This in time will have my findings on the Ricoh Caplio R series pocket cameras, starting with the R3 where the pocket camera really became useful with 28-200mm equivalent performance. Not so much a review as a collection of facts and figures and traits of the R3 and following models with the 28-200mm equivalent lens. The very fast turn on time, fast auto focus time and short shutter lag make this family of cameras very nice to use - no more missed shots because the camera wasn't ready. The usual forum I inhabit is the Ricoh Talk forum at www.dpreview.com The DPReview side by side comparison chart is here and you can set up the choices of cameras to compare features by selecting from current and discontinued cameras. The R10 is announced and there appears to be no R9 model, in other words, the R10 came when the R9 was expected, but the R10 just looks like a slightly updated R8. Strange.
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There are general Ricoh Links page mainly for GRD, GRD2, GX100, GX200 and GX8 links of interest, plus separate pages for GX100 Wish List and GRD Wish List. Now also...... http://www.ricohforum.com/ is active, as a dedicated Ricoh forum. |
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R3 announced 7th Sep 2005 = 5 megapixels, 4.6mm to 33mm lens (28-200mm equivalent) and reviews at ... http://www.geocities.com/tom_jhou/ricoh_r3.html http://www.thinkcamera.com/news/article/mps/UAN/22/V/1/SP/ http://www.digicamreview.com/ricoh_caplio_r3_review.htm http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2005/10/25/Ricoh-Caplio-R3/p1 http://www.digitalcameratracker.com/archives/2005/10/15/ricoh-caplio-r3.html A rather negative R3 review with errors of fact is at ... http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_ricoh_caplio_r3.php |
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R4 announced 23rd Feb 2006 = 6 megapixels, 4.6mm to 33mm lens (28-200mm equivalent), very similar to R3 and reviews at .... http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/tests/testdetail.cfm?test_id=433 http://www.modesoft.co.uk/RicohR4.htm http://www.urban75.org/photos/ricoh-caplio-r4-review.html http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_ricoh_caplio_r4.php as above with the R3 review, some factual errors make this one dubious value. http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/index.php/taxid;2136212588;pid;1811;pt;1 http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review.php?reviewId=1621 http://www.digicamreview.com/ricoh_caplio_r4_review.htm http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/hardware/2156510/ricoh-caplio-r4-digital-camera |
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R5 announced 24th Aug 2006 = 7 megapixels, 4.6mm to 33mm lens (28-200mm equivalent), slight changes externally to R4, but new image processing chip and improved movie mode and some reviews at ...... http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2006/12/01/Ricoh-Caplio-R5/p1 http://digital-lifestyles.info/display_page.asp?section=platforms&id=3662 http://www.thinkcamera.com/news/article/mps/UAN/215/v/1/sp http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review.php?reviewId=1760 http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_ricoh_caplio_r5.php http://www.digicamreview.co.uk/ricoh_caplio_r5_review.htm http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/11/review_ricoh_caplio_r5/ http://www.urban75.org/photos/ricoh-caplio-r5-review.html http://ricohcaplior5.blogspot.com/ not a review as such, but miscellaneous samples and comments about the R5. http://www.digitalcameratracker.com/archives/2006/09/15/ricoh-caplio-r5-review-roundup-and-sample-photos.html for a summary of reviews |
| R8 announced 19 February 2008 = 10 megapixels on a slightly larger 1/2.3"
sensor, lens now 4.95mm to 35.4mm to still yield 28-200mm
equivalent, changed externally compared
to R7 (now is a bit bigger camera), has a mode dial. Review.... http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2008/04/01/Ricoh-R8-digital-camera/p1 Review.... http://www.photoreview.com.au/Ricoh/reviews/slimline/ricoh-r8.aspx Review.... http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/ricohr8/ Review.... http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/digitalcameras/0,39030232,49295790,00.htm Review.... http://www.thinkcamera.com/news/article/mps/uan/698 Review.... http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ricoh/r8-review/index.shtml A real user's short review..... http://www.waloszek.de/R8-Test/r8_test.htm from Gerd Waloszek, also has size comparisons between R5-R8-GX100 |
| R10 announced 19 August 2008, they missed out releasing the R9 model, it never happened.. It is much the same camera as the R8 with just a few little features added. More when I know more, see http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/r/r10/ for full details. |
To find Manuals for Ricoh cameras.......... http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/support/manual/
My basic comparison table with links to all R3/4/5/6/7/8 factory specifications here.
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Other Ricoh camera links now
here
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General Comments
The R3 when closed, showing it does have a more or less flat front, so is truly pocketable. The random CD is there just for size comparison. Other models shown on comparison page.
The R4 is nearly exactly the same appearance, the R5 has slightly restyled the area around the flash and shutter button.
The R6 and R7 are slightly longer and slightly thinner and restyled to look less 'boxy'. The R8 has grown a bit in size due to slightly larger sensor and lens assembly.
Some people and "serious" reviewers have criticised the R3/4/5 for being "all plastic". One reviewer called it "all plastic with a metal band around the middle". Wrong, it's a plastic band around the middle, and sadly, even plastic where the wrist strap connects - a very weak arrangement. The front and back plates of the camera are pressed out of metal and may be variously silver looking, black or blue or red for various R3/4/5 models. The hatch that covers the SD card and battery feels flimsy and looks to me as it it is designed to fall out easily if accidentally hit when open. The method of installation of the cover means that it appears to be easy to put back in place.
The R3/4 manual implies that 1 gig SD cards are the maximum size, but many have used 2 gig cards with success. A 4 gig SD card will work but as a 2 gig because the camera uses FAT16 format and the address limit is 2 gig for FAT16. One forum post mentioned that using a large MMC card caused very long startup delays. The R5 manual does list the 2 gig card and in one place says that a card bigger than 2 gig will behave like a 2 gig card. the latest firmware update for the R5 allows 4 gig SDHC cards to be used. The R6 comes with that ability already.
The flash is very small and because of that the shooting range is quite limited. You do need to use Auto ISO for best results, if using set ISO then some experimentation will be needed. A remote slave flash like the small Sunpak Remotelite II makes a tremendous difference to the result but test shots need to be taken for each situation.
Some reviews have criticised image quality and the amount of image noise, but after a clean up with Neat Image or Noiseware and a few minor tweaks with a photo editor, the images are much better than those produced by many other cameras. I prefer a maybe noisy but "true" image against the usual "plastic" over-processed images that often come from many competitive digicams.
Balancing out the size, cost, fast action, big zoom range, good wide angle, ease of use, image quality when used properly, and convenience of the menus and buttons, the R3 for me is one of the best cameras I have ever used - it makes photography fun again. Let us hope that Ricoh continues with this style of camera and keeps improving it in future similar models.
Fiddling with File Names now moved to here.
More items will follow
spasmodically as I find things
out..... Guy, August 2008 