In summary
Excellent value for money but some functional and performance limitations.Ricoh is pushing the ‘value for money’ message with its latest camera and, at $299, the Caplio RR630 is well ahead of most competitors. With a larger than average 6.1-megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom lens, the RR630 has an odd mix of complex controls and functional limitations. The mode dial carries auto, P, Tv, Av and M settings as well as four scene settings (Night Scene, Landscape, Portrait and Sports) but sensitivity adjustment stops at ISO 200. . . [more]
Full review
Ricoh is pushing the ‘value for money’ message with its latest camera and at $299, the Caplio RR630 is well ahead of most competitors. With a larger than average 6.1-megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom lens, the RR630 has an odd mix of complex controls and functional limitations. The mode dial carries Auto, P, Tv, Av and M settings as well as four scene settings (Night Scene, Landscape, Portrait and Sports) but sensitivity adjustment stops at ISO 200.
Four image size settings are provided, along with three quality levels. However there’s no manual white balance measurement and no slow synch flash setting. Yet you can choose from three self-timer options, two metering modes and three colour modes, and sharpness and saturation are also adjustable.
The camera’s shiny plastic body is light and compact, with a modest 2-inch LCD of average resolution plus a small, diopter-adjustable optical viewfinder. Most controls are easy to find and operate and the menu, though basic, is simple to use. A sliding cover conceals the SD card slot (no card is supplied but the camera has 16MB of internal memory) and slots for two AA batteries (supplied). The tiny DC-in and PC/AV out slots are uncovered.
Pictures from the test camera were somewhat contrasty but colour reproduction was acceptable and white balance adjustments were competently handled. Digital zoom shots were artefact-free and close-ups were impressive. Noise was relatively low at ISO 200 but we found some stuck pixels in low-light shots. Imatest showed resolution to be very good, even at ISO 200. However lateral chromatic aberration was moderate in all test shots.
We measured an average capture lag of one second, which reduced to 0.3 seconds with pre-focusing. The burst mode captured three shots at intervals of 0.3, 0.9 and 1.8 seconds. Image processing speeds were modest. [28]
Specifications
Image sensor: 7.18 x 5.32mm CCD with 6.2 million photosites (6.1 megapixels effective)
Lens: 7.5-22.5mm f2.8-4.8 zoom (36-108mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical; up to 4x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 91 x 61 x 27mm
Weight: 150g (without batteries and card)
Image formats: Stills – JPEG; Movies – AVI Motion JPEG (SVGA at 24 fps with sound)
Shutter speed range: 1-1/2000 second
Focus range: 50 cm to infinity; macro 6cm to infinity
Exposure control: Auto, Program AE, Scene (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Scene), Tv, Av, M.
White balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent.
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Flash Off; range 0.6-2.4m
ISO range: Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200
Sequence shooting: 3 shots at 1 fps.
Storage Media: 16 MB internal memory plus SD card slot; internal memory holds 3 high-resolution images or up to 254 VAG shots
Viewfinder: optical with diopter adjustment
LCD monitor: 2.0-inch low-temperature polysilicon display (130,000 pixels)
Power supply: 2x AA Alkaline or NiMH
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Rating
RRP: $299
Rating (out of 10):
- Build: 8
- Ease of use: 8
- Image quality: 7.5
- OVERALL: 9