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We clicked with:
24mm wide angle
RAW (DNG) 5 consecutive shots available
Excellent control
Manual flash control also available
Auto level display (determines horizontal/vertical angle)
Shots in the dark:
Flash drowns out subjects at close range
Some barrel distortion at wide end
Not hugely different to previous GX100
Expensive!
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The Ricoh GX200 is the successor to the Ricoh
Caplio GX100 - an acclaimed high-end compact camera targeted at
enthusiasts and pros wanting a camera small and discreet enough to
always carry on the go, whilst maintaining a high level of control and
top-end feature set.
Enter the Ricoh GX200, and it's much the same ethos - only this time
with a few extra tricks up its sleeve. We investigate if such nicks and
tucks make this the ultimate compact camera…
The Camera:
The 12.1 megapixel Ricoh GX200 drops the 'Caplio' imprint (as
standard since the Ricoh GRDII
launch), but essentially is a souped up version of the GX100.
The same wide angle 24-72mm zoom lens remains a firm feature of the
front, providing wide angle shooting that's currently only available in
a handful of compacts (a number of which are made by Ricoh). Sadly, as
per the GX100, the barrel distortion (and ever so slight light
fall-off) towards the edges still remains an issue - so no serious
optical re-modelling to be found here. That's not an all-round terrible
issue however, as the Ricoh GX200's slim 25mm body is certainly compact
enough to slip into a pocket and carry around. The black finish is
simple and elegant; certainly discreet, and build quality feels solid
all round.
At the rear there's a host of controls that are akin to most compacts,
but where the Ricoh GX200 really comes into its own is with the variety
of assignable and accessible buttons. Not immediately easy to use, once
the functions are assigned to where you want them it becomes perfectly
clear. There are 'Fn1' and 'Fn2' buttons - the first on top of the
camera, the second on the directional pad on the back. Both of these
can be assigned user-defined control - be that flicking between auto
focus to manual focus, white balance control, ISO, or a bulk of other
control. To add to this the ADJ wheel to the rear of the camera is
essentially a quick-access menu; pressing it brings up the proprietary
options including exposure compensation, white balance, ISO, quality
and AE/AF all for quick and easy use.
But it doesn't stop there: The Ricoh GX200 has three user-defined
'MY' settings on the top rotation wheel (MY1, MY2, MY3). It's perfect
for setting up your preferred shooting modes for different situations.
For example you may set up MY1 with flash on, designating 'Fn1' to
adjusting ISO and 'Fn2' the manual flash output. Then MY2 could be for
an entirely different scenario, whereby quick exposure compensation and
white balance adjustment may be what you wish to assign. Once you're
set to go and familiar with the layout it begins to come much more
naturally and there's considerably less digging through menus - which,
ultimately, saves you time.
Speed can be a downfall with the GX200. Autofocus will often scan
the full focal range before focus is achieved, which may not be a
problem if it wasn't for the profound period of time this can often
take. For most compacts this wouldn't be an issue, but when you buy a
pro compact you expect pro-grade performance. There are multiple focus
modes available - with Snap being the, er, snappiest of them all, yet
still a little temperamental at times. Manual focus provides a 16x zoom
on the rear screen to assist with attaining sharp focus, furthered by
the improved 2.7” 460,000 dot LCD screen.
Images from the Ricoh GX200 are often flatter on screen than they
appear in-camera, with low light causing a lack of vibrance and range.
Shoot in the right conditions however, and the colours can be deep,
rich and punchy.
The Ricoh GX200 also has the capacity to shoot up to 5 RAW frames (in
Adobe DNG format) consecutively at 1.2 frames per second, meaning
there's been some notable improvement with the image buffer. After 5
frames the camera will take around 10 seconds to play catch up and move
all information from buffer to SD card, which is only really rivalled
by the < http://www.thinkcamera.com/news/article/mps/uan/715
>Canon G9.
A level detector in the camera also tell you how accurate horizontal
or vertical alignment is when shooting - like a digital spirit level
that can assist with both hand held and tripod shooting (as found in
the < http://www.thinkcamera.com/news/article/mps/uan/690>Nikon
D3). It even beeps when level is attained, should you not be looking at
the LCD screen, or perhaps using the optional electronic viewfinder
(£50).
Ricoh has some trademark traits - namely an unrivalled close-up
macro mode. With objects as close as 1cm away from the Ricoh GX200's
lens, it's possible to auto or manually focus with ease and capture in
sharp detail - often to see more in the full size image than you would
notice by eye, it's really that good.
Sadly there are other lesser-favoured traits that Ricoh also tend to
carry - most prominently that auto flash fails to consider subject
distance, shooting at full power and causing significant overexposure.
However, finally there's been some movement with this. The Ricoh GX200
offers the addition of Manual Flash mode, meaning that the flash power
can be adjusted - shoot at full power, 1/2 power, and so on all the way
down to 1/32. Whilst this offers much better flash control, such an
automated option fails to occur in Auto Flash - an issue that still
remains overlooked.
The other common Ricoh issue is for noisy images at high ISO. Whilst
this hasn't been solved by any means, the new Smooth Imaging Engine III
makes some improvements. From ISO 64-200 all's well, but in dimly lit
conditions even ISO 400 shows presence of noise. By ISO 1600 it's
really a case of bring the noise, Ricoh style. Whilst marginally better
than the dominant noise of old, it's still prominent, albeit useable.
Raw image quality is notably sharper than jpeg, but the image noise is
esentially the same.
ISO: 64 |
100 |
200 |
400 |
800 |
1600 |
Upping the same-sized CCD sensor from 10.1 megapixels as found in the
GX100 to 12.2 megapixels in the Ricoh GX200 means that the sensor nodes
are smaller; thus less light can reach each one, leading to a
diminished signal and therefore increased noise. So whilst the Smooth
Image Engine III may have improved image quality and noise issues, the
increased physical resolution may have countered this development.
Conclusion
The Ricoh GX200 wants to be the best high-end compact on the market,
and it does give it a darn good shot. However, it's not hugely
different from its predecessor - the GX100. Improvements are marginal
rather than monumental, with the ISO noise and Auto Flash issues of old
still remaining with this model, it's more moderate upgrade than new
classic.
However, when it's good, it's great. 24mm wide angle shots add a
real edge, the macro mode is better than any other compact out there,
Raw shooting in Adobe DNG and the level detector make for some
excellent features all tied into a portable and discreet body. Controls
and user-assigned functionality make for the icing on the cake, but
whilst the £350 price tag is a bold statement of the GX200's
calibre, the sweeter option may be to pick up the older GX100 for
£245 (best price online).
| Sensor |
12.1 megapixel |
| LCD monitor |
2.7" LCD (460,000 dots) |
| Zoom |
24-72mm (35mm equiv.) |
| Sensitivity |
ISO 64-1600 |
| Picture Modes |
P/A/S/M, My1, My 2, My 3 (User assignable modes), Movie
(640px), Portrait, Sports, Nightscape, Skew Correct, Text Zoom Macro |
| White balance |
Auto/Outdoors/Cloudy/Incandescent Lamp/Fluorescent
Lamp/Manual Settings/Detail, White balance bracket function |
| Stabilisation |
Yes (optical image stabilization) |
| Storage |
SD (54MB internal memory) |
| Battery |
Lithium ion rechargeable DB60 (to 370 shots per charge) |
| Other / Key features |
Auto leveller
Simultaneous RAW & JPEG shooting
Auto Rotate
Auto bracketing mode
25mm thin body
New Smooth Imaging Engine III image processing engine
4:3, 3:2, and 1:1 image ratios
Optional extras: Wide-angle adaptor, teleconverter adaptor, tulip-type
lens hood, Digital viewfinder, hotshoe flash
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