Ricoh Caplio R4 superzoom compact reviewed

Of course the first thing you notice about the Ricoh Caplio R4 six megapixel compact is how freakin' huge that lens is -- and luckily, at least according to Digital-Lifestyles, it knows how to use it. Equally impressive at both zoom extremes, the 28-200mm equivalent, 7.1x barrel of a lens includes handy features such as optical stabilization for negating hand shake on tight shots, and even an on-screen cursor for manually selecting the focus area in macro mode. Other nice touches include a skew-correction feature that adjusts non-level shots and and histogram function for technical types, but some issues with picture quality -- most notably visible banding in a few shots and significant noise at higher ISOs -- earned this model a good-but-not-great 84%. Still, the Ricoh definitely gets a thumbs up from D-L, and the sub-$450 pricetag won't break the bank.

[jmchez @ Apr 18th 2006 1:08PM]

Darn! Yhis thing sounds great and then ... the ghost of picture quality jumps in. Why can't Ricoh and Panasonic with all of their great features get their act together and create a sensor as good as Fuji's or viceversa.

[yuppicide @ Apr 18th 2006 2:03PM]

I'm a Canon user for life. I had a Fuji and it was horrible. My Canon S2 IS was great, but one of these days I'm stepping up to a Digital Rebel XT.

[iomatic @ Apr 18th 2006 6:36PM]

You won't regret it. Once you go dSLR, you won't go back.

[Jacob @ Apr 18th 2006 7:57PM]

"Is that a camera in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

[Lumix TZ1 owner @ Apr 18th 2006 8:28PM]

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix TZ1, and it has this thing owned - a 10x zoom with a much shorter lens when fully extended - they've got a little trick in there, and it works great:

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=96359&catGroupId=24999&modelNo=DMC-TZ1K&surfModel=DMC-TZ1K&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702

$350, 5 megapixel, mega optical image stabilization

[Malcolm Brown @ Apr 19th 2006 7:17AM]

I had a look at it today. It will become my travelling companion because I'm sure not going to tote a dslr in the places where I go.The size is tiny and the zoom is is nice but the macro is magic.

[Ricoh Caplio R4 @ Apr 28th 2006 9:59AM]

great camera... go for it!

[Steve @ Aug 14th 2006 7:34AM]

One thing people often dont realise with Ricoh cameras is the far greater detail they produce through less noise reduction in photos. They only give luminance noise anyway, which just means that instead of plain flat colours you get a grainy look, which gives more fine detail. Compare photos of grassy areas between a canon camera and a ricoh. Most other cameras look like someone's gone crazy with the smudge tool. With the ricoh you can sometimes see the individual blades of grass. 'nuf said.