Ricoh Caplio GX100 review

We were suitably impressed by Ricoh's recent 8-megapixel GR-D compact camera.

Not only did it feature a highly corrected and bright 28mm-equivalent f/2.4 lens, but it was offered with an optional 21mm wide-angle conversion lens as well as a removable optical viewfinder.

Since its introduction we've seen both Canon and Nikon answer with rival models, both adding 2 million extra pixels and sporting zoom lenses. It was inevitable, then, that Ricoh would reply with a compact based on the GR-D but packing a high-quality zoom, and that's precisely what it has done with the new GX100.

The 10-megapixel GX100 sports many of the attributes of the GR-D. There's the similarly styled magnesium-alloy outer shell, with its superbly comfortable rubber-covered handgrip and excellent controls. A front command dial, not unlike those on Canon's EOS digital SLRs, allows rapid, precise control over aperture, while a second dial located to the rear is used to flick between shutter speeds.

But just as with the GR-D, it's the lens that grabs the headlines. The GX100 boasts a 3x optical zoom, which barely adds to the camera's overall depth when retracted, and which is equivalent to a 24-72mm lens on a 35mm camera.

The very wide angle of view is certainly welcome, but it's a pity the telephoto comes up short against its rivals. A nice touch is the option to zoom to any of four set focal lengths: 24, 28, 50 and 72mm.

At its widest the lens is bright at f/2.5, but zooming inevitably reduces this down to f/4.4 at 72mm. This is still brighter than many zooms at this focal length, helping focus accuracy and keeping shutter speeds fast without your having to hike up the ISO and risk noise.

As with the GR-D and rivals, there is an optional wide-angle conversion lens. In this instance it provides the equivalent of an ultra-wide 19mm, ideal for landscapes and interiors. And, as with the GR-D, an optional viewfinder is available, though this time it's electronic and plugs into the hot-shoe.

Carried over from the GR-D is a snap mode, minimising the shutter release lag. This could come in handy, except that there's seldom a need to use it. Focus accuracy and operation is blazingly fast at the wide end, even when using the usually slower multi-AF option. Operation was sometimes slower at the tele end, in low light for example, but it has to be practically pitch black before the GX100 resorts to the ghostly green built-in AF-assist lamp. Simultaneous Raw (DNG) and Jpeg capture is neat, but painfully slow compared to a digital SLR.

The GX100 features several scene presets, including a passable 30fps VGA-resolution movie mode and a high-sensitivity option that also boosts the 2.5-inch screen's gamma, for better visibility. Purists will appreciate the fully metered manual mode, displaying a small analogue scale as well as exposure information.

Best of all, the screen mimics the exposure, making it super fast to use. It's accurate too, unlike some we've seen. By and large the screen is decent, but images are displayed in incredible detail only briefly and are then shown at a lower resolution, presumably to save power.

Both Canon's G7 and Nikon's P5000, which pack zooms with greater reach, have lens-based anti-shake systems, whereas the GX100 tries to lessen the wobbles using a CCD-shifting mechanism. Our tests indicated it was good for around two extra stops.

Colour accuracy is great and noise levels aren't much of an issue until you reach ISO 800, but even at this or the fastest ISO 1600 setting, the GX100 has better control over distracting coloured speckles than its two main rivals.