Meet the Architect Behind Ricoh GR IV and Pentax’s Future

In this exclusive interview, I sit down with Tetsuya Iwasaki, the Department Manager of Product Planning at Ricoh Imaging, to discuss the future of the Ricoh GR system and the Pentax brand. We dive deep into the philosophy behind the "Snapshot" shooter, the massive success of the Pentax 17 film camera, and the engineering decisions that define these cult-classic cameras. Most importantly, Iwasaki-san confirms the development of the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome and reveals details about its newly developed sensor. We also tackle the biggest debate in the community: Why does Ricoh refuse to put an EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) in the GR series? If you are a street photographer or a fan of the GR III and GR IIIx, GR IV etc. this conversation offers a rare look into the mind of the man architecting the future of these cameras. Big thank you to Audio and Photo Distributor(APD) of Ricoh Pentax in Singapore, Ricoh Pentax Japan for making this interview happen. In This Video: The GR IV Monochrome: Confirmation of the new model and how its sensor differs from the K-3 Mark III Monochrome. The "No EVF" Debate: The definitive answer on why the GR series stays screen-only. Pentax 17 Success: What Ricoh learned from the resurgence of film photography among young creators. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro: to Interview 00:30 - Who is Tetsuya Iwasaki? (Role at Ricoh/Pentax) 00:50 The Ricoh and Pentax Philosophy 01:50 - Why Pentax Stays Loyal to Optical Viewfinders (OVF) 03:18 - Lessons from the Pentax 17 & The Film Resurgence 04:58 - Will We Ever See a Film GR Camera? 06:06 - The Big Question: Why No EVF on the Ricoh GR? 07:35 - Viewfinder vs. LCD: The "Snapshot" Advantage 09:12 - How the Younger Generation is Changing Photography 10:32 - Why Make a Black & White Camera in 2026? 12:31 - Ricoh GR IV Monochrome 13:35 - New Sensor Details: GR IV Mono vs. K-3 III Mono 14:02 - What Camera Does Tetsuya Use? (The Final Reveal) Mentioned in this video: Ricoh GR III, Ricoh GR IIIx, Pentax 17, Ricoh GR IV, GR Monochrome, Street Photography, Camera Tech. #RicohGRIV #RicohGRIVMonochrome #RicohGR #Pentax17