If you asked anyone to describe a digital compact today, they would give you an ultra small, stylish camera with a whole load of unnecessary features and a huge price tag, or a slightly plainer looking camera with a good specification but similar price. There is another group of cameras however which are oft-forgotten and nowhere near as glamourous - entry-level cameras. These cameras are at the bottom end of the price scale and have a price to match, but they offer people new to photography a way into the hobby, or a cheap travel camera at least.
Ricoh's new camera is the RR730, successor to the RR660 (reviewed here) and the latest entry level camera to be released. Improvements over the RR660 include a new 7.16 MP sensor and a bigger 2.5 inch LCD, and despite these being added the camera is actually smaller and lighter. The design of the camera itself is unassuming like other entry-level cameras.
Scenes and modes are kept to a minimum so new users aren't confused and the RR730 only has six modes: Auto, Program, Portrait, Landscape, Sports and Night. The camera has a Video mode, but at a maximum resolution of 320x240 it might be best to stick to a camcorder if you want to record video.
The RR730 is available now for an RRP of £129.99 including VAT
Ricoh RR730 specification
| Mega-pixels: | 7.16 |
Photo: | JPEG |
| Optical Zoom: | 3x |
RAW: | No |
| Digital Zoom: | 4x |
Aperture: | F2.8-4.8 |
| LCD: | 2.5 inch |
Focal Length: | 34-102mm |
| Dimensions: | 89.4 x 60 x 26mm |
Shutter speed: | 8 -> 1/1500s |
| Weight: | 120g |
Exposure: | ISO 64 to 200 |
| Storage: | SD, MMC |
Movie: | 320 x 240 @30fps |
| Internal Mem: | 32mb |
Battery: | 2AA |
| Interface: | USB 2.0, AV |
PictBridge: | No |
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