Live View

Like all non-reflex cameras the GXR is a pure 'live view' camera - there's no optical viewfinder, and framing is done using the LCD screen (or the optional VF-2 viewfinder). The disadvantages associated with this are well documented; in very bright light the glare from the screen reflection can make it hard to see and in very low light the preview image can get a little noisy, and traditionally there's been a serious trade off in focus speed when using the sensor for AF.

But there are some advantages too; you get a lot more information overlaid on the preview image than any optical viewfinder can offer, and using the sensor for composition means that things like white balance, color effects and exposure can be assessed before you take the shot. The GXR (like most compacts) also allows you to control just about every aspect of its operation using on-screen controls, meaning it's a lot easier to keep an eye on what's happening in the frame even when changing settings.

We're not going to talk about the performance of the contrast detect autofocus in this preview as this is a pre-production camera (and ours has some serious focus issues that we hope are not going to be seen in the final shipping product).

Live view display modes

The GXR offers four basic display modes: preview only (no information displayed); detailed info; detailed info + histogram and grid view (three options).

Preview image only (shutter speed and aperture information appears when the shutter is half-pressed)	Detailed information displayed (note that the leveling gauge at the bottom is optional)
Detailed information plus live histogram.	Grid type I
Grid type II	Grid type III
When switching between display modes hold down the DISP button to toggle the level gauge (which can also beep when level).	As with previous Ricohs the level gauge gives a simple visual indication of how near (or far) you are to horizontal.
An optional frame / border can be added to the preview image if you find it hard to see the icons.	As covered on the previous page pressing the DIRECT button brings up an interactive information display that will make most digital SLR owners feel right at home.

Image options

In fitting with the highly customizable nature of the GXR's user interface there are myriad options for fine-tuning JPEG color, sharpness and contrast, ranging from a handful of pre-baked Image Settings (Standard, Natural, Black & White, Toning Effects) to advanced color controls and white balance fine-tuning. We'll look at these in-depth in our forthcoming review.

If you don't like the default output of the GXR's JPEGs there's an almost limitless range of color, contrast and sharpness controls for you to play with.

Contrast Detect AF

Aside from the viewfinder, our biggest worry about the viability of all non-reflex interchangeable lens cameras is the reliance on sensor-based contrast detect autofocus. Our experiences so far - with the live view modes on current DSLRs - haven't been promising; all are painfully slow and most are close to unusable for any non-static subject.

The pre-production camera we've been playing with is unlikely to represent the final shipping performance of the GXR, so I'm not going to talk about it in this preview (I certainly hope it's not final production performance is all I can say).

Focus modes

The GXR offers five focus modes: Multi AF, Spot AF (center of frame), Manual Focus, Snap and Infinity. Additionally you can select a specific AF (and AE if you wish) target on the screen.

The GXR offers several useful additions to the usual 'auto or manual' focus options, including a customizable 'Snap AF' (preset focus distance) and Infinity focus.	One of the menus invoked by pressing the ADJ button allows you to define an AF target (with options to meter, focus or both from the same target).
You can now move the target around the screen using the arrow keys or control dials.	The manual focus system didn't really work on our pre-production sample, so we can't really comment on it beyond the fact that it uses the focus ring on the A12 prime lens, whereas when using the S10 zoom you use it by holding down the macro button and spinning the front dial. Note the depth of field scale on the distance scale: a neat touch.