Pre-PMA 2007: Ricoh has today announced the update to the Caplio R5 with the 7.24 million pixel Caplio R6 digital camera. Like it's predecessor, the R6 features a 7.1x zoom and Ricoh's CCD-shift vibration correction, adding a larger 2.7-inch LCD and the must-have feature for 2007 so far: face-detection technology. Ricoh have also managed to put the already slim body on a strict diet, squeezing it down to a svelte 20.6mm at it's thinnest point.

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Press Release:

London, March 2007

RICOH Caplio R6 World’s Thinnest Digital Camera* with 28mm Wide-Angle 7.1x Optical Zoom Lens.

Tokyo, Japan – March 5, 2007 – Ricoh Co., Ltd. (president and CEO: Masamitsu Sakurai) has developed and launched the new Caplio R6 digital camera. The new Caplio R6 features such as a 7.1x wide zoom and high performance CCD-shift vibration correction from the Caplio R5 (open priced, launched September 15, 2006, featuring 7.24 megapixel CCD). Vibration Correction eliminates the shake from hand movement, which is the main cause of blurred images. The Caplio R6 also incorporates advancements over its predecessor with new features such as a slim body 20.6 mm at its thinnest point (26 mm for the Caplio R5) and a face recognition mode that automatically recognizes the subject’s face or faces and records the image at the optimal settings. In addition to functional advancements, the Caplio R6 adopts the Caplio R5’s design image while creating an anticipation of high performance through new design features. Those features include generous use of metal to house the lens, a distinctive strap attachment, and curves on the top. The Caplio R6 also features improved feel of robustness and texture.

*As of February 21st 2007. Among compact cameras with 28 mm (35 mm camera format) 5x or greater optical wide zoom lenses.

Main features of the new Caplio R6:

1. 7.1x wide-angle zoom lens in the slimmest body in this class of camera, measuring in at a mere 20.6 mm at its thinnest point.

  • By completely rethinking the design of the double retracting lens system – an original mechanism that makes it possible to equip the Caplio R6 with a 28-200mm optical zoom lens in a 20.6mm thin body – all parts could be miniaturised through Ricoh’s own technology at 0.01 mm levels.

  • The lens setup was optimised by employing highly refractive glass lenses along with the double retracting lens system and by optimising the distribution of thickness in the lens assembly.

  • A wide range of photographic options are supported from panoramic landscapes and wide-angle photography and indoor shooting under low light near the subject to impressive telephoto photography.

2. New face recognition mode that automatically identifies faces to photograph people easily and clearly.

  • The face recognition mode for automatically recognising and identifying faces uses a Ricoh-original algorithm to differentiate overall facial characteristics from other images viewed in the scene, thereby automatically detecting faces. Focus, exposure, and white balance are automatically adjusted to fit the face even if the subject is not in the centre of the frame.
  • If more than one person is in the frame, adjustments are automatically made that are optimum for the group as a whole.

3. Attention to high-quality design.

  • On top of great portability, design features such as generous use of metal around the lens, a distinctive strap attachment, and curves on the top create an anticipation of high performance. The Caplio R6 sports an improved feel of robustness and texture.

4. Well-received vibration correction function as well as a variety of other innovations to prevent poor pictures from situations such as being out of focus or white saturation occurring.

  • Improvements have been made to the correction algorithm for the Ricoh-original CCD-shift vibration correction method for picture taking at macro and telephoto.
  • A new feature in quick review lets you enlarge the image 16 times at the touch of a button. That way, you can check that the shot was in focus right away.
  • A new function has been added to prevent white saturation by highlighting and flashing in quick review and playback areas with high luminance values when photographing.
  • An auto high sensitivity mode has been added to allow clear shots in dark places. Sensitivity can be raised up to ISO 1600 depending on the brightness of the subject. Coupled with the vibration correction function, this gives even better blur prevention.

5. High picture quality photography through high-performance CCD and image processing engine.

  • The 7.24 megapixel CCD allows for high-resolution photography.
  • High-level image processing is achieved and images with low noise are produced through
    an original image processing engine that operates at speed. Thanks to that, even photography at ISO 1600 sensitivity is possible.

6. Diverse range of original functions.

  • The dual size recording mode allows you to record two files at the same time with one shot: a normal sized image and a reduced size image. You can choose from 1 megapixel, VGA, HVGA, or QVGA for the reduced size. This is convenient for using photos on the Internet such as when attaching to e-mail or placing in blogs.

  • Internal memory is boosted to 54 MB (26 MB with Caplio R5). This lets you take 34 shots at 7M size normal mode even without a memory card.
  • Multiple individual files can be selected for deletion. Furthermore deleted files can even be recovered with the new File Recovery feature.
  • You can skip 10 images forward or backward in playback. This lets you quickly search for the image you want when many images are stored on large-capacity memory.
  • A Ricoh-original macro mode allows close-in shooting of objects at as close as 1 cm with wide macro and as close as 25 cm with telemacro. A Zoom Macro function is included to allow use of digital zooming from the optical zoom position where subjects can be captured at their largest.
  • The Caplio R6 includes an Auto Resize function that automatically changes the image size when shooting at 7M size and zooming in excess of 200 mm optical. This enables high zoom photography of up to 34.1x* (equivalent to 960 mm) at high image quality without image correction processing. It is also equipped with general digital zoom.

    * at VGA image size

7. Large, high-resolution LCD.

  • The Caplio R6 has a bright, high-resolution, high viewing angle 2.7-inch LCD (Caplio R5 LCD is 2.5 inches).

8. Long-life rechargeable battery for approx. 330 shots under CIPA standards (standard accessory).

  • The power-saving features of the internal circuit allow for a battery life equivalent to previous models, even with the smaller battery in the slimmer Caplio R6

9. Skew Correction function.

  • Through an original algorithm that automatically detects trapezoids in images based on composition when shooting and corrects them to rectangles, images can be corrected to look as though they were shot from the front. The function is most effective in business environments where subjects such as blackboards, overhead projector images, time schedules, and signs cannot be shot from the front.

Accessories included:

Rechargeable Battery DB-70 / Battery Charger BJ-7 / USB Cable / AV Cable / Handstrap / Software CD-Rom / Instruction Manuals

Available: Mid-March 2007
Available Colours: Silver, Black and Red
RRP: £229.99 (inc. VAT)

Ricoh Caplio G6 specifications

Sensor

• 1/2.5" Type CCD
• 7.41 million pixels total
• 7.24 million effective pixels
Image sizes

• 3072x2304
• 3072x2048
• 2592x1944
• 2048x1536
• 1280x960
• 640x480
Movie clips

• 640x480 30/15 fps
• 320x240 30/15 fps
• 160x120 30/15 fps
File formats

• Still:
• Movie: AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG Format compliant)
• Sound: WAV (Exif ver. 2.21 µ law)
Lens • 4.6-33mm (28-200 35 mm equiv) 7.1x optical zoom
• F 3.3-5.1
Image stabilization CCD-Shift
Conversion lenses No
Digital zoom Up to 4.8x
Focus • Autofocus
• Manual Focus
• Snap focus (hyperfocal)
• Infinity lock
AF assist lamp Yes
Focus distance • 30c m - ∞ (Wide)
• 1.0 m - ∞ (Telephoto)
• 1cm - ∞ (Macro Wide)
• 25c m - ∞ (Telephoto)
Metering • Multi Light Metering (256 segments)
• Center-weighted Light Metering
• Spot Metering
ISO sensitivity • Auto ISO
• Auto Hi-ISO
• ISO 64
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
• ISO 1600
Exposure compensation • +/- 2EV
• 0.3EV steps
Exposure bracketing +/- 0.5EV
Shutter speed 8-1/2000 sec
Aperture F3.3-5.1
Modes • Still
• Continuous
• S-Continuous
• M-Continuous
• Scene Modes
Scene modes • Portrait
• Face
• Sports
• Landscape
• Nightscape
• B&W
• Skew correction
• Text
• Zoom Macro
• Movie
• High Sensitivity
• My Setting 1 & 2
White balance • Auto
• Fixed (Outdoors, Cloudy, Incandescent Lamp, Incandescent Lamp2, Fluorescent Lamp, Manual settings)
White balance fine tune White Balance Bracket
Self timer 2 or 10 sec
Continuous shooting Yes
Flash • Flash Off , Auto, Red-Eye Flash, Flash on, Flash Synchro, Soft Flash
• Flash Range*: approx. 0. 2 m - 3.0 m (Wide-angle), approx. 0.25m - 2.0 m (Telephoto)
*Auto ISO
Viewfinder N/A
LCD monitor • 2.7" TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixels
Connectivity • USB2.0 Hi-Speed (Mini B cable), Choice of Ricoh original or Mass Storage driver*
• AV out (PAL/NTSC switchable)
*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 98/98SE or Mac OS8.6
Print compliance • EXIF 2.21
• DPOF
• DCF compliant
Storage • SD/SDHC/MMC card
• 54MB internal memory
Power • DB-70 Li-Ion cell
• Charger included (BJ-7)
Weight (no batt) 135g (4.7oz)
Dimensions 99.6 x 55 x 23.3 mm (3.9 x 2.2 x 0.9 in)

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