amazon Ricoh GX200 reviews
The Ricoh GX200 belongs to Canon’s high-end G or S series of pocket cameras. This is the successor version Ricoh GX100 and Ricoh has been added some more advanced features. The sensor is elevated to 12 million pixels, wide-angle lens with 24-72mm (3x) unique zoom range, 2.7in high resolution 460,000 pixel LCD screen, VGA 640 x 480 pixel video recording, Supports SD / SDHC cards and A, P, M exposure controls.
Ricoh’s design is a bit old and somewhat old, and the GX200 is no exception. The handle holds a large part of the front that makes this version look a little rough, but this design gives a pretty solid feeling when holding a single hand. Right as a high-end, the handle is covered with a slip-resistant leather on the front and a thumbscrew on the back makes the GX200 slightly “luxury”. Keep the design “clean”, the front of the handlebar is left for each lens and the focus support lamp, push all custom buttons on the front and back. Another interesting feature of Ricoh is that the company is always positioned on the strapping two-way body instead of just one as the other tourist lines. This balanced strap is reminiscent of the old classic compact SLRs.
The GX200 comes with a Lithium battery that comes with up to 350 shots. In addition to using the included battery, in case of emergency when the battery is empty, users can install two AAA replacement batteries without the need for a adapter, a creative design of a Japanese label. On average these two AAA batteries can sustain about 40 shots.
The GX200’s 3x zoom lens, however, has a very reasonable zoom range and is quite lucid when it comes to the mid-2008 launch. Focusing on wide-angle, the GX200 has a 24-72mm lens, focussing on its focal length range. The best-selling full-frame DSLRs (24-70mm) are not going in the 35-55mm direction as most travel cameras of the time are on the market. In addition to the lens also has a snare to be able to fit adapter for 19mm wide-angle or 135mm telephoto. The fact is that the 24mm itself is too much for a picnic, helping the photographer not to stand too far away for the picture. However, a slightly inconvenient point is the lens cap attached to the body, so when you open the camera without opening the lens cover will not be visible.
The flashlight on the GX200 is a pop-up with a light switch located next to it. With an effective brightness of 3 – 5m, this integrated light output is sufficient for normal needs. If you want more capacity, users can add external lights through the multi-slot slot on the integrated light. The slot also has an extra small connector below which can be fitted with a semi-detachable electronic viewfinder if required. Although the resolution is not high, the tube can be turned up, allowing the photographer to shoot with the machine placed below to flip up.
The flash switch on the GX is mechanical rather than electronic, so it is mandatory for the photographer to open it manually. This mechanism is a bit inconvenient for beginners because even when the camera is in auto mode, the flash does not automatically turn on when the light is low, but it has the advantage for experienced photographer who want full control at the time. Do you use the lights, not at all In addition to professionalism, Ricoh has added a range of refinements through the menu, such as adjusting the luminous power, adjusting the level of light compensation, and even the timing of the flashing lights at the start or end of the shutter (1st or 2nd curtain), advanced features that are only seen on DSLRs.
2.7 inch LCD screen occupies the right part of the lens. The resolution has been doubled to 460,000 pixels compared to the previous 230,000. The high resolution of the GX200 is really worth the price, the image is very detailed and clear, the photographer can immediately see the defects such as loss of detail or crack, noise … on the screen to correct it instead of tranfering to a computer screen to know.
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Ricoh Digital Camera Gx200 Vf Kit , View Finder Vf-1: Buy it now
In addition to the basic buttons on the top and back, such as the power button, image capture, zoom, image display, menu access and navigation buttons, most of the travel companions are similar, the Ricoh add a quick access button system is very useful. The first two buttons Fn1 function is arranged in a strange position near the flash and Fn2 assigned to the left navigation. These two customizable buttons are assigned to a variety of quick access features, from manual focus, JPEG to RAW, color to black & white, continuous shooting … to white balance, The most reasonable is that the photographer should assign a function button to the continuous shooting mode, because this mode Ricoh is not available outside the menu, but the other button to customize the different options. Unfortunately, despite the many buttons to assign and many such features, the GX200 does not have a button for filming that the photographer forced to switch to Scene Mode, then new menu to switch to film mode, very inconvenient and time consuming.
Add a unique point is that the GX200 has two adjustable wheels on the top of the handle and the back of the thumb is similar to the DSLR. These two rings, in addition to the aperture and shutter speed settings in manual mode, can also be used to replace the navigation buttons to navigate between menus and zoom in and out, moving between images at Playback mode … The back-end ADJ ring is also used for quick access to basic settings such as ISO, White Balance, Image Size, Equalization … similar to the joystick of the R line. The alignment between these wheels is not perfect and needs further improvement, though. Although the ADJ Wheel is equipped with a push-to-select function, this function works only in certain custom configurations, Other customizations, although adjustable, have to click the OK button, which makes the coordination between the navigation buttons and the wheels. It becomes confusing and takes time to get used to.
The GX200 supports full manual exposure mode with Full-Auto, Program-P, Aperture-A and Manual-M. Each shutter priority feature. Beside the basic image customization, the GX200 is also equipped with more advanced customization such as distortion, noise reduction, tuning of the capital, which is quite interesting, adjust the infinity, adjust the white balance. Color coordinates … which must be very knowledgeable people can take advantage of and use all. Along with the electronic balance sensor, slow-sync modes and RAW support, the GX200 is a version that helps users to become familiar with a professional camera before the DSLR.
Taking pictures in daylight, the GX200 is quite stable, fast focusing, good auto white balance, low noise due to the new Smooth Imaging Engine III. Thanks to the added white balance adjustment function with individual colors, picky people can overcome the maximum color difference if they are not satisfied with the default or automatic mode. Besides, the automatic level correction (Level correction) is not perfect, but it is quite effective to retain the details in both the light and dark areas.
The ISO of the GX200 is now down to 64 for very smooth and detailed images. Up to ISO 100 and 200 start to appear noise and starting around from ISO 200 to 400, the noise canceling mode activated to make the image a bit smoother but still slightly. Although ISO is not high, up to 1600 but from ISO 400 is a clear grain start image with a deteriorating quality and details begin to blur. It is best to maintain ISO 64-100 for best image quality.
Motion capture, GX200 not very impressive with only about 2 shots / second, but the GX200 compensated S-Cont and M-Cont mode allows shooting at a speed of 16 images and then grafted into a large image. Although the resolution of each image is small, the resolution is not high, but this mode creates a very slow continuous shooting style is quite interesting.
Making a perfect pair with the Velbon Ultra Max i M tripod, the GX200 takes advantage of night landscape shots and macro shots thanks to its rich machine-tune features along with its incredibly lightweight legs. Folding only about 30cm long. The Ultra Max i M is a new Velbon footprint with an improved leg opening system, which simply swivels out or locks, allowing quick and easy opening and closing. The tripod is also designed for macro photography due to the non-tripod mechanism that is designed to be free of 3 preset levels. If you do not push up the lift can be removed to the camera closest to the ground (about 16cm). With the GX200’s macro capability of close to 1cm, this position is ideal for shooting commercial ads.
Although designed to be detachable between the tripod and the camera mount for quick removal, the docking station uses screws instead of screws as the other tripods make it easier to fix the camera to the dome. Slightly inconvenient. In addition, due to the stability, the tripod has only two sections and a maximum height of 1.3 meters. It is only suitable for landscape shooting when outdoors. In fact, when mounted on the Ultra Max i M, the GX200 can comfortably lower the ISO to 64, taking advantage of the large aperture of f / 2.5, along with the optional dimming and spot metering mechanism on the dSLR. Common landscape macros such as flowers, leaves, branches … or capture architectural works. With custom hand-held exposure, users can take advantage of their tripods to capture night scenes not less than professional cameras and not rely on night modes that are unreliable on the travel camera on the market.
On the whole, the GX200 can hardly be criticized for supporting the advanced features of a semi-professional camera. This version has almost full of sophisticated refinements that are only seen on DSLRs. However, image quality and speed are not matched by these advanced features, especially high ISO noise processing. Fortunately, the GX200 has an ISO rating of 64 and in bright conditions the image quality is smooth and detailed. With versatility, this version deserves to be a backup camera for professional cameramen on long journeys or for those who are fond of tweaking the image modes before deciding upgrade to the DSLR.