Ricoh Caplio GX100 compact digital camera - 24-to-72mm equivalent zoom & removable electronic viewfinder

New Ricoh Caplio GX100

Ricoh launches the Caplio GX100 compact digital camera with 24-to-72mm equivalent wide zoom and a first in the digital-camera category - a removable electronic viewfinder

Tokyo, Japan, March 28, 2007. Ricoh (President and CEO: Masamitsu Sakurai) announces the launch of its new Caplio GX100 digital camera. The Caplio GX100 is a superior model that achieves high picture quality thanks to the high-speed F2.5 aperture and high-performance 24-to-72 mm wide zoom lens (35mm film equivalent), 10.01 megapixel CCD, and "Smooth Imaging Engine II" packed into a compact body just 25mm thick - a first in the digital camera category.

The new Caplio GX100 is the successor to the popular Caplio GX8 (launched May 2005). Caplio GX8 was a highly-practical superior model featuring comprehensive manual shooting functions and the expandability to allow system upgrades to meet various applications.

The Caplio GX100 is a high-performance camera packed with advanced functions including a 24-to-72mm equivalent high-performance wide zoom lens (Caplio GX8: 28-to-85mm equivalent) that can be expanded to even ultra-wide-angle shooting equivalent to 19mm using the optional wide conversion lens.

It's also the first digital camera to support a removable electronic viewfinder (LCD viewfinder) and offers high image quality, thanks to the 10.01 megapixel effective CCD (Caplio GX8: 8.24 megapixel) and popular Smooth Imaging Engine II image-processing.

Main features of the new Caplio GX100

1. 24-to-72mm high-performance wide zoom lens in a compact body.

• The newly developed 24-to-72mm wide zoom lens (35mm film equivalent) features a generous configuration of 11 elements in 7 groups, including aspheric surface lenses and high-refractive-index, low-dispersion lenses. This optimal configuration restricts distortion, chromatic aberration, and light falloff at edges for wide-angle operations while delivering aperture light settings from F2.5 (Wide-angle) to F4.4 (Telephoto).
• The body size of 25mm is the smallest* that can accommodate a zoom lens of 24 mm or longer, making it easy to carry and enjoy photography anywhere.
        * Smallest volume as of 27th March 2007

• The seven-blade iris aperture enables fine tuning and achieves beautiful blurred backgrounds.

• The optional wide conversion lens enables users to shoot 19 mm ultra-wide-angle photography (but note that a separate optional hood and adaptor set is required).

2. Removable electronic viewfinder.

• This is the first camera to support a tilted and removable electronic viewfinder.
• Offers 100% viewfinder coverage without parallax and multi-information display similar to a LCD monitor.
• Great for photography in bright outdoor environments. Take photographs as though using a conventional film camera.
• The electronic viewfinder is included in the Caplio GX100 VF KIT.

3. The 10.01 megapixel CCD, combined with an advanced image-processing engine achieves high picture quality with low noise.

• The 10.01 megapixel effective CCD combined with the popular unique image-processing engine "Smooth Imaging Engine II" achieves low noise as well as high picture quality - precisely reproducing even details.

4. Twin dials and other controls offer wide array of functions such as simple manual operations.

• The Mode Dial on top of the body, the Up-Down Dial at the front of the body, the ADJ lever at the rear of the body and function buttons on the upper part of the body, etc. allow a wide array of manual settings such as aperture-priority AE settings, manual exposure settings, white balance adjustment and ISO sensitivity selection while holding the camera in one hand.
• Directly select "My Settings" on the Mode Dial to take photos using the arbitrarily-allocated settings.
• New features such as the square mode with a 1:1 aspect ratio and the sepia mode further enhance the range of expression.

5. Excellent expandability with a broad range of accessories for both exclusive use and general purpose.

• The Caplio GX100's hot shoe accepts an electronic viewfinder, an external flash, or an external viewfinder available on the market.
• The optional hood and adaptor allow use of the 19mm wide conversion lens or other available 43mm-diameter accessories, such as various filters.
• An optional cable switch is also available.
• The Caplio GX100 can meet the diverse needs of professional photographers, high-end amateurs and commercial users.
 Notes - The HA-2 hood and adapter is required to use the wide conversion lens. While the wide conversion lens is attached, the internal flash can't be used because vignetting may occur.

6. Wide-view-angle LCD panel.

• A crystal-clear 2.5-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD panel with a wide 170degree viewing angle.

7. Powerful macro functions.

• Retaining the conventional popular macro mode that focuses down to 1cm (on the wide side), the Caplio GX100 permits macro photography using the blur effect down to 4cm, even on the telephoto side.

8. Compatible with three different power sources: high-capacity rechargeable batteries, AAA batteries, and AC adaptor.

• The Caplio GX100 gets approximately 380 exposures with the included high-capacity rechargeable batteries or approximately 35 exposures using AAA dry batteries. The optional AC adaptor, which is convenient for indoor shooting, can also be used as a third power source.

9. Images can be captured in various combinations of resolution and compression. RAW compression and RAW with JPEG can be selected for ultimate quality.

• RAW compression and RAW with JPEG can be selected for ultimate quality.

10. An aspect ratio of 3:2 and 1:1 can be selected.

• The aspect ratio of 3:2 is the same as with 35mm and most digital SLRs, allowing images to be printed in standard sizes without cropping.

11. Vibration Correction function, based on a CCD-shift method

• When camera movement from hand shake is detected, the vibration-correction system, based on Ricoh's own CCD shift method, moves the CCD in the opposite direction to make corrective adjustments. This results in the ability to take clear, sharp, blur-free shots on high-zoom telephoto settings, in macro mode and indoors under low lighting.

List of Caplio GX100 Options:
Rechargeable batteries DB-60, Battery charger BJ-6, AC adapter AC-4c, LCD viewfinder*¹ VF-1, Wide conversion lens*² DW-6, Hood and adapter HA-2, Soft case SC-45, Neck strap*³ GS-1, Cable switch CA-1

*1 The VF-1 LCD viewfinder is included in GX100 VF KIT.
*2 The HA-2 hood and adapter is required to use the wide conversion lens. The internal flash can‘t be used while the wide conversion lens is attached because vignetting may occur.
*3 The ST-1 neck strap for the Caplio GX/GX8 cannot be used.

Accessories included
Rechargeable Battery DB-60, Battery Charger BJ-6, Lens Cap, USB Cable, AV Cable, Handstrap, Software CD-Rom, Manual

Price and availability
GX100 with electronic viewfinder included will be available at the end of April 2007 at £399.99 inc VAT.

Ricoh Caplio GX100 – Major Specifications

CCD
Effective 10.01 million pixels (total 10.30 million pixels ), 1/1.75in primary-colour CCD

Lens
Focal length f=5.1-to-15.3mm (equivalent to 24-to-72mm for 35mm film cameras);  Aperture (F value): F 2.5 - F9.1 (wide-angle) , F4.4 - F15.8 (telephoto); Lens structure: 11 glass elements in seven groups

Vibration-Correction Function
CCD-shift method

Digital Zoom
4.0x

Object Distance
Approx. 0.3m -∞ (wide and telephoto)

Macro Object Distance
Approx. 0.01m -∞ (wide); approx. 0.04m -∞ (telephoto); approx. 0.01m - ∞ (zoom macro mode)

Shutter Speed
Still image: 180, 120, 60, 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1 to 1/2000sec; Movie: 1/30-1/2000sec.

Pixels
Still image: 3648x2736, 3648x2432, 2736x2736, 3264x2448, 2592x1944, 2048x1536, 1280x960, 640x480; Text: 3648x2736, 2048x1536; Movie: 640x480, 320x240

Picture mode *¹
F (Fine); N (Normal); RAW *²

ISO Sensitivity (Standard Output Sensitivity)
AUTO; AUTO-HI; ISO80; ISO100; ISO200; ISO400; ISO800; ISO1600

Flash
Flash Off; Auto; Red-eye Flash; Flash On; Flash Synchro; Soft Flash; Flash Range*³: Approx. 0.2 - 5.0m (wide-angle), 0.15 - 3.0m (telephoto)

Focus
Auto Focus, Manual Focus, Snap, ∞

Exposure Adjustment
TTL-CCD Metering Method: Multi (256 segments); Centre-Weighted; Spot Metering

Exposure Compensation
Manual exposure Compensation +/-2.0EV (1/3EV Steps); Auto Bracket Function (-0.3 EV, ±0, +0.3EV / -0.5EV,±0,+0.5EV)

White Balance
Auto; Fixed (OUTDOORS, CLOUDY, INCAND., FLUORES., MANUAL); White Balance Bracket

Memory Type
SD Memory Card ( 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 MB, 1, 2 GB), SDHC Memory Card (4 GB), Multi Media Card, Internal Memory (26 MB)

Still-image storage on internal 26MB memory*⁴ (No. of Pictures)
640x480 (Normal: 276); 1280x960 (N: 62); 2048x1536 (N: 35); 2592x1944 (N: 22); 3264x2448 (N: 14); 2736x2736 (Fine: 8); 3648x2432 (RAW:1, Fine:7, Normal: 13); 3648x2736 (RAW: 1, Fine: 6, Normal: 11)   

Movie storage capacity on internal 26MB memory (Time, in seconds)
320x240 @15 frames/sec (1 min 16sec)*⁵; 320×240 @30 frames/sec (39 sec); 640x480 @15 frames/sec (24 sec); 640x480 @30 frames/sec (12 sec)
  
Still image file sizes (approximate) at different resolutions
3648x2736 (RAW: 14.4MB, Fine: 3.61MB, Normal: 2.07MB); 3648x2432 (RAW: 12.8MB, F: 3.21MB, N: 1.85MB);  2736x2736 (F: 2.71MB), 3264x2448 (N: 1.67 MB); 2592x1944 (N: 1.06MB); 2048x1536 (N: 672 KB); 1280x960 (N: 356KB); 640x480 (N: 83KB)

Recording Modes
Still image modes (Still Image, CONT., S-CONT., M-CONT.); Program Shift; Aperture-Priority; Manual Exposure modes; Scene modes (Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Nightscape, Skew correction, Text, Zoom macro, High Sensitivity); Movie mode; My Setting1 & 2

Recording Formats
Still image: JPEG (Exif Ver. 2.21)DCF*⁶, RAW (DNG) *⁷
Movie: AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG Format Compliant)
Sound: WAV (Exif Ver. 2.21μ law)

LCD Monitor Display
2.5-inch Transparent Amorphous Silicon TFT LCD (approx. 230,000 pixels)

Self-timer
Operation time (approx): 10 sec/2 sec

Interval Timer
Shooting interval: 5 sec to 3 hours (in 5 sec steps)*⁸

PC Interface
USB2.0 High-Speed (mini B cable ), Choice of Ricoh original or Mass Storage driver*⁹

AV Interface
Audio Out, Video Out

Video Signal Format
NTSC/PAL

External Dimensions
111.6(w) x 58.0(h) x 25.0(d)mm (excluding projections parts)

Weight
Approx. 220g (excluding batteries, Memory Card, strap); Accessories: approx. 30g (battery, strap)

Battery
Rechargeable battery DB-60 x1; optional AC adaptor AC-4c; AAA battery (alkaline, oxyride or NiMH) x2

Shooting Capacity:*¹⁰

Conforms to CIPA standard: using the DB-60, approx. 380 pictures (Using AAA alkaline batteries: approx. 35 pictures *¹¹)

Operating Temperature Range
0ºC-40ºC

Notes

*1 Settable picture modes depend on image size.
*2 Simultaneous recording with same size Fine/Normal modes or Normal 640 mode JPEG image
*3 When the flash range is set for ISO AUTO or ISO 400
*4 Estimated number of still images it is possible to record
*5 Max. recording time of 184 min. 57 sec. with 4GB SD Memory Card.
*6 Conforms to DCF, compatible with DPOF. DCF is the abbreviation for the JEITA Design Rules for Camera Files System. (It does not guarantee perfect inter-camera compatibility.)
*7 The DNG file format is a raw image file format. It is a standard file format of Adobe Systems Inc.
*8 With flash OFF.
*9 Mass Storage driver is compatible with Windows Me/2000/XP/Vista, Mac OS9.0-9.2.2, and, Mac OSX10.1.2-10.4.8. It is not compatible with Windows 98SE or Mac OS 8.6.
*10 Battery performance measured under conditions conforming to CIPA standards. These values are guidelines only. The actual performance may vary according to usage conditions and the battery manufacturer.
*11 With AAA alkaline batteries manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd. (under the logo of Panasonic).