Ricoh is not hurling dozens of new models at us like other bigger manufacturers. Instead, the company is putting all the resources into a single camera. That's not to say that it's the best compact ever, but at least you don't get mixed up in models.

The new Caplio R7 boasts an 8.15MP CCD and a 7.1x optical zoom lens, which means it will tackle most of your "daunting" photographic tasks. What's nice about the Caplio, with a focal range from 28mm to 200mm, is that it offers better wide-angle capabilities than most of the competitors out there.

Additionally, you also get CCD-shifting vibration correction (vibration reduction would sound too Nikonish), which allows for slower than recommended shutter times.

Ricoh is also touting a new processing engine, called "Smooth Imaging Engine III", which supposedly does a better job at reducing noise at high sensitivities. Just remember that, regardless of what the marketing department tells you, point and shoot cameras are quite disappointing over ISO 400 (in fact ISO 200 is even more recommended). The Smooth Imaging Engine III also enables a face recognition model, which automatically identifies faces in a scene and automatically adjusts the focus, exposure, and white balance for best results.

In terms of composing and reviewing images, the R7 comes with a 2.7-inch TFT monitor, which is more than enough, albeit not quite as large as a 3-inch unit.

All in all, the new Ricoh Caplio R7, priced at around £229.99 inc vat., offers a good set of features and as mentioned above, there's only one model. Let's just hope that Ricoh keeps it this way.


Here's the specification list:

CCD:
Effective 8.15 million pixels (total 8.29 million pixels), 1/2.5-inch primary color CCD
Lens:
Focal length: f=4.6-33 mm (equivalent to 28-200 mm for 35 mm film cameras. With Step Zoom set, option of seven fixed lengths: 28 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 105 mm, 135 mm, and 200 mm)

Vibration Correction Function:
CCD shift method
Zoom:
Optical 7.1x zoom (equivalent to 28-200 mm for 35 mm fi lm cameras), Digital zoom: 4.8x, Maximum: 34.1x (equivalent to 960 mm) when used with optical zoom Auto Resize Zoom: 5.1x*1, Maximum: 36.2x*1 (equivalent to 1010 mm) when used with optical zoom
Object Distance:
Approx. 30 cm - infinity (Wide), approx. 1.0 m - infinity (Telephoto) (From lens tip)
Macro Shooting Distance:
Approx. 0.01 m -∞ (Wide), approx. 0.25 m -∞ (Telephoto)

(From lens tip)
Shutter:
Still image: 8, 4, 2, 1 - 1/2000 sec. / Movie: 1/30 - 1/2000 sec.
Resolution (pixels):
Still image: 3264x2448, 3264x2176, 2592x1944, 2048x1536, 1280x960, 640x480
Text: 3264x2448, 2048x1536
Movie: 640x480, 320x240
Picture Mode*2:
F (Fine) / N (Normal)
ISO Sensitivity (Standard Output Sensitivity:
AUTO / AUTO-HI / 64 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600
Flash:
Flash Off, Auto, Red-eye Flash, Flash on, Flash Synchro, Soft Flash
Flash Range*³: approx. 0. 2 m - 3.0 m (Wide-angle), approx. 0.25m - 2.0 m (Telephoto)
Focus:
Auto Focus / Manual Focus / Snap / ∞ (AF auxiliary light)
Exposure Adjustment:
TTL-CCD Metering Method: Multi Light Metering (256 segments) / Centre-weighted Light Metering / Spot Metering
Exposure Compensation:
Manual exposure compensation +/-2.0EV (1/3EV Steps), Auto Bracket Function (-0.5EV, ±0, +0.5EV)
White Balance:
AUTO/ Fixed: (Outdoors / Cloudy / Incand. / Incand 2 / Fluores. / Manual) / White Balance Bracket
Memory Type:
SD memory card (3.3V: 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB, 1GB, 2GB), SDHC memory card (4GB), Multi media card, Internal memory (24 MB)
Storage Capacity*4 (No. of Pictures) (on internal 24 MB Memory):
Still image: 3264x2448 (F: 7, N: 13) / 3264x2176 (F: 8) / 2592x1944 (N: 21) / 2048x1536 (N: 31) /
1280x960 (N: 58) / 640 x 480 (N: 219)
Storage Capacity*5 (time) (on internal 24 MB Memory):
Movie: 640x480 15 frames/sec. (36 sec.) / 320x240 15 frames/sec. (1 min. 10 sec.) /
640x480 30 frames/sec. (18 sec.) / 320×240 30 frames/sec. (36 sec.) /
Storage Capacity (file sizes):
Still image: 3264x2448 (F: 2.90 MB, N: 1.67 MB) / 3264x2176 (F: 2.58 MB), 2592x1944 (N: 1.07 MB) /
2048x1536 (N: 680 KB) / 1280x960 (N: 365 KB) / 640x480 (N: 95 KB) (Sizes are approximate.)
Recording Mode:
Still Image: (Still Image, CONT., S-CONT, M-CONT) / Scene Modes (Portrait, Face, Sports, Landscape, Nightscape, High Sensitivity, Zoom Macro, B&W, Sepia, Skew correction, Text, Movie), My Setting 1+2
Recording Format:
Still Image: JPEG (Exif ver. 2.21) DCF*6 compliant DPOF support
Text: JPEG (Exif ver. 2.21) DCF*6 compliant DPOF support
Movie: AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG Format compliant)
LCD Monitor Display:
2.7 inch Transparent Amorphous Silicon TFT LCD (approx. 230,000 pixels)
Self-timer:
Operation time: approx. 10 sec./approx. 2 sec.
Interval Timer:
Shooting interval: 5 sec. - 3 hours (5 sec. steps)*7
Other functions:
Correct Contrast / Correct Tone / Colour Bracket (CL-Bkt) / Record Dual Size
PC Interface:
USB2.0 Hi-Speed: Mini B cable (Certification pending). mass storage device compatible*8
AV Interface:
Audio Out/ Video Out
Video Signal Format:
NTSC/PAL switchable
External Dimensions:
99.6 mm (W) x 55.0 mm (H) x 23.3 mm (20.6 at the thinnest part) (D) (excluding projecting parts)
Weight:
Approx. 135 g (excluding battery, SD memory card, strap), Accessories approx. 26 g (battery, strap)
Battery:
Rechargeable battery (DB-70) x1
Shooting Capacity:*9 Based on CIPA Standard: using the DB-70, approx. 300 pictures
Operating Temperature Range:
0ºC-40ºC

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