NewsMarch 2007

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Ricoh announces GX100

Ricoh has announced the successor to its Caplio GX8 digital camera. Among the headline features are a 24-72mm (equiv.) zoom lens and a slim body measuring just 25mm deep. Possibly the camera's most interesting new feature is a removable electronic viewfinder, a world first for Ricoh. Images updated.

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Press Release:

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

Tokyo - Japan. March 28, 2007 - Ricoh 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 72 mm equivalent high-performance wide zoom lens*1 (Caplio GX8: 28 to 85 mm equivalent) that can be expanded to even ultra-wide-angle shooting equivalent to 19 mm using the optional wide conversion lens*2, being the first digital camera to support a removable electronic viewfinder (LCD viewfinder), and 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

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

• The newly developed 24 to 72 mm 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.
• The 7 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 a separate optional hood and adaptor set is required).
  *Smallest volume as of 27th March 2007

Removable electronic viewfinder

• This is the first camera to support a tilted and removable electronic viewfinder*1.
• 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 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.

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.

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 19 mm wide conversion lens or other 43 mm diameter accessories, such as various filters available on the market.
• An optional cable switch is also available.
• The Caplio GX100 can meet the diverse needs of professional photographers, high-end amateurs and commercial uses.
• Wide-view-angle LCD panel
  A crystal-clear 2.5-inch 230,000 LCD panel with a wide 170° view angle.
• Powerful macro functions
  Retaining the conventional popular macro mode that focuses down to 1 cm (on the wide side), the Caplio GX100 permits macro photography using the blur effect down to 4 cm even on the telephoto side.
• 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.
• 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.
• An aspect ratio of 3:2 and 1:1 can be selected
  Ratio of 3:2 is the same aspect ratio as 35mm and most digital SLR‘s that allows images to be printed in standard sizes without cropping.
• 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 telephoto shots at high zoom magnification, macro shots, and indoor shots without the negative effects of blurring.

List of Caplio GX100 Options

Rechargeable batteries DB-60, Battery charger BJ-6, AC adapter AC-4c, LCD viewfinder VF-1*1,
Wide conversion lens DW-6*2, Hood and adapter HA-2, Soft case SC-45, Neck strap GS-1*3, 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. While the wide conversion lens is attached, the internal flash can‘t be used 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

Pricing and availability

GX100 with electronic viewfinder included will be available at the end of April 2007 at £399.99 inc vat.

Ricoh Caplio GX100 specifications

Sensor	• 1/1.75" Type CCD • 10.3 million pixels total • 10.01 million effective pixels
Image sizes	• 3648x2736 • 3648x2432 • 2736x2736 • 3264x2448 • 2592x1944 • 2048x1536 • 1280x960 • 640x480
Movie clips	• 640x480 • 320x240 • 15 or 30 fps
File formats	• Still: JPEG, RAW (DNG)*1, RAW & JPEG*2 • Movie: AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG Format Compliant) • Sound: WAV
Lens	• 5.1-15.3mm (24-72 35 mm equivalent) 3x optical zoom • F2.5-4.4
Image stabilization	CCD-Shift
Conversion lenses	Yes, optional
Digital zoom	Up to 4x
Focus	• Autofocus • Manual focus • Snap-focus (hyperfocal) • Infinity lock
AF assist lamp	Yes/No
Focus distance	• 30cm - ∞ (wide & telephoto) • 1cm - ∞ (wide macro) • 4cm - ∞ (tele macro) • 1cm - ∞ (zoom macro)
Metering	• TTL-CCD Metering • Multi (256 segments) • Centre-weighted • Spot Metering
ISO sensitivity	• ISO80 • ISO100 • ISO200 • ISO400 • ISO800 • ISO1600 • Auto ISO • Auto High-ISO
Exposure compensation	• +/- 2.0EV • 0.3EV steps
Exposure bracketing	• +/- 0.3EV • +/- 0.5EV
Shutter speed	• Still images: 180 - 1/2000 sec • Movies: 1/30 - 1/2000 sec
Aperture	• F2.5 - 9.1 (wide) • F4.4 - 15.8 (wide)
Modes	• Cont • S-Cont • M-Cont • Program-shift • Aperture-priority • Manual exposure • Movie mode • My setting 1&2
Scene modes	• Portrait • Sports • Landscape • Nightscape • Skew correction • Text • Zoom macro • High sensitivity
White balance	• Auto • Outdoors • Cloudy • Incandescent • Fluorescent • Custom
White balance bracketing	Yes
Self timer	2 or 10 sec
Interval timer	5 sec - 3 hours interval selectable*3
Flash	• Auto • Forced off • Forced on • Red-eye reduction • Slow-sync • Soft Flash • Range: 20cm - 5m (wide), 15cm - 3m (tele)*4
Viewfinder	Removeable electronic viewfinder
LCD monitor	• 2.5" TFT LCD • 230k pixels
Connectivity	• USB 2.0 Hi-speed*5 • AV-out • NTSC/PAL switchable
Print compliance	• EXIF 2.21 • DPOF*6
Storage	• SDHC/SD/MMC card • 26MB internal memory
Power	• DB-60 Li-ion battery • 2 x AAA cells (alkaline/oxyride/NIMH) • BJ-6 Charger included
Weight (no batt)	220g (7.8oz)
Dimensions	112 x 58 x 25 mm (4.4 x 2.3 x1.0 in)

*1 Settable picture modes depend on image size.
*2 Simultaneous recording with same size Fine/Normal modes or Normal 640 mode JPEG image
*3 With flash OFF
*4 When the flash range is set for ISO AUTO or ISO 400
*5 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.
*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.)

Additional images