RICOH

New details emerge about Ricoh GR IV and Fujifilm X-Half as compact camera scene heats up in 2025

It seems as though the next little while will be an exciting time for aficionados of compact cameras. New information from a Ricoh patent may hint at lens innovations for the GR IV, while an image of the upcoming Fujifilm X-Half confirms some previously rumoured information about the new compact camera.

The Fujifilm X-Half has been leaked into oblivion ahead of its expected 2025 launch, with the latest leaks revealing expected lens specifications for the upcoming compact camera. Now, however, not only has yet another image of the X-Half leaked, revealing the camera's logo and leading to yet more questions about the peculiar camera, but a new patent has also potentially hinted at some details about Fujifilm's biggest competition in the niche compact camera space. 

Ricoh GR IV compact camera lens rumours...Perhaps the most interesting in the latest bits of information comes from a user, Mistral75, on the Pentax Forums. The user revealed a newly published patent from Ricoh for a lens design that appears as though it might be part of the upcoming Ricoh GR IV compact camera. 

The new lens patent makes mention of four separate lens designs that all feature an image circle and back focus that align with what we'd expect from an APC-C compact camera, indicating that they are intended for the GR IV or some such similar camera. All four lenses are also in the same ballpark as the existing 18.5 mm lens on the Ricoh GR III (curr. $1,396.95 on Amazon), and all three have an aperture of around f/2.8 or less, with one lens going down to f/2.39 — which would be a half an EV stop brighter than the current f/2.8 lens on the GR III. 

Over time, talk would inevitably turn to a potential successor, but Ricoh didn’t leave users out in the cold. Special edition versions of the GR III hit the market, such as the Street Edition, which essentially had a different colored ring around the lens and a different texture on the body. However, things changed again in September 2021 with the release of the GR IIIx — which saw the GRIII body paired with a different prime lens — in this case, a 40mm (equivalent) f/2.8, which lent itself more to portrait work. Then, a new release came in 2024 with the HDF versions of the GR III/GR IIIx . This saw the addition of a pro-grade diffusion filter, which helped deliver frames rich in nostalgia.

The patent application includes eight numerical examples. All of these examples have a radius of 14.13mm for the image circle and a very short back focus of 0.7mm. These are therefore lenses intended for use with an APS-C compact camera with a built-in lens. In other words, a Ricoh GR.

   Examples 1 to 3 and 8 are 18.35mm f/2.85 to f/2.89 lenses

   Example 4 is an 18.35mm f/2.39 lens

   Example 5 is a 15.7mm f/2.88 lens

   Example 6 is a 17mm f/2.78 lens

   Example 7 is a 16.41mm f/2.79 lens

Previously, we reported on hints from a Ricoh ambassador that the GR IV may launch as soon as late 2025 or early 2026, with other leaks pointing to a new sensor and lens combination. This recent lens patent could be further evidence to support that, since it has obviously been in development for almost two years. 

Fujifilm X-Half image leak confirms lens specs...In other compact camera news, this time moving on to the 1-inch sensor side of things, a new image has leaked depicting the Fujifilm X-Half compact camera in all its glory ahead of the expected late May release date. The new image, leaked by Fuji Rumors, shows off the camera sans any censorship. It gives us confirmation of a number of things, including the name, which appears to be simply Xhalf, as opposed to X-Half, which was the previously assumed stylisation. 

The new image also confirms the previously leaked lens specifications, which tipped a 10.5 mm lens with an f/2.8 maximum aperture. The lens also seems to have an automatic aperture setting built into the aperture control ring. The image also confirms that there will be a diffuse flash baked into the front of the camera, with what appears to be a hot shoe on the top of the camera for more accessories. Once again, the only dial on the top of the Xhalf is the EV dial, although there is still no hint as to what the strange lever or button is where the film advance lever would be on a film camera. 

mundophone