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Ricoh GR Digital III hits the review bench, collects plaudits
The dudes and dudettes at Photography Blog are nothing if not thorough, and their latest review is no exception. The GR Digital III and its peculiar 28mm wide-angle fixed focal length lens (i.e. no optical zoom) have been subjected to an inspection and the verdict is an exuberant thumbs up. The aluminum alloy body impressed them right from the off, and the reviewers also liked the customizable menus, improved shutter speed, Dynamic Range double shot, and Adobe DNG RAW output. Those were all mere cherries, however, to the cake of "excellent" image quality and "stand-out" Macro performance. The sole blemishes found were the price (£529 / $699) and noise issues beyond ISO 800, but then the latter is a well known weakness of compact cameras. Check out the read link for sample images and the (very) full review.
Ricoh GR Digital III continues 28mm-equivalent, high-priced lineage
Having given its GR Digital II camera more than a year on the market, Ricoh has seen fit to now upgrade that model by latching on another digit and what it claims to be the "greatest ever GR image quality." It wouldn't be much of a step forward if that wasn't the case, but let's see what else the Japanese company hopes to tempt us with. The wide-angle 28 mm/F1.9 GR Lens is all new, while the high-sensitivity 10-megapixel CCD and the GR Engine III image processor are likely evolutionary steps from the previous generation. Collectively, they promise improvements in all the areas you'd expect: faster focus, less noise and better low light images. There's also a 3-inch 920,000-dot VGA display, video recording at 640 x 480 / 30 fps, SDHC expandability and a complete lack of optical zoom. The veracity of Ricoh's claims can be tested from mid-August in the UK in exchange for £530 ($870), while the full press release and specs are already available at the read link below.
Ricoh's 28mm GR Digital II camera gets reviewed
It's taken a little while for Ricoh's 10-megapixel GR Digital II to make the rounds since it was announced late last year, but it's finally wound up in the capable hands of the folks from Photography Blog, who've now turned out a full review of the camera. Among other things, this one is particularly notable for its use of a 28mm fixed focal length lens, which Photography Blog found helped deliver some solid images with "very little distortion." They were also pleased with the addition of a RAW shooting mode (even though it slows things down quite a bit), and the camera's intuitive control system, which can be "almost completely configured to suit your way of working." On the downside, they found the camera suffered from the common drawback of excessive noise at ISO 400 or above, and there is the small matter of the $699 price tag, which puts it on the level of some pretty impressive non-28mm cameras, and within striking range of the 28mm Sigma DP1. Still, the GR Digital II appears to hold its own, and seems like it'd be an even better buy if you can find a good deal on it.
Panasonic's DMC-FX30 wide-angle 7.2 megapixel shooter: not quite the world's slimmest
Panasonic is also unveiling their Lumix DMC-FX30 this morning which Panny claims is the "world's slimmest" to pack a 28mm wide-angle lens. Ok, but at 22-mm (0.87-inches) it's a full 0.2-mm thicker than the listed specs for Samsung's new 28mm wide-angle L74 which packs the same 7.2 megapixel CCD and 3.6x zoom but a bigger 3.0-inch touchscreen LCD around back. Thing is, the L74 has an irregular shape so who knows what to believe at this point -- it wouldn't be the first time Samsung fudged its numbers. So... hyperbole aside, the FX30 is thin and features a 3.6x LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT optical zoom lens, 7.2 megapixel CCD, Mega OIS optical image stabilization, Venus Engine III image-processing for shooting at ISO 1250, and a 2.5-inch 207k pixel LCD (the L74 throws down 230k pixels) with "Power LCD" to boost brightness by 40% (at the expense of battery life) when outdoors. It also records 848 x 480 video to SDHC cards at 30fps and shoots with a shutter release time lag of 0.005 seconds and a 2 frames per second burst mode at full resolution for a maximum of just 5 images. Rounding things out are a 280 picture battery and $349 price tag when these ship sometime in February. [Via LetsGoDigital, Thanks David]
Samsung's three new digicams: the i7 PMP, 10 megapixel NV11, and wide-angle L74
As you know by now, Samsung can get a little freaky when it comes to cameras. Be it their 10 megapixel cameraphone or that crazy new VLUU i70 with HSDPA we checked over the weekend. Those products like all their "world's first, biggest, fastest" claims are mere props meant to you lure you into their mainstream lineup of gear. You know, like their new i7 (pictured), NV11, and L74 digital cameras. Ok, the i7 isn't your run-of-the-mill digicam as it sports an MP3 player and rotating 3.0-inch LCD 'round back for use as a video player pumping simulated SRS 3D sound. As a camera, it delivers a 7.2 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom Samsung NV lens, Advanced Shake Reduction technology, an ISO 1600 setting, and the ability to record SVGA quality MPEG-4 video. The NV11 is the followup to their award winning but lambasted NV 10. We're still looking at a 10.1 megapixel shooter only now with a 5x Schneider-Kreuznach optical zoom lens, 2.7-inch LCD, ASR stabilization, and the ability to record 30fps VGA video in MPEG-4 format. The L74 goes wide with a 28mm wide-angle 3.6x optical zoom lens like Panny's DMC-FX01 before it. It also brings a 3.0-inch LCD, ASR anti-shake, face recognition, ISO 1600 sensitivity, and the ability to record to MPEG-4 at SVGA resolutions. No prices or availability but we should expect these to escape Korea (and their VLUU branding) later in the year. Pics of the other two after the break.
