Ricoh GR-Digital Review, August 2006
Simon Joinson

Announced almost a year ago - and rumored for a long time before - the GR Digital was always going to be something of a niche product. Described as a 'professional grade high resolution compact' the GR Digital echoes the design and ethos of the popular and very highly regarded GR series of film compacts and is unusual in having a fixed 28mm equivalent F2.4 lens and full photographic control. The 8MP GR-D (as we'll call it from now on) is also fairly expandable; with an optional optical viewfinder, 21mm equivalent ultra wide converter and dedicated flash available (though by then you've spend well over $1000). Originally released only in Europe and Asia, the GR-D has recently made its way to North America, though you're still unlikely to find it on the shelves of your local camera store. So does the GR-D live up to all the hype or is it just another 8MP compact with pretensions? Let's find out, starting as usual with the headline features:

• Newly Developed GR Lens Provides High Resolution and resolving power
• 8.13 million effective pixels
• High resolution 2.5-inch LCD
• World's first twin-dial control system in a compact
• Magnesium Alloy case
• Optional high performance optical viewfinder
• Optional 21mm equivalent wide converter
• Manual, Program, Program shift AE and Aperture Priority modes
• 1.5 cm macro mode

GR-Digital specifications

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

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