Ricoh Caplio GX series · on sale April 2007 · a retrospective
The Ricoh Caplio GX100: the pocket camera for people who read the manual
In 2007 Ricoh put a 24 mm lens, a RAW mode, manual controls and a clip-on tilting viewfinder into a camera that fit in a jacket pocket, then barely sold it outside Europe and Asia.
Meet the camera
It looks like a small piece of kit that means it. A wide black body with a deep, textured grip, a lens ring engraved with its focal lengths and apertures, a mode dial and a hot shoe on top. Trusted Reviews found a strong all-metal body4 and Imaging Resource gave its size as about 112 by 58 millimetres and 25 thick, with a weight of 250 grams including batteries.1 DPReview called the construction high quality and the design slim and pocketable.3
The oddest part was the viewfinder. Imaging Resource explained that on top of the 2.5-inch screen, the GX100 accepted a removable electronic viewfinder, the VF-1, that clipped onto the hot shoe and tilted for shooting low to the ground. It was not in the regular bundle, though a separate kit included it.1
It went on sale in April 2007 in the UK at £399.99 including VAT, and Imaging Resource noted it had been announced only in Asia and Europe, with no plans to bring it officially to the US market.1 DPReview complained about the same thing: Ricoh's lack of availability in huge markets like the USA.3
Why this one was interesting
A wide lens and manual control
PhotographyBLOG called it an excellent attempt to satisfy what was quickly becoming a niche market: a pocketable compact with advanced options for the thinking photographer. At a time when manufacturers were deliberately curtailing high-end compacts, with Nikon's P5000 and Canon's G7 lacking RAW, Ricoh had moved the other way.2 DPReview said it got as near to SLR-like control as you will find in a compact camera, with dual control dials, a superb interface for manual overrides and program shift.3 The lens covered 24 to 72 mm, which Imaging Resource called uncommonly wide and fairly bright.1
Was it a new chip?
Not especially. It had a 10-megapixel 1/1.75-inch CCD with CCD-shift image stabilisation,14 and Adobe's DNG format for RAW files, which PhotographyBLOG called a clever choice.2 Imaging Resource remarked that the camera might have been even more interesting with lower resolution, which would likely bring less noise, the bugbear of ten-megapixel sensors.1
Tricks for the street
DPReview found the Snap focus mode very fast indeed, perfect for street photography, and noted a 19 mm lens option and a very good macro mode.3 PhotographyBLOG praised a fantastic 1 cm macro mode, a powerful built-in flash and exposures of up to three minutes.2 A square 1:1 picture format was also built in alongside 4:3 and 3:2.1
The modern descendant of the idea, a pocket camera with a fast wide lens and real controls, is covered in our Lumix LX3 and Canon S90 retrospectives.
The noise problem
Every reviewer said the same thing. PhotographyBLOG explained that Ricoh had always chosen "less reduction, more noise", keeping detail but showing more artifacts, so images were noisy on screen and in prints at ISO 400 and faster.2 DPReview found noise and noise reduction problems at every setting above ISO 80, with ISO 400 and up pretty much unusable for anything beyond a small print.3 Trusted Reviews listed poor image quality at high ISO settings as the first drawback.4
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Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data.
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The little wins
Two control dials
A pair of control dials and a customisable interface gave quick access to manual controls, according to DPReview.3
Power from AAAs
If the lithium battery ran out, two ordinary AAA batteries, alkaline or rechargeable, could power it, Imaging Resource noted.1
The GX100 with a viewfinder. · Rama · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr · Commons
RAW in a compact
The GX100 shot RAW files in Adobe's DNG format. DPReview said it was slow, taking 5.5 seconds to save one, and that the bundled converter was not great.3
A screen that earned praise
DPReview called the screen excellent, though it could be hard to see in very bright light.3
How it drew the picture
DPReview found excellent resolution and fairly good corner sharpness even at 24 mm, with low distortion for such a wide lens, but default settings that looked over-processed, with strong saturation and sharpening, and serious highlight clipping in bright light.3 Trusted Reviews called the lens very sharp with little distortion, but noted weak colour depth and dynamic range.4 PhotographyBLOG found very little chromatic aberration and good exposure if you dialled in some negative compensation.2
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.
Where it let you down
Beyond noise, DPReview listed slow focus in macro mode and at the long end in low light, a flash with no dedicated white balance setting, and the price.3 Trusted Reviews said the only real downside was the high price: with entry-level SLRs starting around £350, it was hard to justify spending nearly that on a compact.4
What the reviewers said
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| PhotographyBLOG | 20 Jun 2007 | Design, features and ease of use 5 out of 5, image quality 4.5, value 4. A great alternative or backup to an SLR, with noise from ISO 400.2 |
| DPReview | 2007 | Admired Ricoh for niche, photographer-led products, with SLR-like control in a slim body; noise, slow RAW saving and price were the problems.3 |
| Trusted Reviews | 8 Feb 2008 | Exceptional control and performance, but poor high-ISO quality and a very high price; the only real rival was Canon's G9 at about the same £312.4 |
The timeline
- April 2007The GX100 goes on sale in the UK at £399.99.1
- 20 June 2007PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.2
- 8 February 2008Trusted Reviews publishes its review.4
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a pocketable camera with a 24 mm lens and real manual control and you will shoot at low ISO. It was not sold officially in the US,1 so many listings will be imports. What it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:
- The viewfinder. It was optional;1 ask whether the VF-1 is included.
- The batteries. It takes a lithium pack or two AAAs;1 a replacement is on Amazon ↗.
- The controls. Test both dials and the mode dial.3
- The settings. Keep ISO at 80 for the best results.3
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗Replacement battery ↗
New to the jargon (CCD, ISO, xD cards, IXUS vs ELPH)? Read our plain-English digicam glossary.
Sources
- Imaging Resource, Ricoh Caplio GX100 overview and pricing note (2007)
- PhotographyBLOG, Ricoh Caplio GX100 review, conclusion (20 Jun 2007)
- DPReview, Ricoh Caplio GX100 review (2007)
- Trusted Reviews, Ricoh Caplio GX100 review by Cliff Smith (8 Feb 2008)
Camera photos by Lysippos (CC BY-SA 3.0) and Rama (CC BY-SA 2.0 France); other photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.