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Ricoh Rumors

17 stories

Ricoh RumorsRumoursRicoh delays standalone GR anniversary pins to November 13; camera kit stays on October 21 The delay affects the separately sold 14-pin set and individual historical GR pins. The GR IV anniversary camera kit, which includes 16 pins, retains its release date.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursRicoh to raise Japanese prices for 11 GR accessory listings on November 2 Ricoh’s October 15 notice lists revised Japanese suggested retail prices for straps, shoe covers, cases and conversion lenses, including the GW-4 and GT-2.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursRicoh R10010 gains radio approval; NCC subsequently lists a digital camera China’s September 23 approval was followed by an October 6 NCC entry, still using only the R10010 code.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursTHETA X real-estate model to gain in-camera AI photo extraction Ricoh’s September 28 announcement schedules the feature for mid-October for designated real-estate service customers.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursTHETA X reaches firmware 2.94.0; Z1 gets September connectivity fixes The September 17 THETA X release focuses on stability; Z1 firmware 3.70.2 was announced on September 8.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursGR IV 30th Anniversary Edition Kit announced, limited to 6,000 worldwide The September 16 announcement details the commemorative camera and accessories, with an October 21 release planned.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursPENTAX confirms a new-concept DSLR retaining K-mount lens use The September 9 statement confirms development while ending production of the current K-series DSLRs.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursRicoh confirms GR IVx development with a 40mm-equivalent F2.8 lens The August 27 development notice lists 25.74MP, five-axis stabilization and 4K, targeting winter 2026 or later.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursTHETA X firmware 2.93.1 adds WPA3-SAE in Wi-Fi client mode The August update also shortens the default automatic power-off interval and includes security improvements.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursGR IV firmware 1.11 adds electronic shutter up to 1/16000 second Ricoh’s February 13 update extends fast-shutter shooting on the standard GR IV and notes possible distortion of moving subjects.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursTokyo Metro and PENTAX announce straps made from retired train seats Announced February 2, the red and blue straps reuse Marunouchi Line 02-series seat fabric and cost ¥9,280 each including tax.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursGR IV HDF reaches Japan on January 16 after its December announcement The soft-highlight GR IV variant was formally announced in December 2025 before its January 2026 Japanese release.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursGR IV Monochrome formally announced with dedicated sensor and red filter Ricoh detailed the camera on January 15, setting its Japanese release for February 13.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursGR WORLD 1.2 adds GR IV firmware and Image Control tools The January release adds HDF support; later updates bring Monochrome support, power controls and an iOS 27 fix.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursTHETA A1 firmware 1.30.1 adds QR Wi-Fi setup and revises HDR The December update also improves difficult lighting and adds WPA3 in wireless access-point mode.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursPENTAX firmware updates improve Astrotracer tracking accuracy K-1 bodies, J limited 01, KF and K-70 received maintenance on December 5 with different version numbers.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursGR IV firmware 1.04 changes battery and charging controls The November 28 release addresses low-battery wireless operation, charging behavior and pairing guidance.

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About

The small bracket on top of every camera, from a phone rig to an ARRI.

The hot shoe is where the flash goes, and the microphone, and the monitor, and whatever the next decade bolts on. Every camera has one and nobody photographs it. This magazine is named after it because that is where the whole business meets: the body, the glass, the light, the sound, and the person holding it.

I shot news in Gothenburg for nine years and documentary for hire after that, then stopped taking assignments to write about the tools. Since 2021 I live in Tokyo, ten minutes from the used-camera shops of Shinjuku, which is not an accident: Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Ricoh and Sigma make almost everything worth pointing at a subject, and their own press writes about it first, in Japanese. So this magazine reads it there, and in German, French, Italian and Spanish, and in English from the reviewers who actually put a card in the slot — around eighty sources and thirty channels, counted and plotted so you can see what is moving.

Bodies and lenses, cinema cameras and drones, film and the darkroom, firmware and the software that finishes the picture, the rumours before the launch and the reviews after it, and the photographers and shows the rest of it is for. I test what I write about on a job before a word goes down. I shoot film on Sundays and do not think that makes me interesting.

A story here is a headline, a short excerpt, one picture and the link to whoever reported it. We never reprint the article, and the picture belongs to the photographer or the maker. A story written in Japanese appears in Japanese, as its author set it down; the link goes to the original.

— Mara Lindqvist, Tokyo