Review: Ricoh CX2 camera

BY TERRY LANE

Last updated 10:49 09/10/2009

The Ricoh CX2 compact camera.

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This is a camera for taking pictures, not a toy to play with. Highly recommended.

The low-down: This 9.3-megapixel camera has a 28mm-300mm (film-equivalent) lens with image stabilisation by sensor shift. It is bulkier than most compacts but in a reassuring way.

The all-black (also silver and two-tone grey), no-nonsense finish suggests a serious camera. The 7.5cm high-resolution LCD is superb and the menu graphics elegant. The camera's standout feature is its dynamic range extension mode, which is used to preserve detail in the extreme light and dark parts of the image.

The 245-page instruction manual is exemplary.

Like: Focus is fast and accurate, even at the 300mm extreme. Colour fidelity and resolution are both outstanding. In fact, the image quality at 300mm is about the best we have seen from a compact with such an extreme focal length range.

The DR (dynamic range extender mode) works well but only for stationary subjects. Bizarre effects are produced when the subject moves, because the process involves the rapid taking and blending of two images exposed at two different settings.

Dislike: There is some noise-reduction effect (blurring of fine detail) even at low ISO speeds. The tiny joystick control is a tad touchy.

Verdict: Ricoh, like Fujifilm, is a brand that stands in the shadow of the big names of Canon, Nikon, Sony and Panasonic. But Ricoh has a much longer history in cameras than the latter pair.

Its digital offerings always feel as though they have been designed by photographers for photographers. The CX2 has a modest pixel count compared with the competition and doesn't have face detection, let alone a smile function.

* The Ricoh CX2 costs $699 in New Zealand.

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