Digital Camera World » Ricoh digital cameras

New Ricoh GXR camera unit with 3.5x zoom lens revealed

jmeyer — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:02:24 +0000

Ricoh has unveiled the fifth camera unit in its Ricoh GXR interchangeable unit camera system with the launch of RICOH LENS A16.

The RICOH LENS A16 boasts a 24-85mm f/3.5-5.5, 3.5x optical zoom lens and a large APS-C size CMOS sensor.

First introduced in December 2009, the Ricoh GXR is an interchangeable unit camera system in which lenses can be changed by mounting camera units that integrate lens, image sensor, and image processing engine into a single unit.

The RICOH A16 lens features a 9-group, 11-element configuration that uses three double-sided aspherical lenses as well as high-refraction lenses to reduce distortion across the zoom range.

The configuration of nine rounded aperture blades also allows photographers to achieve both highly precise aperture settings and beautiful bokeh, Ricoh says.

The new Ricoh GXR camera unit features a 23.6 mm×15.7 mm (APS-C size) 16M CMOS sensor which, in combination with the image processing engine Smooth Imaging Engine IV, makes it possible to shoot high-quality images with smooth tonal gradations, as well as low noise and high-resolution, the company claims.

Other features include an image flag function to enable the quick display of specific images from among those in the camera. Up to 20 images can be flagged.
It is also possible to shoot 1280 × 720p HD movies on the new Ricoh GXR unit.

The RICOH LENS A16 comes with a lens hood, lens cap and wrapping sheet, and will be priced £449.99. A kit will also be available for £599.99 which will include the GXR body and the new lens.

Ricoh GXR Review

dcworld — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:52:56 +0000

First interchangeable unit compact camera put through its paces

The Ricoh GXR system comes in two parts. The body houses the controls, the viewing system, the battery and the memory card. The interchangeable camera unit contains the sensor and the processing hardware. The idea is that you swap camera units according to the type of job you’re doing, and the Ricoh has two to choose from straight out of the box, including an A12 50mm f/2.5 Macro fixed focal length unit and the S10 24‑72mm f/2.5-4.4 VC unit, which we’ve tested here. But how will the camera fare in our rigorous testing? Rod Lawton finds out…

This is where it gets confusing. These camera units have different sized sensors. The 24-72mm unit has a 1/1.7-inch sensor while the 50mm unit offers an APS-C‑sized sensor. This makes the GXR harder to categorise and judge. Is it a compact camera with an SLR-sized sensor? Sometimes. Or is it an expensive and slightly complicated compact? Again, sometimes.

Of the two units currently available, the 50mm Macro unit is arguably the more exciting in that it uses a larger APS-C-sized sensor. It wasn’t available for review, but our hands-on test suggested bigger sensors are surely the future (if there is one) for the GXR.

Meanwhile, a recent Ricoh presentation has hinted at a third camera unit, boasting a high-speed CMOS sensor and what looks like a telephoto lens. Most importantly, once the body and chosen unit are slotted together, the GXR feels like a ‘proper’ camera.

You immediately forget that it’s made up of two parts, because the fit is perfect. It’s barely bigger than Ricoh’s other compacts, and significantly smaller than the Olympus E-P1 or Panasonic GF1 – a fact that could prove very significant later on if we see some more larger sensor camera units arrive.

Is the Ricoh GXR in a league of it’s own?

Apart from the unique design, two things stand out with the GXR: its build quality and its controls. There are some very good high-end compacts around right now, including the Canon G11 and S90 and the Panasonic Lumix LX3, but the GXR is in another league. The controls are firm, tight and precise, and the layout is excellent.

A small but perfectly weighted control dial on the front takes care of a dozen different adjustments, depending on the context, while a rotary controller on the back operates as both a button and a dial for quickly setting ISO, white balance, quality or any number of other functions – it’s completely customisable, as are the two separate function buttons on the back. Plus, if you’re still not happy, you can use a direct interface button to produce an on-screen overlay that you can navigate with the directional buttons.

The GXR has a spectacularly good three-inch 920,000-pixel LCD screen, but if you prefer you yan connect an optional electronic viewfinder (EVF) to the accessory shoe. This also has 920,000 pixels, and it swivels up to 90° for waistlevel shots or tricky macros.

This camera unit focuses right down to 1cm, and while the minimum focus does change when you zoom, it’s only a little, increasing to around 3cm. The macro capabilities, then, are exceptional – which does rather undermine Ricoh’s separate 50mm macro camera unit, although that does have the larger sensor and could double as both a portrait and short telephoto lens.

But what about the pictures?

The 24-72mm zoom has very good edge-to-edge sharpness and not much distortion (the camera can correct distortion internally too), and the exposure and white balance systems are up to the same high standard. However, there’s a limit to what any 1/1.7-inch sensor can do, and both noise and noise reduction start to creep in as early as ISO200-400. This camera unit does go all the way up to ISO3200, but the small sensor means that the quality’s on the slide well before you get that far.

Compared to regular compacts, the GXR looks hugely overpriced. But as a second camera for a serious enthusiast or professional, it deserves to be taken very seriously. The GXR is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket and yet offers experienced photographers direct, hands-on control with a speed and efficiency you simply won’t find in another mainstream compact. It’s not always about money…

If Ricoh doesn’t come up with more camera units, and soon, the GXR may remain just an expensive oddity. However, if a wider selection of camera units follow, especially with APS-C sensors, this camera could turn into a modern classic. Watch this space.

Sample images (click to see bigger):

Ricoh G600 Review

dcworld — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:55:48 +0000

Can Ricoh’s G600 possibly be as rugged as it looks?

Big and tough and waterproof – up to a point – the Ricoh G600 takes impressive pictures and features controls that won’t prove too fiddly for the rough and ready outdoors life. Whether that makes it worth the steep asking price is another matter.

If looks counted for anything, the Ricoh G600 would be the toughest camera around.

It’s much larger than the most compacts, and has a rubber-like finish that feels much more suited to bouncing off rocks or getting a grip on underwater.

Unfortunately, with a depth rating of just 1m, it’s going to be in trouble in anything deeper than a paddling pool. It’s shockproof to 1.5m, though, so it’ll take a knocks, and could be useful for hikers.

The G600′s size and finish are strong points, as are the controls. They’re bigger and spacier than those on other waterproof cameras.

The picture quality is impressive too, with resolution at both ends of the 5x zoom range and decent colours and exposure, though the Auto White Balance did prove a bit variable in bright sun.

Ricoh Caplio R5 Review

dcworld — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:58:43 +0000

Aims to get you closer and show you the bigger picture

You can’t beat the convenience of a slimline compact camera. Slip it into a spare pocket and take it just about anywhere. However, with that portability comes an almost universal frustration…

However, with that portability comes an almost universal frustration in the shape of a virtually ubiquitous 3x zoom lens, which fails to supply a decent wide-angle view at one end of its range or give anything remotely approaching telephoto at the other. Despite a slim (26mm) form factor, Ricoh has somehow managed to shoehorn a far more generous 7.1x zoom lens into its Caplio R5. Its equivalent focal range of 28- 200mm gives the camera an edge over most of its competition.When in use, the zoom switch for the lens is a bit small, it isn’t very conveniently placed and is rather more fiddly than on most cameras. As with many motorised zooms, you don’t get a smooth progression but rather a lurching from one zoom setting to the next, in this case stepping between 28, 35, 50, 85, 105, 135 and 200mm. Even so, we were delighted with the sharpness of the lens throughout the whole zoom range, even when shooting at wide-open apertures.

Pincushion and barrel distortion at the telephoto and wide-angle zoom extremities was also less than we were expecting, considering the generous 7x range.The R5 also includes a new Skew Correction option in its variety of scene modes, enabling you to photograph something from an angle and make it look like it was shot head on. In practice, this works best with things such as shots of TV or computer screens, or shop windows where you don’t want your reflection in the photo.Feel the noiseCompared with the older Caplio R4, the new model has more resolution both in its CCD sensor and its 2.5-inch LCD. This has to be used for composing shots because there’s no separate viewfinder, the lack of which is now common in digital compact cameras. Two problems with using large LCDs as viewfinders are that they can cane battery life and can lead to blurred photos from camera shake in low light levels, because you can’t ‘lock’ the camera into your face. The R5 gets around the first problem easily enough, with a Li-ion battery pack that lasts for around 380 shots between charges – more than doubling the performance of some of its competitors. There’s also a CCD-shift anti-shake mechanism built in. However, this didn’t work quite as well in our tests as similar systems built into Canon and Nikon compact cameras.In general use, both indoors and outdoors and in varying light conditions, the exposure and colour accuracy of the R5 proved very good in our tests. Skin tones were natural, vivid colours were recreated with passion and the camera did a good job of maintaining both lowlight and highlight details in high contrast scenes. The only real Achilles heel of the camera is image noise. Like many Ricoh cameras we’ve seen in the past, the R5 has noticeable grain-like noise attributes that affect too many areas of too many photos. It’s noticeable as soon as you go beyond the 100 ISO setting, getting steadily worse all the way up to 1600 ISO. It’s a shame because, apart from this one flaw, the R5 is a seriously handy pocket camera.