Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

just great!

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

I read that this was like a digital Leica IIIf. Being old enough to have used both, I can say it is. It is one of the most rugged cameras I have ever owned. It went flying out of its case while I ran across the street, the lens cap and viewfinder went one way, the camera another. No scratches, dents, dings, nothing. Worked perfectly. The next time I dropped it, it went under the car, I ran over the corner of it. I lost a little paint that time, but still works perfectly. I am usually very careful with equipment, and I blame some of this on the poorly designed case. The case is nice enough, but the snaps are also magnetic, so give a false sense of security that they are closed. Check!
The image quality is excellent for the sensor size, but it is not truly a point and shoot. This camera takes some knowledge of photography to get the best results. It is worth it!
Great for family photos, short movies of the kids, travel, auction pictures (fantastic macro).
Camera is rare among small digitals in having such a quality feel. Much nicer than the Leica equivalent.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

This is an excellent digital point and shoot camera with features that rival most DSLRs, however let's face it. It isn't a replacement for your Leica M model. Some of the camera's most desirable features, it's compact size, the 10MP RAW files it produces...also create problems for the user.

The camera takes almost 10 seconds to record a RAW file to the memory card, which means that, if you're in a situation where the ability to shoot multiple frames in rapid succession is important, you need to set the camera to record only JPEG data. For snapshots of your vacation, this would hardly be a major issue, but if you want to use this camera for serious work of any kind, you would need to be aware of the trade off between ultimate image quality and the ability to work quickly.

The camera is a little larger and heavier than many digital point and shoot models available, but it's still very small. Maybe it's just that I'm used to using a 4X5 field camera and medium format SLRs for most of my work, but I find the tiny, light-weight package a little disconcerting. It's difficult to hold it steady, which is mitigated by the built in image stabilization system, but I still get motion blur much of the time. Maybe I shouldn't hand hold it at exposure times of a half second. But, hey, every other camera I use spends most of it's working life mounted on a tripod which would seem a bit silly with a camera this small.

I bought the optional electronic viewfinder, which is very useful though I need to remove my glasses to see through it properly. It does allow you to frame the picture accurately in the normal way and has all the same picture data displayed around the perimeter of the frame that you will see on the LCD display on the back of the camera. The viewfinder can be tilted up 90 degrees to frame low-angle shots.

The camera has a macro mode that is truly amazing. Need a full-frame close-up of your thumbnail? No problem.

The 10MP RAW files the camera produces are in the Adobe DNG format which is very convenient. At ISO settings of 80 to 400, digital noise is fairly minimal but don't expect to see the clean shadows you might get from a Phase One or Leaf medium format camera back. All in all, I think the images are comparable to those of other cameras in the same price range, and you can buy a Nikon D40 or D50, for instance, for about the same money.

I strongly recommend buying the optional viewfinder, lens shade and remote shutter release switch, all of which are easy to use and improve the performance of the camera in many situations.

I certainly do not regret buying this camera, but again, it won't replace your Leica or any other camera you've been using. What it will do is offer great convenience and surprising capabilities that may open up some new ideas in your photography.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

I use the GX100 for family photographs and feature-style reportage. As an ex-newspaper photographer accustomed to Canon 1D's and f/1.4L lenses, this camera took a little getting used to. What it did was introduce me to a whole new way of taking photographs - no longer could I machine-gun spray-and-pray at 8.5 fps, or crank my 24/1.4 lens wide open to blur out a distracting foreground or background. I had to pick my moments carefully, and compose a picture effectively using the extended depth of field of the small sensor. But then any compact camera with decent shutter response can do this, as well as having the usual advantages of being small and quiet. What's different about the GX100?

I like to get in CLOSE and WIDE. This is a leftover habit from my newspaper days, and I still love the technique for achieving dramatic photographs. It's hard to do effectively, but when done correctly there's an intimate presence in the picture and a feeling of "being there" that just can't be achieved by shooting at 200mm from a block away. This is where the 24mm wide end of the GX100 shines, and I can get that field of view with no extra attachments and very little distortion.

This isn't a camera you can just use out of the box and expect great results. You need to learn it and customize it to your tastes, and that ability to be customized is the GX100's greatest strength. For general daylight use, which I have saved to MY1 (and can be handed to Grandpa in this mode), I like 28mm, multi AF, multi metering, auto-ISO, auto-WB, -0.3 EV, -2 contrast, -2 sharpness and -1 color depth, shake correction on. For street shooting, I have the camera's default (outside of MY1/2) settings the same except for 24mm and snap focus mode. For all other conditions, including indoor or cloudy outdoors (MY2), I use 28mm, spot AF, multi metering, auto-ISO HIGH to 800, auto-WB, 0.0 EV, 0 contrast, -2 sharpness, and -1 color depth, shake correction on. Whatever condition in which I find myself shooting, I simply thumb the dial to the appropriate mode and I'm ready. No other compact allows me to adapt this quickly. I find these settings to give a good out-of-camera jpg that can be used as-is if necessary, as well as a very good "digital negative" that usually needs very little post processing. I don't like the in-camera B&W mode because of the lack of parameter control (as of this writing), preferring to adjust the color original in PS and convert to B&W using channel mixer, and the 5-8 second RAW write time, while an improvement over the GR-DI, is still too slow for my taste.

As great as I think the camera is, it's not without fault. The flash seems to rely on focus distance as a major method of calculating exposure. I had constant over- and under- exposure until I started to use single-point AF, then the flash exposure was very consistent and reliable. In video mode, the autoexposure lags quite a bit behind lighting changes, although this really was only a problem in very rapidly changing conditions. Also in video mode, there is a lot of flare from bright light, resulting in vertical purple and white lines running the full height of the moving image with bright sky or other sources in the frame. Finally, as is standard in today's compact camera industry, this sensor is far too small for the 10 megapixels stuffed into it. The pixel-peepers will see noise even at ISO 80. I wish Ricoh would recognize that the type of people who buy this camera don't care about the megapixel race. Give us 6 megapixels, tops.

Bottom line is that, set up correctly, the GX100 is capable of absolutely excellent results, and there's nothing else like it on the market as of this writing. I like this camera so much I bought a second one for backup.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

I did alot of research before buying this camera. My other camera is a Canon 5D. The Ricoh does a superb job! Love the close up capabilities and wide angle.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

Good for an average user . Controls are ok but bottom line too much noise at ISOs above 100!

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

The best performance that I have found yet in a compact camera for exterior and interior architectiual work. The extra wide angle lens (24mm equiv.) has low distortion and high aperture. The anti-vibration is a big help in available-light shots indoors.I checked out the Canon and Nikon equivalents. These both require a large add-on lens to achieve the same angle of view. Severe barrel distotion makes both of these impractical for my work.Although initially aprehensive, since I was unable to try it out in a store, I have found the removeable eye-level viewfinder invaluable. It helps steady the camera in low-light work and solves the problem of shooting in bright sunlight and reflective surroundings. Whilst not as detailed as a SLR the resolution of this accessory is sufficiently bright and fine for the work that I do. It appears much better than others that I have seen (eg Kodak)For my work the zoom range is good since I do not need the longer focal lengths. If a trade-off has to be made I favour the wide versus the tele.What I do not understand is what seems to be a total absence of information and reviews of this excellent camera in the North-American photo-press. I first read of it in a British magazine. An internet search found the US dealer [@] as well as some excellent comparative independent reviews by amateur photographers. There was no dealer in Canada. That was in April/May '06. The camera must have been on the market from March or before. [...]In summary, after my first Nikon F1, this is the Camera that I have been the most pleased with and it sure is a lot easier to carry around!

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

The GX100 is a great camera. It's small and well designed. It starts very quickly, focuses immediately, and has superb control features. Photographers with experience will love the customizing features. The noise is low up to ISO 400. It has raw file capability. I was waiting for the G7 and then disappointed when it arrived. I am glad I found the Caplio GX100.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

When running in Auto, the results are so so. However, in P mode with some adjustments this camera shines, especially in RAW.
Small sensor causes noise even at ISO 80, but camera has allowed me to take great pictures that I wouldn't have had otherwise. EVF is fair, but allows much better composition than the LCD, which is very good by the way. 24 mm lens is awesome, making up for the short zoom. Little overexposed, so needs -1/3 adjustment, which is easy to set.
Very happy with it.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

If you need this feature set, you will probably buy this camera. Forget it for rapid available light high ISO candid work, the noise levels are unworkable and the write times are very long but it is a solid performer on most fronts, I mostly use it for landscapes on the move. It takes a circular 43mm polarizer and the ultra wide attachment (equ 19mm) is handy if you are a WA afficionado. Attaching Both involves removal of a screw ring which i am worried about losing. I tend to leave it ISO 80/RAW on aperture priority so cannot comment on the shooting modes except macro which works very well. WB and color generally good, metering is poor with a tendency to overexpose if you are used to dSLRs with modern matrix metering. I have it set at about -1/3 EV in sunny conditions. The LCD viewfinder option is a boon if you dislike the "screen composing at arms length" required by many compact digicams. I have not really used the on board flash but on initial test shots it appeared to overexpose badly although it covers the 24 mm field well I guess. Not tiny, but fits in the hip belt pocket of my osprey daypack - arguably quirky in some respects but useful tool that mostly delivers to spec for my purposes.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

This is my first non-Canon digital camera. The reviews of this camera seemed to be just what I needed, a small camera that I could control.
When I first received the camera, I was apprehensive because there definitely is a learning curve. Once I have gotten used to the camera I love it. I very seldom use my Canon 20D because the GX100 is so easy to transport and I think that it handles difficult lighting situations better. The controls on the GX100 are great. I rarely have to go back to the menu, I can control the difficult situations from short cut controls.

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

The various features come close to a dslr in a much smaller package that you can carry everywhere

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

great to see a small camera with raw capabilities,
richo is got vision as a company and puts out a product for photographers pro or not makes no differences,this where canon failed,and this camera
will be a succes,i shot with this camera and the results are great,even though its a bit price its worth theextra cash.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Comments about Ricoh Ricoh Caplio GX100 Compact 10mp Digital Camera Kit with VF1 Removable LCD Viewfinder - U.S.A. Warranty:

it just feels right and looks fabulus
sweet looking grain (i don't call it noise) in high iso b/w shooting
discreet shooting with evf, no digital straight out arms shooting
needs a firmware update so that you can shoot b/w with a notch higher in contrast and sharpness