Ricoh Caplio R5

[ksz]

After being disappointed with the lack of wideangle on the new Canon A series, I came across the Ricoh Caplio R5, also announced today and described on DP Review.

This thing looks very interesting:

1. 28-200mm lens (7.1x optical zoom). Now this is more like it! 28mm!
2. 7.24 MP.
3. CCD-Shift vibration reduction.
4. 2.5-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels.
5. No optical viewfinder, but I don't care.
6. Anti-Skew mode. Yup, anti-skew as in perspective correction:

http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/caplio/r5/features4.html
When you have to take a photo from an oblique direction like in a conference, the camera's skew correction automatically adjusts the angle so that it appears to be head on. This feature is great for photographing whiteboard, documents, business cards, and other rectangular objects perfectly centered in the frame. Images can be adjusted after shooting as well.

We take pictures of whiteboards quite often over here. This is actually a good application for high MP sensors. If you can capture enough detail on the whiteboard, you can correct the perspective by zooming the far side without losing any perceptible image detail.

 

[Clix Pix]

Nothing against this particular camera, as I really know nothing about it, but I just want to express my dismay at how more and more the manufacturers of P&S cameras are eliminating the optical viewfinder. I'm sure many people here have tried to take photos out in the bright sun with a P&S without a viewfinder, just the LCD....and have found that they could not see their composed image......

If I were in the market right now for a P&S (I'm not), I would immediately disregard any which do not have an optical viewfinder, because to me that is an element that is all too often very necessary.

 

[ksz]

LCDs are getting brighter and denser (more pixels), allowing them to be good-enough substitutes for a traditional viewfinder.

This model's specifications state:

The Caplio R5 has a 2.5-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels compared to 150,000 pixels for the Caplio R4. The brightness of the LCD makes it easier to see outdoors even on sunny days from greater viewing angles.

For me, lack of wideangle means automatic rejection. Alas, I can only shop in 1% of the market. When will they learn?

 

[freebooter]

The R4 had banding issues. Hopefully those are fixed. I, too, was disappointed with Canon for not updating the s80--my next compact must be wide angle, I figure, though I'm tempted by the A710.
Unfortunately, I live in Korea, a consumer-goods backwater. The R4 wasn't available until July, for example. The R5, if the same thing happens, won't be available until November!
As a side note, Apple Korea just posted the new Mac Pro on their main page--but they still don't have a price/order page. It's like living on the moon, here, sometimes. Big communication time lags.

 

[riciad]

If I were in the market right now for a P&S (I'm not), I would immediately disregard any which do not have an optical viewfinder, because to me that is an element that is all too often very necessary.

For myself, I find an optical viewfinder viewfinder indispensable for another reason.

In the last few years my hands have got increasingly shaky (one of the disadvantages of growing old-but better than the alternative), not to the extent where this impacts on my everyday activities, but impossible to control camera shake unless the camera is tucked firmly against my face.

 

[Abstract]

I feel the same as Clix Pix and don't want a camera that doesn't have an optical viewfinder. Weird thing is that she has an Olympus 720 SW, which has no viewfinder. However, I'd also get that camera, since the newest version of it can go 5 m (or around 16 ft) underwater, which is perfect for snorkelling or shallow diving!

I wouldn't mind getting a camera that has no viewfinder, but only if the camera offered me something that others did not, such as the Olympus 720 SW (which I want). I want a viewfinder because it helps when I take night shots of the city and I have to keep my hands still. The best way is to press it against your face and look through the viewfinder. Also, what if the screen breaks/malfunctions and you don't have enough money to buy another one? You could still use the camera by looking through the viewfinder.

The R4 had banding issues. Hopefully those are fixed. I, too, was disappointed with Canon for not updating the s80--my next compact must be wide angle, I figure, though I'm tempted by the A710.
Unfortunately, I live in Korea, a consumer-goods backwater. The R4 wasn't available until July, for example. The R5, if the same thing happens, won't be available until November!
As a side note, Apple Korea just posted the new Mac Pro on their main page--but they still don't have a price/order page. It's like living on the moon, here, sometimes. Big communication time lags.

Do you get Samsung products last as well?

 

[bousozoku]

Nothing against this particular camera, as I really know nothing about it, but I just want to express my dismay at how more and more the manufacturers of P&S cameras are eliminating the optical viewfinder. I'm sure many people here have tried to take photos out in the bright sun with a P&S without a viewfinder, just the LCD....and have found that they could not see their composed image......

If I were in the market right now for a P&S (I'm not), I would immediately disregard any which do not have an optical viewfinder, because to me that is an element that is all too often very necessary.

I would rather have the optical viewfinder but after using that Canon point and shoot I got for my mum, I found that the LCD is essential to be certain of the zoom. Optical viewfinders do nothing to limit the view. I understand the problem of the sunlight overpowering the LCD, though. However, isn't using a point and shoot a bit like guesswork, anyway?

Ricoh have often developed interesting cameras but their execution has been uneven. Hope they're doing better at creating cameras that everyone can use well.

 

[Clix Pix]

I feel the same as Clix Pix and don't want a camera that doesn't have an optical viewfinder. Weird thing is that she has an Olympus 720 SW, which has no viewfinder.

Yep, and that only served to reinforce my intention to never buy a camera without an optical viewfinder again! That camera I bought for specific use -- in and around the water at the pool or beach, not to use for everyday shooting, and I have found that lack of a viewfinder very annoying, especially in the water or the bright sunlight. When the sun hits it I cannot see my composition at all and more or less am shooting blind....

The point about being able to press a camera firmly against one's face for added stability is an excellent one, too. Camera shake is almost inevitable when one is holding the camera out at arm's length! Unless one has a high shutter speed this will bring on problems in the final image.

I understand that people want small, thin, light, easily pocketable cameras, but in fulfilling that demand the manufacturers are also taking away something of value.....

 

[ksz]

With anti-shake mechanisms being almost standard fare on point-and-shoots (offering anywhere from 3 to 4 stops of handheld stability) and the trend towards larger and brighter LCDs, the need for an optical viewfinder I think is diminishing.

Bigger LCDs often mean there is no space left for the viewfinder; given a choice between a bigger LCD and a compact body or a smaller LCD and an optical viewfinder, many would choose the former. I have 3 P&S models, two of which have optical VFs. But I have actually never used the VF. This isn't an exaggeration.

Different strokes for different folks, but a VF to me isn't needed. I, however, use wideangle focal lengths so very often that it has become indispensable.

 

[ksz]

Unfortunately, I live in Korea, a consumer-goods backwater. The R4 wasn't available until July, for example. The R5, if the same thing happens, won't be available until November!
As a side note, Apple Korea just posted the new Mac Pro on their main page--but they still don't have a price/order page. It's like living on the moon, here, sometimes. Big communication time lags.

I was in Korea about 2 years ago to visit Samsung's wafer production facilities. (As an aside, I remember being confused at the connection in Vancouver where the monitors said "Incheon". So I waited for the monitors to refresh, and it must have been when I whispered my frustration at not finding a listing for "Seoul" that a Korean gentleman pointed out my ignorance.) Nevertheless, it was a good business trip (particularly the Shila Hotel), but I did not get a chance to tour the city. I was hoping to find an electronics town like Tokyo's Akihabara or Osaka's Nippon Bashi. Is there such a place?

EDIT: Some basic pics.

Shilla Hotel.

Lobby.

Hotel gym. Just like wideangle lenses, a hotel's gotta have a real gym or it's sayonara amigo.

Waiting for our Korean Barbeque.

 

[freebooter]

I was in Korea about 2 years ago to visit Samsung's wafer production facilities. (As an aside, I remember being confused at the connection in Vancouver where the monitors said "Incheon". So I waited for the monitors to refresh, and it must have been when I whispered my frustration at not finding a listing for "Seoul" that a Korean gentleman pointed out my ignorance.) Nevertheless, it was a good business trip (particularly the Shila Hotel), but I did not get a chance to tour the city. I was hoping to find an electronics town like Tokyo's Akihabara or Osaka's Nippon Bashi. Is there such a place?

Ya, there is a major computer/electronics/appliance/camera area close to downtown called Yeongsan Market. It so major that it tends to retard the growth of businesses outside its area. It can be hard to find a lot of better equipment in my city, Daegu, even though 2-3 million people live here. The computer, electronics, guitar etc. shops are generally loaded with very low-end stuff.