I love black-and-white photography. I also adore compact cameras you can always have by your side. So I’m a total mark for the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, a fixed-lens camera that can’t zoom and can’t record color — at all. It’s a formula that makes the average person ask, “Why?”
Technology
Allow me to explain why I love this camera that can’t shoot color
I’ve tested the GR IV Monochrome for over a month, taking it with me everywhere and photographing everything. Let me explain how this pricey little point-and-shoot is likely to go down as one of my all-time-favorite cameras.
$2197
The Good
- Excellent black-and-white image quality
- Everything great about the standard GR IV: sharp lens, small size, solid focusing
- Fantastic high-ISO noise performance
- Limiting yourself to black and white has creative benefits
The Bad
- Expensive for a Ricoh GR
- Face / eye tracking autofocus pales in comparison to the bigger camera brands
- Short battery life (about 200-ish shots)
Ricoh GRs are some of the most unassuming, no-frills cameras around, and they have been since their conception in the film days. In the digital era, they’re pocket-size point-and-shoots with a large APS-C sensor permanently attached to a fixed focal length lens. If you’re familiar with Fujifilm’s popular X100 line, it’s like trimming one of those down to the bare minimum — that means no viewfinder and no fancy aperture ring. The X100 and other coveted street cameras like Leicas offer vintage-style shooting and double as lifestyle accessories or shoulder-carried jewelry (with prices to match). But a Ricoh GR is purely a shooter’s camera, with unabashedly modern methods of being used. Atop the camera is a typical mode dial, with customizable user presets, not an old-timey shutter speed dial.
The GR IV Monochrome takes last year’s Ricoh GR IV, strips out the color filter from the sensor, and replaces its built-in ND filter with a red filter (for one-click contrast adjustment purely using optics). Functionally, the alteration to the sensor gives the GR Monochrome an elevated ISO range of 160 to 409,600 and makes it better in low-light shooting (because color noise looks worse at high ISO than pure luminance grain). It maintains the upgrades established with the GR IV: improved autofocusing for its 28mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens, a 26-megapixel APS-C sensor, and 53GB of internal storage (supported by a microSD card slot).
1/15The $120 Ricoh GF-2 add-on flash is a great addition for the camera. It’s best for close-up subjects, but it creates a nice high-key look in black and white.
Using the GR IV Monochrome feels just like the standard GR IV, with key functions that help it thrive in impromptu street-style shooting. It powers on and is ready to shoot in less than one second, and at any moment you can quickly full-press the shutter to forgo autofocusing and take a shot at a preset focus distance. Ricoh calls this Snap Focus, and it allows you to easily shoot from the hip with zone focusing — a staple of street photographers. The GR is all about spontaneity. Its autofocus system has face and eye detection, but it’s just a serviceable helper. The main way to use the GR is with single-point focusing and quickly moving it around the touchscreen. Many hardcore photographers will loathe its lack of an electronic viewfinder, but I’ve come to terms with its forgoing one for the sake of size.
But being forced into a black-and-white view of the world through this camera’s LCD is where the real magic happens. Any digital camera can be set to black-and-white mode, but not having the choice pushes you to look more intently at light and tonality. I pay extra attention to my compositions and seek out textures and tones I might ignore when shooting color. I know the camera can’t see color, so I mentally adjust my eye and my creativity to match — knowing there’s no bailout or reverting back to color in post. A more disciplined shooter may not feel they need all that, but I’ve shot enough on the GR IV Monochrome, other black-and-white-only cameras, and film cameras to know that I’m feasting when working with some limitations.
1/23
That’s the same ethos that drives people to go back to analog photography and digicams, or use toy-like cameras, but the GR IV Monochrome also unlocks the ability to shoot at extravagantly high ISOs in just about any light. The f/2.8 maximum aperture of the GR’s lens isn’t as fast as the f/1.7 and f/2 lenses of the Leica Q and Fujifilm X100 cameras of the world, but it’s fast enough when you barely notice much noise until ISO 25,600 and even a six-digit ISO is perfectly usable (even before denoising in post-processing software).
The other big way the GR IV sets itself apart from its Leica and Fujifilm competitors is that this camera is actually pocketable. I have ventured out of the house many times with my personal Leica Q2 slung over my shoulder, sans camera bag, ready to go on a little photo adventure or capture memories with family or friends. But it’s even easier to drop a Ricoh GR into a purse, diaper bag, or even a jacket / rear pants pocket. It turns any outing or errand into an opportunity to dabble in your creativity. These are snapshot-y moments that would usually be reserved for the camera you always have with you: your phone. But with the GR IV Monochrome, I feel more empowered and motivated to create something special and purposeful.
1/31
Am I creating art at the grocery store that’s worthy of the white walls of a Chelsea gallery? No. But seeing my own personal world through a black-and-white lens of such quality is enchanting. And there’s nothing wrong with feeling a little “artsy” sometimes, even if you’re just auditioning for the art critic in your own head.
The mundanity of our humdrum lives feels elevated when given the timeless quality of black and white. Lately, it’s felt even more authentic to me and worthy of appreciation, since generative AI is making so much of our world feel fake. It’s now commonplace to doubt everything we see as a possible deepfake or a dubious con — even from our own government. Black-and-white imagery still feels precious and real, at least as long as the AI-obsessed tech platforms don’t focus their Eye of Sauron of Enshittification on this niche of the medium.
To be fair, cameras that can’t shoot color aren’t new. Leica has been making its Monochrom variants of Q and M cameras for nearly 14 years. But priced at nearly $8,000 to $11,000 and up, they’re mostly unattainable to an average enthusiast. At $2,199.95, the GR IV Monochrome isn’t cheap but it’s much more grounded and feasible to own one without it being your only possession. And frankly, it’s less hoity-toity and snobbish when your second, third, or fourth camera — the “artsy” one — doesn’t cost more than a used car.
1/34
I’d be lying if I said that’s not part of why I dig the GR IV Monochrome so much. I’d love to one day personally own a Leica Monochrom of some sort, but it’s hard not to opt for the catch-all color camera when you’re spending that kind of money (hence why I own a Leica Q2 and not a Q2 Monochrom). But since my brain was broken by Leica and pro-level mirrorless system prices years ago, I can simultaneously look at the GR IV Monochrome and think, “$2,200? That’s not bad,” and also “GR cameras used to be like 900 bucks — what gives?”
It’s the everyday companion status of the GR IV Monochrome that makes it extra-extra special. With this little guy in your pocket, with that kind of image quality and light gathering potential, it feels like a permission slip to capture a sense of authentic wonder wherever you go. The standard GR IV is the logical version to get, allowing you to capture the vibrancy of your world. But the more hardcore GR IV Monochrome brings the romance, gritty realism, and magic.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
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Cecil Baldwin’s résumé includes appearances on Gravity Falls, narrating the documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, and performing as part of the New York Neo-Futurists theater company. But he is best known as the host of the podcast Welcome to Night Vale, a long-running fiction show that blends macabre Lovecraftian horror with absurdist comedy. As Cecil Palmer, the voice of Night Vale Community Radio, Baldwin keeps the people of the titular town abreast of all the goings ons with the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home and offers tips on how to best maintain their Bloodstone circles.
He also cohosts Random Number Generator Horror Podcast No. 9 with Night Vale cocreator Jeffrey Cranor, recently directed the play As Sylvia and raises awareness for LGBTQ+ issues and HIV. In short — he’s a busy man. So we’re excited that he found some time to tell us about his tech pet peeves.
What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?
I wish it were impossible to manually text and drive a vehicle at the same time. We are collectively way worse at it than we think.
What is your happy place online?
Adding books to my Favorite list on Amazon so I remember titles/authors, and then taking that list to my local new and/or used bookstore and buying them there.
Which tech trend do you wish would go away?
Please, I’m begging you, let me watch the credits of the film or television show in peace. I just finished a movie, you don’t need to roll me right into a whole new one. Let me digest for just a second.
What creation are you most proud of?
It would have to be the podcast Welcome to Night Vale, right? It was the acting role that changed the trajectory of my life.
What do you do when you’re feeling stuck?
I will literally say to myself “1, 2, 3, 4, 5…. Walk away.” It’s like an unbinding, spoken out loud when I don’t know how to move forward with a project or I’m stuck in a social media scroll-frenzy that is giving no pleasure. Put it down. Walk away. Focus on something else for a while.
What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?
Picked up a few albums at my local record store: Marianne Faithfull À la Télévision 1965-1967, Jorge Ben Jor Jorge Ben, and Dr John Gris-Gris.
What would the tagline for your biopic be?
Performing authenticity… for real.
What’s the last GIF or meme you used?
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You know that feeling. You cleared security, your flight isn’t boarding yet and now you are wandering the airport terminal. You are looking for a seat, an outlet or something to eat that does not feel ridiculously overpriced.
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a new lounge wants to make that dead time feel a lot less dead. Portal Lounge, a new high-tech airport lounge from the founders of Gameway, opened May 28 at MSP.
It blends gaming, dining, music, interactive design and robot-made drinks into a social space built for travelers who want a better way to spend their time before boarding.
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Portal Lounge’s glowing entrance gives travelers at MSP a first look at its high-tech airport lounge concept. (Portal Lounge)
Portal Lounge brings high-tech travel to MSP
Portal Lounge comes from Jordan and Emma Walbridge, the entrepreneurs behind Gameway. Their airport gaming concept already operates across nine U.S. airports, with plans to reach 11 locations by the end of the year.
Portal Lounge takes that gaming idea and expands it into a broader hospitality experience. Instead of building another traditional lounge around silence and exclusivity, the founders designed a social space with energy, entertainment and technology at the center.
The lounge spans 3,800 square feet and can hold about 114 people. It features a portal-inspired entrance, cinematic lighting, art deco-inspired interiors, curated music, custom furnishings and social seating areas.
Gaming stations turn airport waiting into playtime
One of the biggest tech features is the gaming setup. Portal Lounge includes 17 dedicated gaming stations with Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation and custom-built gaming PCs.
Travelers can choose from nearly 30 titles across casual, multiplayer, streaming and competitive gameplay. Adults ages 30 to 39 now represent the largest gaming demographic in the U.S. That same group also includes many travelers willing to spend on better airport experiences.
Emma said Gameway helped show how travelers respond when airport downtime becomes more interactive.
“Gameway really showed us how much travelers respond to environments that feel interactive and intentional,” Emma told CyberGuy. “When people are traveling, especially during delays or long layovers, they’re looking for ways to decompress and reset instead of just sitting in another generic waiting area.”
That insight helped shape Portal Lounge beyond gaming alone. Emma said the team wanted the space to feel welcoming, energetic and experience-driven while still offering the comfort travelers expect from a premium lounge.
“The gaming and entertainment elements are part of that, but so is the atmosphere, the food and beverage program, the music, and the overall design of the space,” she said.
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Gaming stations inside Portal Lounge let travelers play Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation and PC games before boarding. (Portal Lounge)
A robot bartender adds airport theater
The robotic bartender will probably get the most attention, and for good reason. Portal Lounge says it is introducing the first robotic bartender of its kind inside a U.S. airport lounge. The robot was developed in Italy and works alongside a traditional bar program. It can prepare cocktails and mocktails while giving travelers something highly visual to watch. That makes it part drink service and part entertainment.
This is where the lounge leans fully into tech-enabled hospitality. The robot does not replace the entire bar experience. Instead, it adds a memorable centerpiece that people will likely record, share and talk about before boarding. In other words, the robot bartender is the hook. The bigger story is how airports are starting to turn waiting into an interactive experience.
How Portal Lounge uses tech beyond the wow factor
“For us, the technology is there to enhance the experience, not overpower it,” Jordan told CyberGuy. “We wanted Portal Lounge to feel modern, social, and experiential in a way that traditional airport lounges really haven’t evolved into yet.”
He said technology touches the full lounge experience, from check-in to entertainment, lighting, music and gaming. “The goal was to create something that feels seamless and immersive from the moment you walk in,” he said.
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Portal Lounge’s robotic bartender works alongside a traditional bar program to prepare cocktails and mocktails for travelers. (Portal Lounge)
Portal Lounge adds food, music and local flavor
Portal Lounge is also trying to move beyond the usual airport food experience. The menu includes chef-driven small plates, regional drinks and cocktails tied to Minnesota. One signature drink, called the “Lag Free,” is a Minnesota-inspired margarita with Honeycrisp apple, maple and citrus notes.
There is also “Prince’s Lemonade,” a zero-proof cocktail inspired by Minnesota music icon Prince. That local touch helps the lounge feel connected to Minneapolis instead of like another airport space that could be anywhere. It also speaks to a bigger travel shift. Many travelers want places that feel memorable, photo-worthy and tied to the city they are passing through.
Why airport lounges are changing
Airport lounges used to be pretty predictable. You got a quieter seat, a snack, Wi-Fi and maybe a drink before your flight. For years, that felt like enough. Now, many travelers want more from the time they spend inside airports. Some lounges are packed. Gate areas can feel chaotic. And when you have an hour or two before boarding, sitting around and staring at a screen gets old fast.
That is where Portal Lounge is trying something different. It operates as an independent common-use lounge instead of an airline-specific club. Travelers can access it through Priority Pass and participating credit card programs, including Chase, American Express and Capital One. Walk-in access is also expected to cost about $70, depending on availability.
That price may make some people pause. For a quick stop before boarding, it may not make sense. But for a long delay, an extended layover or a family with time to burn, the math changes. Portal Lounge is betting that games, food, music and robot-made drinks can make airport waiting feel a lot less like waiting.
Inside Portal Lounge, travelers can relax in a tech-forward social space with seating, lighting, food, drinks and music. (Portal Lounge)
Why MSP makes sense for Portal Lounge
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport gives Portal Lounge a strong place to launch this concept. MSP welcomed about 36 million passengers in 2025, and many of them begin their trips there. That means plenty of travelers arrive early, clear security and still have time before boarding.
That extra time is exactly what Portal Lounge is built around. If you are running to your gate, you are probably not stopping for a gaming session or a robot-made mocktail. But if you have 90 minutes to spare, the pitch changes fast. Suddenly, the airport wait does not have to mean sitting shoulder to shoulder at the gate, guarding your bag and watching the minutes crawl by. Portal Lounge is hoping that travelers with time to kill may want something better to do with it.
What this means for you
Portal Lounge could give airport downtime a much-needed upgrade. If you are flying through MSP, it may offer a more entertaining way to wait. You can play games, grab food, listen to curated music and check out a robotic bartender before your flight.
Emma said the goal is for travelers to feel like the lounge changes the way they experience airport time.”We hope travelers walk away feeling like their time at the airport became part of the trip itself, not just time spent waiting for a flight,” she said. “Portal Lounge was designed to create a more immersive, engaging, and entertainment-driven experience, where guests can genuinely relax, connect, and enjoy themselves in a way that feels very different from a traditional airport lounge.”
That sounds appealing, especially if you are facing a delay or traveling with people who get restless before boarding. Still, the coolest lounge in the airport does not help if you miss your flight. Set an alarm, watch the boarding time and do not let one more game turn into a sprint to the gate.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Portal Lounge feels like a sign of where airport travel is headed. Travelers no longer want to sit around and stare at a boarding screen for two hours. They want comfort, entertainment and a better use of their time. The robotic bartender will grab attention. But the bigger tech story is the full experience: gaming stations, interactive design, curated music, social seating and a lounge model built around how people actually spend downtime today. Will every traveler want this? Probably not. Some people still want a quiet corner and a strong cup of coffee. But for travelers who see airport time as dead time, Portal Lounge could make the wait feel more useful and a lot more fun.
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Would you pay for a high-tech airport lounge with gaming stations and robot-made drinks, or would you rather save the money and wait at the gate? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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The Kane Parsons’ film Backrooms is expected to earn up to $90 million in its opening weekend after pulling down $38 million on Friday alone. That’s not only above expectations, but absolutely obliterates A24’s previous opening weekend record of $25.5 million for Alex Garland’s Civil War. It’s also a better opening day than The Mandalorian and Grogu, which only pulled down $33.7 million on its way to a total $81.6 million for the weekend.
That also means that Backrooms is an incredibly profitable movie, with an estimated $10 million budget. By comparison, the latest Star Wars disappointment cost $165 million and was considered affordable compared to other entries in the series.
While Backrooms hasn’t received quite as much universal praise as fellow low-budget horror breakout Obsession, it’s still largely getting positive reviews. It also adds to the growing number of YouTube creators (including Obsession’s Curry Barker) who have proven to be successful box office draws.
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