PhotographyBLOG Review: Ricoh Caplio GX

#1 Elfling

You left the jpg extension off all the URLs for the image samples in the review.

9:21 am - Monday, July 19, 2004

#2 Olivier_G

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much for this thoughtful and detailled review of the GX.
I was very interested in the GX from the start because of its features, but as you pointed out, the camera is not perfect (Image Quality, viewfinder, limited manual modes...).

My guess is that we should see more wide-angle (28mm) compact cameras, with faster response/start-up time. This will provide more competition and more interesting models... maybe as soon as next Photokina (end of september).
My Mju-II/epic is still alive and kicking

Olivier

9:29 am - Monday, July 19, 2004

#3 Mark Goldstein

Elfling, thanks for pointing that out, it's fixed now

Let's hope that Ricoh are working on a new model that has better image-quality!

9:43 am - Monday, July 19, 2004

#4 Georg Bauer

Do you really think that a camera with disappointing image quality should get 4 out of 5 stars? At the end, what is the most important thing with a camera? The picture. What would a camera need to do to get something like below average stars on your site? Only returning black pictures?

4:01 pm - Monday, July 19, 2004

#5 Mark Goldstein

A fair point Georg - I think it reflects the fact that I really, really liked this camera, except for that all-important image quality.

4:05 pm - Monday, July 19, 2004

#6 Dean G

I've been using the Ricoh Caplio GX for about one month now and I agree with much of your review, but the CA fringing is not that big an issue under real world shooting conditions when the pictures are not overexposed as many of your samples are. The default exposure settings tend toward this overexposure as they do on many digitals so either one must set the exposure manually using the convenient histogram or set the exposure compensation about 1 to 1.7 stops under. Also this level of CA and noise above 200 ISO is simply a matter of course almost any 5meg camera with a 1/1.8 in sensor size, and readers might note that even the Leica D2 with its 2/3rd sensor shares this. Depending on the customer, the Ricoh Caplio GX may or may not appeal because it is not a "no brainer" camera where one pushes a button then prints. True enough many images need post processing to bring out one's personal taste in color saturation and other parameters.. but the important point is that the details are there. The lens is quite sharp and matched to the high resolutions sensor. I get excellent results from this camera now that I've taken the time to work with it and form an appropriate workflow for it, even compared to images from my main camera, a Canon 10D. The size, ease of use, and speed of the GX along with the high quality of its images - when captured correctly and post-processed - means that I find myself using it more than anything else. This is not a camera for the point and shoot and print crowd who want everything automatically handed to them in and oversaturated style, but it is an excellent tool for thoughtful photography. One other point: the apertures are well selected and more than adequate. A 1/1.8 " sensor makes fine tuning of DOF, indeed almost any tuning of DOF, a non issue as all small sensor cameras will give a very deep DOF regardless. The main strength here is that exposure can be manually pre-set along with zone focussing to allow even faster operation for candid and street shooting.

12:33 pm - Wednesday, July 21, 2004

#7 Dean G.

George, I want to add that the camera's response to the photographer is an essential part of image quality. That is what is all important IMO, and what other digicams have been missing. If you miss the shot you want, then the image quality is blown. A film compact like the Mju-II/epic for instance has significant shutter lag, not as bad as the Yashica T4, but still, along with it being film and totally choosing it's settings for the user, makes success a matter of guesswork in any decisive moment photography. Image quality comprises more than low CA and high color saturation, it also includes time. and taken as a totality, the Ricoh caplio GX certainly deserves 4 out of 5 stars. The aspects of image quality criticized here are not "all important" in the digital realm, they are easily corrected, but once the opportunity for a photo is gone, it is gone.

4:12 pm - Wednesday, July 21, 2004

#8 rudiansen

I find a lot of errors in this "review":

1. “It has a 3.6x optical … “ = error

2. “The Caplio GX comes equipped with an 8MB internal memory” and again: ”…camera's built-in 8Mb memory…” = error, it’s 16MB

3. “The Ricoh Caplio GX is virtually identical to the Caplio GX…” = what a…?

4. “Finally, if you do want to use the full Manual mode, you have to access the Menu system to set and change the shutter-speed (it's under Menu 2 > Manual Exposure). Again this isn't really a great help for anyone who's interested in action photography, and I found that the best way to use the camera was in Aperture-priority mode.” = if you read the user manual: pres UP arrow and use the dial to change shutter-speed…

5. “Ricoh's claims about the speed of the Caplio RX in terms of starting .... The Caplio RX seems to have solved ...” = again, you are referring at previous model …

6. “The Ricoh Caplio RX builds on the strengths of the Ricoh Caplio RX,…” I’m tired of this ... and you said that you liked the camera…

5:36 pm - Wednesday, July 21, 2004

#9 Mark Goldstein

Thanks for pointing out those things rudiansen.

The GX has a 3x optical zoom lens, not a 3.6x as I stated. It also has 16mb of memory. Point taken about accessing the shutter speed.

I've corrected the 3 typos that you spotted.

7:36 pm - Wednesday, July 21, 2004

#10 Nige

We've had our GX for about a month and concure somewhat with Deans assesments. I have the exposure compensation usually set to -0.3, but regularly use more. This works well when using the flash too. Once transferred to my PC, I find I have to decrease saturation as the colours are a bit rich for me. I like things natural. Of the few pics I've printed (on Canon S900 6 colour inkjet) they've required the small adjustment to saturation (decrease) but have looked good at A4 size. I'm yet to get any printed commercially which is how I'll be getting most done. The lens exhibits a fair amount of pincusion (I thinks that's the term) at 28mm, but that setting comes in very handy. The manual aperture mode does limit you to the three choices based on the focal length the lens is set at, and although that initally was a worry (I'm an old manual SLR user), in use I think it is adequate. I either want to limit DOF to the minimum possible, or get the most possible and these are both possible. I agree the high ISO setting get very noisy and can't imagine using them either. One thing that I've noticed that I haven't read in reviews is the 1st time you turn it on for the day, it charges the flash and takes longer than it's usual start up time. Lastly, I saw a comment somewhere that said it didn't have an exposure lock, I played with that last night and it definetly holds the exposure when the shutter is half pressed. The only real gripe I have with it, is the battery cover and it's not so much of how it works, but I find I nudge it open when operating some of the controls with my right thumb. It needs a more solid catch IMO.

6:31 am - Friday, July 23, 2004

#11 Elizabeth

How can you rate a camera with 4 stars if the images are barely adequate? It sounds like a great handling camera, but to me lousy image quality should downrate it far more than one star... Who wants a camera that does everything well except take pictures?

12:59 pm - Friday, July 23, 2004

#12 Ian Yates

This Ricoh review is brilliant! The sample pictures are good because they cover almost every situation. Loved those London pics!

5:18 pm - Thursday, July 29, 2004

#13 Paul Panetta

Thank you for providing an opportunity to comment on your review.
As a potential purchaser of this camera (and a Ricoh G3 owner) I would like to say that I do not understand why you will not recommend it.
You state this is because of the high noise levels at (and over) ISO 400 and the Chromatic Aberations (CA or purple fringing) that occurs in high contrast situations. I understand that you are judging the camera 'out-of-the-box' with Auto settings. However I feel that with this camera which is aimed at the more experienced photographer this could be an injustice.
My argument is that the CA can be reduced using the white balance and the exposure adjustments available on the camera. So for the experienced photographer this should not be a showstopper, only an annoyance.

As for the noise you say it is a problem at ISO 400 and up. To this I argue that it would have been less of a useful camera if Ricoh did not have the courage to provide the higher ISO settings (over 400) like many other manufaturers fail to do.
They could have used a 2/3 sensor as Minolta did in their A1 but even that camera was still criticised for noise at ISO 100 and up (but still recommended) and it probably would have added a lot to the cost and size. Ricoh are using the 1/1.8 sensor which is no doubt cheaper and probably allows a smaller lens form factor at the expense of noise.
This is a trade-off but the camera is still useful at the lower ISO speeds and if you must take a few indoor shots at fast shutter speeds you can at least pump up the ISO whereas most other cams in this price range may not even be worth turning on. Then it would be up to the photographer to judge whether the shots are worth keeping (and maybe post-processing).

As for colours on the "dull side" surely this is subjective as many manufactures seem to provide sometimes unnaturally bright colours for a more 'pleasing' image to the point-and-shoot crowd. Again I think white balance and exposure compensation would make a difference here. Anyway, thanks for the review and the opportunity to comment. It is appreciated.

2:07 am - Wednesday, August 4, 2004

#14 Niels Reimer

I've been using the Ricoh Caplio GX for about two month now and it's a joy to operate. But the pictures on my pc is very disapointing, mostly because the skin on a person is a litle red, and does not look natural. But then I got my pictures printed by an internet service and to my surprice the printed pictures does look like my old pictures taken with a SLR. So know am I happy again, and decided not to change camera.

11:18 am - Friday, August 6, 2004

#15 Leslie

I agree with your review. As a Ricoh GR1 user (my 'notebook' camera), I bought the GX as my first step into digital but I'm disappointed with the overall image quality. The camera handles very well, and I can manage for now without full control over aperture, but the purple-fringing and the generally weak colour have been a blow. As has the terrible barrel distortion at 28mm. I knew from reading what the weaknesses of most mid-range digital compacts were likely to be, so I wasn't expecting a real equivalent to the GR1, but I was still surprised at how poor my first images were. Perhaps I haven't yet been educated to 'see' digitally, but I wasn't planning on spending so many hours with Photoshop!

1:31 pm - Friday, August 6, 2004

#16 Cyril Dean

I think you need to make your mind up first you say that you did not want to give it back then you finish on saying it does not come up to a lot

4:14 pm - Monday, August 9, 2004

#17 Tony Coult

Just returned from a 3-week stay in San Francisco with my first digital, the GX. I also took my GR1V but hardly used it. I'm converted to both digital and to the GX. Firstly I hardly ever print, but use my iMac as my slide projector/darkroom/archive. (Even my recent film pics have been instantly placed on CD for transfer to the computer). On the screen, my pictures are entirely satisfactory. I dare say there is some CA, wide-angle distortion, noise at high ASA settings. So what? To be able to switch into ASA 800 for taking pictures without flash in a restaurant ( I hate flash!) after a day out at ASA 100 is just amazing. 800 ASA film is noisy, isn't it? And if it drove me wild I can run the picture through Noise Ninja. But at normal viewing levels the noise is hardly important. Yes, after each day's shooting I quickly ran them through my laptop Photoshop to use levels, mostly Auto,occasional colour balance, and to crop. But that's a pleasure not a chore. Problems? I wish it were a bit heavier to control camera shake at the longer focal lengths. Battery use is poor, even with the DB-43 battery pack. Always carry a reserve set! You do need to make a positive press on the shutter release. Sometimes you press and nothing seems to happen. But rarely. General handling is easy. The Adj. button gives you easy access to most frequently changed settings like ISO settings and focussing. It would be nice to have a better implementation of Shutter Priority. I treat the camera like any small, simple 35mm. I don't use the LCD - the plain glass viewfinder is adequate. I've put D links into the strap supports and a conventional neck strap so it sits where a camera should - at chest level. It doesn't make an intrusive motor wind-on buzz like the GR1V and I've turned off the artificial shutter click. The writing to card lights flash briefly as confirmation that a photo has been made. If I need to view it quickly I click the control dial one click and I can review it on the LCD. Maybe it isn't a GR1V but it has an ideal zoom ratio, doesn't click and buzz, is unobtrusive visually and fits almost anywhere. I'd certainly recommend the camera. TONY COULT

1:19 pm - Thursday, August 12, 2004

#18 Leslie

I posted a disappointed review earlier, but after spending two weeks with the camera in France I am much more impressed. It is easy to use with quick access to the major controls and settings, and the 28mm wide angle is very useful. And the images now look good in Photoshop unprocessed, much better than the first batch I took when I got the camera. My main gripes are still, (a) lack of info in viewfinder, (b) too much barrel distortion at wide-angle, and (c) short-ish battery life. Otherwise, this is a good camera with more control over photo creativity than I had found at first sight. It's proving a very good starting camera for someone (me) with high standards but no previous digital experience. Next stop, of course, will be an SLR, but for learning, the Ricoh is being an excellent tutor.

7:54 am - Tuesday, August 24, 2004

#19 John

Thanks for this very useful. Shame about the image quality which may have put me off this camera
I remain confused about the optical zoom is it 3 x or 3.6 x?

10:51 pm - Tuesday, August 24, 2004

#20 Olivier_G

Hi everyone,
- Ricoh GX has a 28-85mm equivalent lens => x3 optical zoom (85/28=3)
- Ricoh RX has a 28-100mm lens => x3.6
Cheers,
Olivier

12:01 am - Thursday, August 26, 2004

#21 Parimal

I bought this beauty couple of days back. After reading this review, I was really worried about the image quality and I had almost given it up. But when I went to the shop and played with this beauty again, I just couldn't part with it.
I can understand why Mark gave it 4 stars in spite of the image quality.

7:37 am - Friday, August 27, 2004

#22 Mans Hagberg

Hello Mark,

Really useful information!

I am looking for a slim, pocketable digital camera with 28 mm zoom and a big enough screen. I cannot see why 98 % of all makers have us make do with 38 mm which is too narrow indoors. The Canon s60 seems fine but does not fit my pocket (pun intended) The Ricoh seemed ideal. I always shoot aperture priority and only use the screen in this sort of camera. Then I saw the actual pictures. I´ll look at the RX also, it is cheaper and might do as a carry-around pocket camera.

Best greetings from Sweden

Mans

2:27 pm - Sunday, September 5, 2004

#23 Mark Goldstein

I'm glad to be of help Mans!

The GX has generated a lot of interest (as can be seen from all these comments), but sadly the image quality just doesn't match up to the rest of the camera.

6:53 pm - Sunday, September 5, 2004

#24 tom hornsby

Thanks for all the info. I have a RicohRDC-7 which did not servive the last fall from my pocket and I am in desparate need for a camera which with all the research I have done has got to be theCaplio GX. It appears that Jessops are the only outlet in the UK for this camera and they are awaiting a delivery for which they cannot give a date. Have you any knowledge of other outlets? where I may purchase this camera. I would be obliged for any help possible. Tom Hornsby

10:55 pm - Monday, September 20, 2004

#25 Mark Goldstein

I'm not sure if you can order it directly from Ricoh Europe or Ricoh UK?

http://www.ricoh-europe.com/

http://www.ricoh.co.uk/

10:47 am - Tuesday, September 21, 2004

#26 Toni

I´m amazed to see you don´t say nothing about the flash shoe. Something not very common on digital compacts. This is something I would definitely desire on a digital camera.

6:38 pm - Saturday, October 2, 2004

#27 Geof Rayner

Very useful review, Mark. I was thinking of buying one for my professional photographer partner (her fab website is above). I have had two Ricoh digitals and their tiny, marvellous film camera (GR1). Each one was excellent but just failed to get something right. I have loved the designs - except image quality and speed. The speed problem now seems to be solved. Given that Ricoh lens are generally excellent then why cannot the company just persevere to get this 'detail' right. My wife's Pro Kodak/Nikon can download new firmware. Ricoh doesn't have to do this (its a consumer camera) but they could solve this problem, one presumes, but improving the firmware side. Any views? Have you had contact with Ricoh about this? Do you know if they are persevering? Do they read such reviews?

All the best - and thank you for your informative views.

Geof

12:16 pm - Saturday, November 13, 2004

#28 Mark Goldstein

Geof, they have improved the image quality in the new R1 - read my review here:

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_ricoh_caplio_r1.php

4:33 pm - Tuesday, November 16, 2004

#29 David Levy

Wow!!!
Thank you for your comments!!!
I saw this model (Caplio GX) at a store today and I was going to buy it tomorrow. Now I know that I should look for something else...

Been an Architecture student I am really looking for a compact camera with a wide lens (28 mm). I know the canon S-60 and S-70 offer that feature, but is there other cameras who would be a good buy to take mostly buildings and other Architecture environment???

I already possess a Sony F-717 with a wide lens, but I use it only on special events. It's to big and heavy to carry it on an every day basis...

Thank you for your help, david

8:20 pm - Tuesday, November 16, 2004

#30 David Steiner

Rollei's version of the Ricoh GX has just gone on sale in Europe as the "Rollei dr5100". The lens is marked as as a "D-VarioApogon HFT" but has the same specs as the GX lens. I am curious whether the Rollei lens is different (i.e.-better quality) or just a re-branded Ricoh lens? Otherwise the specs on the 2 cameras are identical. Has anyone had any experience with the Rollei to see whether it exhibits the same image problems as the Ricoh?

8:30 pm - Wednesday, November 17, 2004

#31 Mark Goldstein

The Ricoh Caplio R1 has a wide-angle lens, but I didn't like the external controls on that model.

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_ricoh_caplio_r1.php

5:04 pm - Saturday, November 20, 2004

#32 David Littler

Q 30 From David Steiner is exactly my queery.
I am considering the Rollei dr5100, will it have the same image problems as the Ricoh as they appears to be identical?

5:00 pm - Wednesday, February 9, 2005

#33 Mark

If they are identical (and I think they are), then yes, the Rollei will *probably* have the same image quality.

9:08 am - Thursday, February 10, 2005

#34 Daniel

When taking pics using the GX's built-in meomory at the max size, the saving and loading speed is surprisingly slow!
Anybody know why?

I didn't try out if using a SD card. Because it is at the store and won't let us.

2:35 am - Monday, February 28, 2005

#35 Dan

It's true indeed, I bought one of this my own, and I can say that many times I find the sky completely white!!! I think the camera tries to increase the contrast. On the other hand this thing could be useful if you want to make a photo which is almost dark, and you want to reveal only some details. I still tink the contrast outside must be improved to make you buy it.


I also think the manual settings can be improved so that you can set values of the shutter speed between 500/250 for example since the camera has a sroll wheel. I can't wait to get an unoficial firmware for it.

One more thing.... only 120 seconds of video.... why???

2:51 pm - Saturday, July 8, 2006

#36 Dan

just one question: could a UV filter improve the situation of aberant excessive light?


I will try this move too probably. Anyway once you've bought the camera you see it's not that bad... but when you see it you expect much more from it.

3:07 pm - Saturday, July 8, 2006