Ricoh GX200: Review
The best high-end compact money can buy?
The Ricoh GX200 is Ricoh’s latest stab at perfecting the high-end compact digital camera. With fierce competition from the likes of the recent Sigma DP1 and Canon’s G9, has Ricoh upped the ante enough from the previous GX100? We investigate...
Ricoh makes high end compacts; cameras packed with feature-sets that allow you to fully control your image making, albeit in a small, lightweight and portable package. The Ricoh GX200 is no different – it’s designed for ‘pros on the go’; discreet and easily slipped into a pocket.
Anyone familiar with the GX100 will be at home with the Ricoh GX200, as it’s essentially the same 25mm slim body with a handful of updated features – improved RAW performace, 12.1megapixel CCD sensor, and the next generation Smooth Image Engine III image processing engine.
The same 24-72mm wide angle lens remains among the major sell points. The option to shoot at such a wide angle is a rare opportunity among most compacts, and whilst there’s some barrel distortion towards the edges in particular, it’s an almost expected compromise for a zoom lens.
The lens can swiftly zoom in and out, plus there’s even a ‘step zoom’ option that jumps between prefixed focal lengths (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, etc). Autofocus can be a little temperamental however, sometimes failing to snap up subjects in an instant, instead running the entire focal length first. Ricoh’s macro mode provides the ability to focus on subjects as close as 1cm away from the lens and is a real gem. Add image stabilisation to the equation and those wobbly hands are less of a hindrance in difficult shooting conditions.
Where the Ricoh GX200 really excels is with the layout and abundance of user-assignable options. The familair compact layout – thumbwheel on top, directional pad on the rear – is complimented by an ADJ lever on the back that acts as a quick-access menu to easily change key functions such as White Balance, ISO sensitivity, Exposure Compensation, Resolution and AE Lock. For double-quick access there’s also the Fn2 button on the left of the directional pad and the Fn1 button to the side of the flash – both of which can have a specific function attributed for adjustment. Building on this functionality furthermore are 3 ‘MY’ settings on the top thumbwheel, allowing for individual settings to be set up in each.
Continuing down the user-defined route, the Ricoh GX200’s pop-up flash is controlled by a trigger to the side. If the flash isn’t up, then it wont fire – ideal to maintain discreet shooting and avoid unwanted flash in your shots, a common issue with many standard compact cameras. In Auto Flash mode however, the flash fails to gauge close-up subjects, drowning them out with an over-enthused flash of light (a trait carried over from previous Ricoh models). There are some improvements however: In Manual Flash mode it is possible to control the flash power from full down to 1/32, which can make for some excellent fill flash shots in a variety of lighting. Equally this option can be assigned to one of the Fn buttons for quick adjustment. 1st and 2nd curtain sync are also available.
Ensuring pro-grade features enter into the Ricoh GX200 equation there’s an Auto Level function available; rather like a digital spirit level (akin to that found on the Nikon D3). This clever little function visually represents your camera’s horizontal or vertical alignment. Flip the screen between portrait and landscape and so does your level, or it can be set to emit a bleep upon alignment should you not be looking at the screen... But at 2.7” and with a high-end resolution of 460,000 dots it’s hard to keep the eyes away. The only alternative is the VF-1 electronic viewfinder (available separately or as part of a £400 package deal), which slips into the camera’s hotshoe. Sadly the viewfinder is unremarkable, a little tricky to focus to the eye, and with no dioptric correction doesn’t lend itself well to glasses users.
Perhaps a little baffling is Ricoh’s decision to up the resolution from the GX100’s 10megapixels to 12.1megaixels for the GX200. The same sized CCD sensor is used, with the worry of excess noise at high ISO rearing its ugly head – however, and here’s the clincher, the development of the Smooth Imaging Engine III is set to reduce overall noise. But the Ricoh GX200’s image quality is much like that of the GX100, except at a slightly higher resolution. For lower ISO this is fine – work in good light between ISO 100-200 and you’re free to work as you please, but ISO 400 will bring some noise, whilst with ISO 800-1600 the noise is considerable.
Jpeg images produced by the Ricoh GX200 are of a high quality, and there’s no evidence of chromatic abberation thanks to the lens quality. Compared to Raw files there’s not a significant difference, except that Raw images have greater sharpness.
One of the most significant improvements with the Ricoh GX200 is the camera’s buffer - now take up to 5 consecutive Raw frames at 1.2 frames per second (unlimited for jpeg). This is only really rivalled by the Canon G9.
The DB60 li-ion rechargeable battery also pays the Ricoh GX200 proud. Good for 370 shots per charge, but probably more around the 400 mark in reality, it’s the sort of battery that will continue to soldier on and on.
Conclusion:
The Ricoh GX200 isn’t drastically different to the GX100 that it replaces. Many regard the GX100 as a bit of a modern day classic, so building from these foundations is no bad thing. Yet there’s still noise issues at high ISO levels, auto flash doesn’t compensate for close subjects, and for £350 it’s not exactly the cheapest on the market. But there’s just something about the GX200 that demands it be welcomed with open arms – the discreet and small physical size, the sheer functionality due to the abundance of user-assignable buttons & settings, the 460,000 dot high resolution 2.7” LCD, and the 24mm wide angle lens make for an excellent compact.
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Words & Pics: Mike Lowe
Further info: www.ricoh.co.uk
Discuss in our forum: Ricoh GX200 or Sigma DP1...?
Specifications:
| Price: | £350 (or £400 with electronic viewfinder) |
| Sensor: | 12.1 megapixel CCD |
| Lens: | 24-72mm (f2.5-4.4) |
| Storage: | SD (inc SD HC) 54MB internal memory |
| Recording modes: | RAW, JPEG (not simultaneously) |
| Max image output size: | 4000x3000 pixels |
| White balance: | Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent Lamp, Flourescent Lamp, Manual Settings, Detail, manual adjustment available |
| ISO sensitivity: | 64-1600 |
| Autofocus: | Multi AF, Spot AF, MF, Snap, Infinity |
| Shutter: | to 1/2000th second |
| Metering: | Multi Light Metering (256 segments) / Centre-weighted / Spot (TTL-CCD metering, AE lock available) |
| Modes: | Auto, P, A, M, MY1, MY2, MY3, Scene: Movie (640px), Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Nightscape, Skew Correct, Text, Zoom Macro |
| Exposure compensation: | +/- 2 stops |
| Flash: | User-assigned pop up +/- 2.0 EV exposure compensation |
| Drive modes: | Single, continuous (1.2fps RAW to 5 frames), Interval Shooting (shots taken throughout a given period of time, at specified and equal intervals) |
| LCD screen: | 2.7” 460,000 dots |
| Battery: | DB60 Li-ion rechargeable battery |
| Dimensions: | 111.6 mm (W) × 58.0 mm (H) × 25.0 mm (D) |
| Weight: | 238g |
