Ricoh GX100

[Jeroen]

A new small Ricoh has been announced. The body looks a great deal like the GR Digital, 24-72 lens, 10 MP, RAW (!) and a unique feature: a small digital finder which one can fit into the hotshoe, making it some sort of hybrid SLR-like camera. I think it's cool.

http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/caplio/gx100/index.html

 

[Bill58]

Yeah--I saw it too, but w/ Ricoh's highly unusual dealer/ distribution program, I wonder where it will be available and where you can get it serviced. I think I'd feel better if Canon, Fuji, etc. came out w/ one like it.

 

[sooner]

Thanks for posting this link, it looks like a cool camera with some unique features. One of my sharpest cameras ever was a Ricoh point and shoot from the early 90's, but one day it just fell apart on me.

 

[IGMeanwell]

Adorama is accepting preorders on it

http://www.adorama.com/IRCGX100.html?searchinfo=Ricoh&item_no=3

I like the idea of the 24mm equiv (the Natura S was a ton of fun) and the optional EVF

I wish the expense wasn't so much and hopefully they have upgraded the buffer

 

[Jeroen]

I just read some more, it also has vibration reduction - great for night shots. And it also seems to have a square format option?!

 

[pvdhaar]

An external electronic viewfinder? Who ever dreamed up that thing? It's no more than a poor solution for a camera that doesn't have a proper optical finder, but that must show the frame when zooming in/out..

A single focal length and a good built in finder would make for a killer camera in that form factor, but this is just not it..

 

[Bryan Lee]

I saw the GX 100 this morning while making my rounds on the Interweb. It caught me off guard since it was not announced during the PMA in Vegas and was a nice find. If Ricoh solved some of the issues they were having with the GRD I will be interested. I'm looking at the Sigma DP1 and waiting to see what it turns out to be for now. It and this GX 100 just go to show the directions possible with digital, I for one couldn't be happier unless they made a DP1 in 50mm.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Interesting for it's focal length to me. I would have liked a built in vari-focal VF. manual zooming via an tab added.

Bob

 

[Jeroen]

An external electronic viewfinder? Who ever dreamed up that thing? It's no more than a poor solution for a camera that doesn't have a proper optical finder, but that must show the frame when zooming in/out..

A single focal length and a good built in finder would make for a killer camera in that form factor, but this is just not it..

Well, there aren't any reviews yet, now are they? Let's just wait and see until someone really gets his or her hands on it. For now I think it's an interesting concept.

 

[pvdhaar]

Well, there aren't any reviews yet, now are they? Let's just wait and see until someone really gets his or her hands on it. For now I think it's an interesting concept.

A dodo is also an interesting concept, but proved an evolutionary dead end nonetheless..

Somehow, the consensus of the camera makers seems to be that what the public wants is either puny optical finders or slow electronic viewfinders.. Of course, as long as the markets aren't saturated, there's no need for something better.

 

[Iansky]

It will be interesting to see what they price it at, will it be the same as the GRD and potentially kill it off or will it be more expensive and narrow the market of potential buyers?

I own and use a GRD on a regular basis, it is my carry everywhere camera and produces amazing results and I have no complaints other than the painfully slow RAW write times!

It will be interesting to see what effect the DP1 will have on the market with its larger sensor, if it proves to produce SLR quality images as many suspect, I fear this may well kill off the GRD and potentially the GX100 unless of course, Ricoh have a larger sensor GRD replacment in the wings?

 

[pvdhaar]

..It will be interesting to see what effect the DP1 will have on the market with its larger sensor, if it proves to produce SLR quality images as many suspect, I fear this may well kill off the GRD and potentially the GX100 unless of course, Ricoh have a larger sensor GRD replacment in the wings?

Given the target audiences for the DP-1 and GRD, I doubt that the sensor alone will make the difference. These cameras are aimed at demanding photographers who'll see these as complementary to a DSLR. By consequence, the big sensor is already there (in the DSLR that is).

So what is needed is a camera that is good at what these DSLRs aren't particularly good at. And that's compactness, but without making sacrifices in user interface, speed of operation, finder and image quality. As far as the latter is concerned, I've seen very, very good pictures done with the GRD. They're different (as per DOF rendition) from pictures with longer lenses and bigger sensors, but they can be stunning.

But where both the GRD and DP-1 fall short, is that external finders do not make for compact cameras.. (I'm getting a bit repetitive..)

 

[IGMeanwell]

Just want to quick quote this from DPreview (actually the press release):

24 to 72 mm high-performance wide zoom lens in a compact body.

* The newly developed 24 to 72 mm wide zoom lens (35mm film equivalent) features a generous configuration of 11 elements in 7 groups, including aspheric surface lenses and high-refractive-index, low-dispersion lenses. This optimal configuration restricts distortion, chromatic aberration, and light falloff at edges for wide-angle operations while delivering aperture light settings from F2.5(Wide-angle) to F4.4(Telephoto).
* The body size of 25mm is the smallest* that can accommodate a zoom lens of 24 mm or longer, making it easy to carry and enjoy photography anywhere.
* The 7 blade iris aperture enables fine tuning and achieves beautiful blurred backgrounds.


That last bit is kind of interesting to me ... it seems like they are claiming some control over the depth of the field because of the new lens... I don't know any company that has even tried to mention this with a Point and Shoot

BTW the price will be the same as the GRD $599 according to Adorama

 

[ywenz]

An external electronic viewfinder? Who ever dreamed up that thing? It's no more than a poor solution for a camera that doesn't have a proper optical finder, but that must show the frame when zooming in/out..

A single focal length and a good built in finder would make for a killer camera in that form factor, but this is just not it..

Maybe they're reserving those features for the GRD II ? You're also missing the advantage of the EVF, you can adjust all the settings of the cameras thru the viewfinder therefore allowing yourself an extra degree of stealthiness. On more than on occasion in a dark environment, I was annoying by the bright LCD on my GRD because I needed to see/adjust the camera settings.

Just want to quick quote this from DPreview (actually the press release):

* The body size of 25mm is the smallest* that can accommodate a zoom lens of 24 mm or longer, making it easy to carry and enjoy photography anywhere.
* The 7 blade iris aperture enables fine tuning and achieves beautiful blurred backgrounds.
[/U]

That last bit is kind of interesting to me ... it seems like they are claiming some control over the depth of the field because of the new lens... I don't know any company that has even tried to mention this with a Point and Shoot

If the lens zooms, then you can definitely adjust the DOF to achieve some bokeh..

 

[IGMeanwell]

If the lens zooms, then you can definitely adjust the DOF to achieve some bokeh..

Typically with point of shoots the only way to get a blurred background as they are describing is in Macro mode ... the size of the sensor and the size of the lens itself means very large DOF

I am saying its odd for them to state this as a means of positive over other point and shoots because it is a common complaint with people that they can't control at their will DOF on their P&S cameras

 

[ywenz]

You'd be surprised of how little DOF you can achieve with a small sensor and only 28mm eqv FOV.. {See Attachment}

Now just think how blurry that background would be at 75mm eqv FOV!

 

[lamb]

You'd be surprised of how little DOF you can achieve with a small sensor and only 28mm eqv FOV..

What's your distance from the (delicious) pot of enoki? 1m? Focus at it 2-3 meters away, and you're probably in hyperfocal territory. Don't kid yourself, it's just the way the physics are.

A single focal length and a good built in finder would make for a killer camera in that form factor, but this is just not it..

..it's called the GR-D.

 

[ywenz]

What's your distance from the (delicious) pot of enoki? 1m? Focus at it 2-3 meters away, and you're probably in hyperfocal territory. Don't kid yourself, it's just the way the physics are.

no doubt but goes to show you that even a simple food shoot can benefit from pleasant looking bokeh.

btw, that shot was from the ricoh's website.

 

[lamb]

no doubt but goes to show you that even a simple food shoot can benefit from pleasant looking bokeh.

btw, that shot was from the ricoh's website.

Ah.. I thought you were trying to say that a P&S could have some out of focus areas.. which it can, but macros aside, a P&S usually cannot give us enough out of focus backgrounds to even call it bokeh.

..and too bad it's not your shot, I was wondering where that Japanese restaurant was in Chicago. 😉

 

[pvdhaar]

A single focal length and a good built in finder would make for a killer camera in that form factor, but this is just not it..

..it's called the GR-D.

No built in finder on the GR-D.. only an LCD on the back..