Ricoh Caplio R5 review

A large zoom lets you compose better pictures, but not if your camera is so bulky you end up leaving it at home. Ricoh's Caplio R5 solves the problem by packing a large zoom lens in a compact body.

The 7.1x range isn't as impressive as the Kodak V610's or Panasonic TZ1's 10x zooms. However, the R5 is the only one to offer a wide-angle setting, ranging from 28mm to 200mm focal lengths (35mm film equivalent). It's light at 165g, but this is partly due to the plastic, rather than metal, body. The door to the battery and SD card compartment feels flimsy and the lens rattles when zooming in and out. This doesn't necessarily mean it's fragile, but it doesn't inspire confidence.

The R5's performance is a mixed bag. We were astounded by its 0.1-second autofocus, 2.6fps continuous mode (the fastest we've seen) and its ability to capture 72 shots in one minute in standard mode. However, we were less impressed when we realised the autofocus often failed to lock on to its subject, and sometimes the auto-exposure was way off. We had to half-press the shutter button, wait for the beep to confirm the camera was focused and then fully press the button to take the picture. However, even this didn't always work, and certain subjects proved beyond the limitations of the autofocus, forcing us to point the camera at a different object to get a sharp focus before taking the picture. Manual focus is available, but despite the 21/2" screen's 230,000-pixel resolution, the lack of a digital zoom in preview means accurate manual focus is impossible. The screen also suffers from poor viewing angles, which makes pictures appear under-exposed when holding the camera below eye level.

Image quality in our tests was dependable and often excellent. The highlight was the macro mode, which focused on objects that were practically touching the lens. Optical image stabilisation is built into the CCD to reduce blur from camera shake; along with well-chosen automatic settings and reasonably low noise even at ISO 400, the R5 put in a strong performance when shooting in low ambient light. ISO 800 and 1,600 are also available for when you're willing to put up with some noise to shoot in very low light. Colour accuracy was respectable, but the flash produced less flattering pictures, tending to over-expose nearby subjects and giving a bluish hue to shots.

Our first impressions of the R5 were positive, thanks to its generous zoom, fast performance and pleasing image quality. However, it seems Ricoh has spoiled an excellent camera with too many rough edges, particularly where the autofocus is concerned. Half-pressing the shutter button might be second nature to some, but it is odd that just pressing it fully causes the camera to take a picture before it is ready.