photographers including
Daido Moriyama and the GR Digital line built on this by offering features and settings for street photography. Like the GR film cameras, the GR digital cameras eschew a
zoom lens for a fast, fixed
wide angle lens. The first
Ricoh GR Digital (GRD, released in 2005) was praised for its "intuitive" control scheme with two dials, similar to a
DSLR, allowing direct manipulation of
aperture and
shutter speed, and "bulletproof, tanklike" build, although the camera was relatively expensive, at a retail price of . It was fitted with a 28 mm
(equivalent) prime lens and small sensor similar to other contemporary compact cameras. The GR Digital was followed by the
Ricoh GR Digital II (2008), with increased resolution and the same lens; the GR Digital III (2009) carried over the sensor and moved to a faster lens, with a maximum aperture of , while the GR Digital IV (2011) was fitted with a slightly larger sensor using the same lens. For the first time, a sensor-shift system was added to counteract camera shake. They continued to receive praise for build quality and controls. Later that year, Ricoh released another APS-C module, this time with a 28 mm (equivalent) lens; like the GRD series, the GXR had features oriented for street photography. Ricoh released the
GR (dropping "Digital" from the name) in 2013, as a successor to both the GRD IV and GXR/28 mm. The GR combined a large APS-C sensor and a slightly slower 28 mm lens with the compact body of the GRD series; where the A12 (GXR) 28 mm (equivalent) lens used 9 elements in 6 groups, The GR II (2015) added refinements and updates, the GR IIIx (2021) uses a near-
normal 40 mm (equivalent) focal length. ==References==