Ricoh GX200 High End Digital Compact
Ricoh's updated fully featured compact looks full of win.
(by editor for Digital Lifestyles, 24th June 07)

We almost dribbled with must-have camera love when we got our hands on Ricoh's high-end Caplio GX100 digital compact camera last year, and fresh moist patches have already appeared around the office with news of its successor, the GX200.

Physically, very little seems to have changed to the 25mm thin camera, but inside the GX200 has hiked the resolution up to 12 megapixels, with the company claiming "dramatic noise reduction" thanks to the addition of their new image processing engine, Smooth Imaging Engine III.

The GX200 retains the extremely useful optical zoom range covering a wideangle 24mm to short telephoto 72mm, with a larger 2.7-inch, 460,000 pixel HVGA LCD screen appearing on the back, with an optional articulated electronic viewfinder available.

The CCD shift method image stabiliser remains onboard, while a top shooting speed of 5fps and a continuous RAW mode allows continuous shooting for up to five raw format images.



What we loved about the Ricoh GX100 was its vast range of SLR-like manual controls and customised controls, and the GX200 builds on this functionality by adding two one-push mode change function buttons, letting users - for example - instantly jump from JPEG to RAW shooting or from colour to B&W. Sweet.

Inherited from Ricoh's high end fixed focal length GRD2 digi-compact is the electronic level which uses an an acceleration sensor to help keep the camera body horizontally or vertically - so you should be able to bid adieu to sloping seas and wobbly horizons.

A useful light intensity adjustment function (-2.0 EV to +2.0 EV) and '1st Curtain' and '2nd Curtain' options offer extra creative control for the flash, while the sensitivity range has been expanded to accommodate an ISO 64 setting.

The Ricoh GX200 will retails for £349.99, or £399 as a kit with the VF-1 electronic viewfinder.

» Read our Ricoh GX200 review.



Ricoh GX200 Specifications
CCD:
Effective 12.1 million pixels (total 12.4 million pixels), 1/1.7-inch primary-colour CCD

Lens:
Focal length: f=5.1 to 15.3 mm (35 mm film equivalent focal length 24 to 72 mm. With Step Zoom set,
the following fixed focal lengths possible: 24 mm, 28 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 72 mm)
Aperture (F value): F2.5 (wide) to F4.4 (telephoto)

Shooting Distance:
Normal shooting: Approx. 30 cm to infinity (wide-angle), approx. 30 cm to infinity (telephoto) (from the front of the lens) / Macro shooting: Approx. 1.0 cm to infinity (wide-angle), approx. 4.0 cm to infinity (telephoto), approx. 1.0 cm to infinity (zoom macro) (from the front of the lens)

Lens Construction:
11 glass elements in 7 groups

Zoom Magnification:
Optical zoom: 3x (35mm film equivalent focal length 24 to 72 mm)
Digital zoom: 4x, up to 12x (288 mm equivalent) in combination with optical zoom
Auto resize zoom: 6.3x, up to 18.9x (450 mm equivalent) in combination with optical zoom (VGA
image)

Focus Mode:
Multi AF (CCD method) / Spot AF (CCD method) / Manual Focus / Snap / Infinity (with focus lock and AF aux. light)

Motion Blur Reduction:
CCD shift method image stabilizer

Shutter Speed:
Still image: 180, 120, 60, 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1 to 1/2000 sec. / Movie: 1/30 - 1/2000 sec.

Exposure Adjustment:
Exposure Metering Mode: Multi Light Metering (256 segments) / Centre-weighted / Spot (TTL-CCD metering, AE lock available) Exposure mode: Program AE / Aperture Priority AE / Manual Exposure Exposure compensation: Manual Exposure Compensation (+2.0 to -2.0 EV in 1/3 EV steps) / Auto Bracket Function (-0.5 EV, ±0, +0.5 EV /-0.3 EV, ±0, +0.3 EV)

ISO Sensitivity (Standard Output Sensitivity):
AUTO / AUTO-HI / ISO64 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600

White Balance Mode:
Auto / Outdoors / Cloudy / Incandescent Lamp / Fluorescent Lamp / Manual Settings / Detail White balance bracket function

Flash:
Built-in Flash Mode: Auto (during low light and when subject is backlit) / Red-eye Flash / Flash On / Flash Synchro / Manual Flash (Full, 1/1.4, 1/2, 1/2.8, 1/4, 1/5.6, 1/8, 1/11, 1/16, 1/22, 1/32) / Flash Off / Built-in Flash Range: Approx. 20 cm to 5.0 m (wide-angle), approx. 15 cm to 3.0 m (telephoto) (ISO AUTO / ISO 400, from the front of the lens) Flash Compensation: ±2.0 EV (1/3 EV steps)

Picture Display:
2.7" Transparent Amorphous Silicon TFT LCD, approx. 460,000 dots



Shooting Mode:
Auto Shooting Mode / Program Shift Mode / Aperture Priority Mode / Manual Exposure Mode /
Scene Mode (Movie / Portrait / Sports / Landscape / Nightscape / Zoom Macro / Skew Correct Mode /
Text Mode) / My Settings Mode

Picture Quality Mode: F (Fine) / N (Normal) / RAW (DNG file format)

Number of Recorded Pixels:
Still image: [4:3] 4000×3000, 3264×2448, 2592×1944, 2048×1536, 1280×960, 640×480
[3:2] 3984×2656 / [1:1] 2992×2992 / Movie: 640×480, 320×240 / Text: 4000×3000, 2048×1536

Recording Media:
SD memory card, SDHC memory card (up to 16 GB), Internal Memory (approx. 54 MB)
Storage Capacity (No. of Pictures) (Internal 54 MB Memory):
Still image: 4000×3000 (RAW: 2 / F: 11 / N: 20), 3984×2656 (RAW: 2 / F: 13 / N: 23)
2992×2992 (RAW: 3 / (F: 15) / N: 27 3264×2448 (N: 30) / 2592×1944 (N: 48)
2048×1536 (N: 74) / 1280×960 (N: 133), 640×480 (N: 497)

Storage Capacity (Time) (Internal 54 MB Memory):
Movie: 640×480 / 30 frames/sec. (41 sec.), 640×480 / 15 frames/sec. (1 min. 22 sec.),
320×240 / 30 frames/sec. (1 min. 22 sec.), 320×240 / 15 frames/sec (2 min. 40 sec.)

Recording File Format:
Still image: JPEG (Exif Ver. 2.21)DCF, RAW (DNG) Movie: AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG Format Compliant)

Other Major Shooting Functions:
CONT. / S-CONT / M-CONT / Self-timer (operation time: approx. 10 sec. / 2 sec.), Interval Shooting (shooting interval: 5 sec. to 3 hr., in increments of 5 sec.), Colour Bracket, B&W (TE), Noise Reduction, Histogram, Grid Guide, Electronic Level, Hot Shoe

Other Major Playback Functions:
Auto Rotate, Grid View, Enlarged View (maximum 16x), Resize

Interface:
USB 2.0 High-Speed (mini B cable), Mass Storage / Audio Output 1.0Vp-p / Video OUT

Video Signal Format:
NTSC /PAL

Power Source:
Rechargeable Battery (DB60) ×1 / AAA Dry Alkaline Battery ×2 / AAA Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery ×2 / AC Adapter (AC-4c Optional) 3.8V

Battery Consumption:
Based on CIPA Standard: DB-60 usage: approx. 350 pictures / AAA alkaline battery usage: approx. 30 pictures

Dimensions:
111.6 mm (W) × 58.0 mm (h) × 25.0 mm (d) excluding projecting parts

Weight:
Approx. 208 g (excluding battery, SD memory card, and strap) Accessories: approx. 30 g (battery and strap)

Ricoh

» Read our Ricoh GX200 review.