After winning both the Good Design Award and the DGP Imaging Award last year, the Ricoh GR IV has now added another major accolade to its growing list – this time being named Best APS-C Compact Camera at the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) World Awards.
The TIPA World Awards recognize the best new photo and imaging products each year, celebrating innovation in technology, design, and user experience across the industry.
The winners are decided at TIPA's General Assembly, where leading photography publications – including Digital Camera World – vote on the most impressive launches. Out of 40 categories, the Ricoh GR IV was named the leading APS-C compact camera.
Why the Ricoh GR IV stands out
The Ricoh GR IV was praised by the TIPA for its compact yet highly capable design.
"Housed in a compact magnesium alloy body, the Ricoh GR IV delivers exceptional image quality in a truly pocketable form. Built around a high-performance APS-C sensor and sharp GR lens, it produces crisp detail, rich colour, and impressive dynamic range."
Beyond image quality, its fast AF (autofocus) and responsive, intuitive handling make it especially popular with street, travel, and everyday photographers. The combination of refined ergonomics and a non-nonsense shooting experience has long defined the GR series – a philosophy that became a cult formula.
Other standout features include 5-axis image stabilization, a built-in 2EV ND filter, and an ultra-fast shutter speed of up to 1/16000sec. While the GR IV was limited to a slower maximum shutter speed of 1/4000sec, the latest firmware significantly extends its capabilities.
The DGP Imaging Awards – Japan's leading competition for digital imaging excellence – highlighted: "The GR IV represents a complete new renewal – from the image sensor and processor to the lens and AF system – yet it never strays from the simplicity that defines the series."
In the words of the Good Design jury: "This sense of balance is truly masterful. The pioneering spirit of a quality compact digital camera is clearly evident in its deliberately unchanged design image and its refined details."
The TIPA also highlighted the Ricoh GR IV HDF, which introduces a built-in Highlight Diffusion Filter. With this, switching between crisp clarity and a softer, more cinematic rendering in-camera is possible.
Alongside it, the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome caters to dedicated black-and-white shooters, offering a more accessible alternative in a market where specialist monochrome cameras often sit at a premium price point.
The Ricoh GR IV was one of the most anticipated compact cameras of 2025, arriving six years after its predecessor.
For many photographers, it marks a long-awaited evolution of a well-loved formula – refining rather than reinventing the compact camera concept that made the GR series so popular in the first place.
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