The model

Ricoh GR1, GR1s and GR1v

Ricoh · GR1 from October 1996; GR1s 1998; GR1v from September 2001, discontinued 2005. Ricoh ended all service in 2014

A 28mm lens in a magnesium body 26.5 millimetres deep, and a top-plate display that is the family's best-known fault.

Format: 35mm film
Made by: Ricoh

What it was

Ricoh launched the GR1 in October 1996 and it took the 1997 TIPA award for best 35mm compact. The argument for it was simple and it has not aged: a 28mm f/2.8 of seven elements in four groups with aspherical elements, in a magnesium body 26.5 millimetres deep and 175 grams, with aperture priority as well as programme. The GR1s of 1998 improved the lens coatings, lit the top display and allowed Ricoh filters to be fitted. The GR1v of 2001 added manual film speed, so the camera could push and pull, along with manual preset focus distances and exposure bracketing. Same lens formula throughout. The GR10 and the GR21 are relatives rather than versions — the GR10 is aluminium and programme-only, the GR21 has a 21mm lens and is reported to have been made in small numbers. Launch prices are contradictory across sources to the point where we are not going to quote any.

What it is good for

Being carried in a shirt pocket. 26.5 millimetres deep and 175 grams for the GR1, with a magnesium shell. Snap shooting. On the GR1v, SNAP mode fixes focus at about two metres and removes the autofocus from the equation entirely. Aperture priority in a compact, on the GR1 and GR1s as well as the GR1v. Pushed film, but only on the GR1v. Manual film speed is the one functional reason to prefer it, and it is a real one. Where it falls short: 1/500 is the top shutter speed. No weather sealing. And the display: the top LCD is the family's best-known fault, and Ricoh stopped servicing these cameras in 2014. Buy one knowing you may be operating it blind.

Troubleshooting

It wound the whole film out of the cassette the moment I closed the back

That is what it does. On loading, the GR1 winds the entire roll out, then winds each frame back into the cassette as you shoot, so the frame counter counts down. The thirty seconds of motor noise is not a fault and the camera has not rewound your film. There is a benefit hidden in it: if the back is opened mid-roll, the frames you have already shot are safe, because they are back in the cassette. What gets fogged is the unexposed film outside it.

Segments on the top display are missing or faded

This is the family's best-known fault. Wikipedia lists the top-deck status LCD first among the faults these cameras have developed, and Ricoh ended all service in 2014. What it costs you: the frame counter, which counts down, and the readout of film speed and settings. Check every segment before you buy.

SNAP mode focuses at the same distance whatever I point at

That is SNAP. The GR1v manual gives about two metres, fixed, deliberately. It is not an autofocus failure.

The camera is dead, or the flash is weak

Check it is a CR2 and that it is fresh. One CR2 3 V lithium cell powers the camera, and it is a current type, so nothing needs adapting. This is not a CR123A camera.

I cannot set the film speed

Only the GR1v can. If yours is a GR1 or a GR1s, DX is all there is, and shooting pushed film and blaming the meter is a specification limit rather than a fault.

Streaks along one edge, or fogging near the film window

Light seals, and this camera genuinely has them. Wikipedia names the seals around the film information window on the rear door as a known failure. Replacing seals is a home job if you are careful.

What goes wrong, and what fixes it

Top-plate LCD segment failure

The fault the family is known for. Wikipedia lists the top-deck status LCD first among the faults these cameras have developed. Ricoh ended all service in 2014, so any repair is down to independent technicians. What matters for a buyer: check every segment of the display before you pay, and price a failing one accordingly.

Motor failure

Wikipedia lists the motor among the commonest faults. Let it load and wind a film before buying if you can. Independent technician.

Perished light seals

Particularly around the film information window on the rear door, per Wikipedia. Home fix, fiddly.

What differs between the three, without overstating it

GR1 to GR1s: improved lens coatings, a lit top display and the ability to fit Ricoh filters. Same lens formula. The GR1s is not a different or better lens — revised coatings only. GR1s to GR1v: manual film speed, which is the headline change and the reason to pay more; automatic exposure bracketing; manual preset focus distances. Same lens again.

Every one of these we list has been through the checks on this page first, and what we found is written on the listing.

Written once and kept up to date. It applies to every example of this model, not only to the one in the photograph. The facts were last checked on 23 September 2026, against the maker’s own published figures where they exist; where sources disagree, the page says so.

More like this: 35mm film cameras, or every model we have written up.

Specification

Lens — Ricoh GR 28mm f/2.8, 7 elements in 4 groups, multicoated, aspherical. The same formula on all three; the GR1s has revised coatings Shutter — electronic lens shutter, 2 s to 1/500. The GR1v manual gives 2 s to 1/250 in aperture priority Aperture — f/2.8 to f/22 in half stops. Programme and aperture priority. The GR10 is programme only Film speed — DX 25–3200 on the GR1 and GR1s, DX only. The GR1v manual gives ISO 25–5000, DX or manual in 1/3 steps. Non-DX film is read as ISO 100 per the GR1v manual Focus — passive multi-point autofocus, minimum 0.35 m. GR1v manual modes: infinity, single autofocus, SNAP fixed at about 2 m, manual presets of 1, 2, 3 and 5 m and infinity, fixed. Sources disagree on whether the GR1 and GR1s have SNAP; Wikipedia credits it to the GR1v Viewfinder — 0.43x magnification, 81 per cent vertical and 83 per cent horizontal coverage Flash — built in, 0.35–2.5 m at ISO 100 per the GR1v manual. GR1v modes: auto, flash on, flash off, red-eye reduction. Recycle about 5 s Weather sealing — none claimed Power — one CR2 3 V lithium cell. Not CR123A Weight — 175 to 180 g depending on model and source Dimensions — 117 x 61 x 26.5 mm body, 34 mm at the grip Body — magnesium alloy. The GR10 is aluminium

Here now

None here at the moment. They come through a few times a year, and this page stays up so you can find it when one does.