AdamT

Opinion: A camera which still stands up today in RAW at lower ISOs and even the higher ISOs are better now with the latest RAW converters like Capture one V5 . It`s contrast detect AF shames DSLR Contrast detect and even beats some APS sensor current cams like the X100 and DP series for speed . card writes aren`t too bad with MS-Pro High speed but the lack of buffer slows the pace. the JPGs are smeary and unrefined like all Sony JPGs (My NEX5 is no better) .

Still a worthy contender despite the lack of RAW buffer space and its preference for memory sticks performance wise - it`s ace in the hole is the same as the X100`s - Combination of a very sharp APS sensor and no clatter, the diff being that the R1 has a zoom for those silent shoots in good light . remember that no clattery FP shutter also means less shake .

A big issue is External Shoe Flash - Not an R1 issue per-se but with Sony in ditching its own TTL flash and for the SLRs moving to the Stupid minolta hotshoe and flash system with its blink inducing pre-flash and unconventional shoe Leaving the R1 with only one TTL flash (the F32X) and its hard to get......

Opinion: Image quality is the best of the R series and IMO better than the CX pair also , imagine GX100 quality scaled down to a small sensor and you`re there - the R5 bugbear is that its Poorly made AND designed with lens Jams, crashes, frequent AF misses and sporadic blurred RH edge problems - add the worst designed zoom lever possible and you`ve got a right mixed bag on your hands - whether its treasure or trash depends on how good you are at keeping it running and how good the lens on your sample is but IMO its worth it for the image quality..

It`s the last Ricoh R series to use the GRD/GX battery (basically the Panasonic LX/FX Batt with ricoh written on it) and the last to do the famous R series telemacro .

Opinion: The S70 is getting old now so don't expect the AF speed and sensitivity of a Digic II cam like the A620 or S80 (Canon finally got AF in their compacts GOOD with Digic II - Hooray!) .. the ergonomics are way better than the S30-50 and it's full featured, the 7.1Mp CCD (same as the G6 and A620) is a classic, giving excellent pixel level detail, decent dynamic range and usable low noise..
The Fly in the ointment is the LENS, it's the same unit as the S60 (and the later S80) and still has the same issues ..

1:- sample variation.. Good ones have a touch of blurriness at the EXTREME corners only at F2.8 28mm but many have a whole dud side (common with Canon unfortunately, you have to keep swapping out til you geta good one)

2:- The long end of the zoom is painfully slow aperture at F5.3 and it's not sharp wide open as well as a bit on the dreamy side (three S70s, one S60 and two S80s tested), of course there is no IS to help out so it's best thinking of the S70 (or 80) as a 28mm camera which can zoom a bit, thought of that way, it's way better value (and better image quality) than the Ricoh GR-D which can't zoom at all..

3:- There are Duff spots in the zoom range, one which happens to be bang on 35mm equivalent, so don't compare an S60/70/80 to your G6 or A620 at the 35mm focal length!, the S70 will come out soft sided..

4:- the lens doesn't appear to have the same Anti-PF coatings of the G6 and A620 so expect more fringing (though in reality, it's not that bad) .. a Summary is that Canon ought to have redesigned the lens even for the S70 to iron out the bugs let alone using it again on the S80 !! - they could do with tightening up on QC too..

Where the S70 scores heavily over the S80 is in three very important ways .. 1:- it has a thick plexiglass panel over the LCD, the S80s is bared to the elements and the coating scratches at the drop of a hat .. 2:- it shoots RAW (use Rawshooter essentials) and 3:- Ergonomics - the S80s zoom lever is horrible (the Ixus, G & A series have the best ones), the S70s is better, also the button layout is better than the S80 or S50 too..

Other bits are .. The flash seems weak compared to the S400/500 (Ixus models) let alone the A620 .. it uses CF cards which is superb if you have a Canon DSLR (maybe C want to sell S80s to NIKON D50 or Pentax owners?) .. it uses the same Batts as its older brothers and the 350D .. the Sliding door is smoother than the S30-50 but is too loose and can switch off when holding.. It exposes more for the highlights more like the 1 series DSLRs than other Canon Digicams such as the G series or other S models - great for preserving highlights, not good for noise... It buffers loadsa JPGs and even more RAWs than some DSLRs !! let alone the sad buffers in Fuji & Sony cams!

All in all, a used S70 is a good buy, it reminds me of the Ixus S500, last of the CF card models in the range and made just before some serious bad changes (IMO) took place in the range... When thought of as a 28mm RAW shooting CF Card eating pocket outdoor cam which can zoom if desperately needed, the S70 starts to look good - in RAWshooter essentials, its capable of publishable results and the JPG engine is pretty damn good too .. A better option than the Ricoh GRD, that's for sure!

Opinion: Bought used because it's the only Sub-Compact with the combination of decent resolution (4Mp and above), an Image stabilizer AND most importantly an OPTICAL VIEWFINDER, the FX7 and later are of the "Shake about looking at the LCD" persuasion which largely negates the OIS advantage and also chew batteries..

This is an FZ10 Era camera which means more noise reduction than the FZ20/5/FX7 era so images look cleaner but with less fine detail, as a result the images don't have the pixel level sharpness of the FX7 when post processed but are cleaner, very much like the Canon Ixus S400 in fact only without the blurred corners of the Ixus model (the Leica lens is better than the canon optic) - likewise the FX5 has only two apertures for any given focal length and is totally Automatic, the FX5 gains by having OIS but like the FX7 loses out by having an almost useless built in flash..

The best points are the combination of 4Mp, OIS & OVF in a sub compact, the FX5 is totally unique in this -- the LCD is tiny but higher rez than the FX7's 2.5-incher -- Plenty of thumb space to hold it steady (too easy to press buttons when holding an FX7/8/9) --- the LENS which is the best I've seen in any Sub-compact, none of the soft corners / edges / CA you see in Canons, Sonys, KMs etc --- Decent battery life when using the OVF (over twice that of the LCD bound FX7) --- has a Focus button missing from later cams

Opinion: Simply knockout value, you're basically getting a faster G6 with a slower aperture lens (just as good quality though complete with G6-like very low PF) of the same range and some features missing (Hotshoe, top LCD, IR remote, RAW & Data wheel mainly) - for a fraction of the price - Digic II brings on benefits over the G6 such as AF speed & sensitivity despite the slower lens, better performance at high ISOs (more horsepower to give to noise reduction), and you get a better LCD too..

Canon have a real bargain hit on its hands here, shame it doesn't take CF cards but SD is getting cheaper and is just as fast.. AA batteries are fiddly but in combination with the amazingly low power consumption means that you can get away easily with alkalines in an emergency - 2350 Hahnel NiMhs seem to last forever.