Steves Digicams - Ricoh GR Digital II

Review posted 3/12/2008

Click to take a QuickTime VR tour of the Ricoh GR Digital II

Click to take a QTVR tour of the GR Digital II

The award winning GR DIGITAL was launched as the successor to the GR Series of 35mm compact film cameras (first released back in 1996) that were popular for their superb image quality. The GR's outstanding performance met the high standards demanded by professional photographers. It's compact 25mm thin magnesium alloy body has been highly accepted by a wide range of users including high-end amateur and professional photographers in the two years since its release.

The new GR DIGITAL II retains the original concept of the GR DIGITAL of being a high-resolution compact camera that achieves excellent resolving power from edge to edge, low noise, and low color aberration. In addition, it has, expressive power, operability, and expandability for even higher image quality.

GR Digital II Features

10-megapixel CCD imager for up to poster size prints

5.9mm fixed lens (equivalent to 28mm on a 35mm camera)

Compact and durable magnesium alloy body

Macro focus as close as 1.5cm (0.6 i.)

JPEG and RAW still image file formats

2.7-inch TFT color LCD with live histogram display and 230K pixels of resolution

Compact and lightweight body

Auto, Program (w/shift), Aperture priority, Manual, My Settings (1/2) and Scene (Movie, Skew Correction, Text) modes

Movie mode w/sound, 640x480 or 320x240 at 30 or 15fps

Continuous mode and two "Multi-Shot" continuous modes

Metering options: Multi, Center-weighted or Spot

Exposure compensation: ±2EV in 1/3-step increments

White Balance: Auto, 4 presets, One-push Custom, Bracketing

Shutter speeds of 180 seconds to 1/2000 second

Time-lapse interval recording

Selectable ISO settings from 80 to 1600

Standard hot shoe for external flash

USB connectivity for PC and Mac

PictBridge USB direct-print compatible

54MB internal memory plus SD/MMC card slot

Telephoto/Wide angle conversion lenses

The Ricoh GR Digital II camera kit has an MSRP of US$699, and ships with: GR Digital II camera body, AV cable, USB cable, Hand strap, Rechargeable battery (DB-60), Battery charger (BJ-6), Software CD-ROM, and Instruction manuals.

Optional accessories include: Tele conversion lens (GT-1), Mini external viewfinder (GV-2). Soft case for GV-2 (GC-2), External viewfinder (GV-1), Wide conversion lens (GW-1), Hood and adapter for GW-1, GT-1 (GH-1), Ac adapter (AC-4c), Soft case (GC-1), Neck strap (GS-1), Neck strap (ST-2), Cable switch (CA-1).

Physical Views

The GR Digital II compared to a standard CD disc.

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Features & Controls

Please visit Ricoh's Webstie to find the dealer near you.

US visitors GR Digital II Digital Camera (10.01MP, 3648x2736, 54MB Internal Memory, SD/SDHC/MMC Card Slot)

$ 449.00 at Adorama

Ricoh GR Digital II Specifications

Imaging Sensor

1/1.75" primary-color CCD with 10.01 million effective pixels (total pixels: 10.3 million)

Lens

Focal length	5.9 mm (equivalent to 28mm on a 35mm camera)
F-aperture	F2.4 to F11 (+F7.1 in auto mode is with ND filter)
Shooting distance	Approx. 30cm from lens tip to infinity Approx. 1.5cm from lens tip to infinity (macro)
Lens construction	6 elements in 5 groups (two aspherical lenses/three aspherical surfaces)

Digital Zoom Magnification

Approx. 4.0X digital zoom. Approx. 5.7X auto-resize zoom (VGA images)

Focus Mode

Multi AF (CCD method)/Spot AF (CCD method)/Manual focus/snap/Infinity
(focus lock and AF auxiliary light also available)

Shutter Speed ^*1

Still image	180, 120, 60, 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1 to 1/2000 sec. (Max. and min.Shutter speeds change according to shooting mode and flash mode)
Movie	1/30 to 1/2000 sec.

Exposure Adjustment

Exposure metering mode	Multi Light Metering (256 segments), Center-weighted Light Metering, Spot Metering (TTL-CCD Metering Method, AE lock available)
Exposure mode	Program shift AE/Aperture priority AE/Manual exposure
Exposure compensation	Manual compensation (+2.0 to -2.0 EV in 1/3 EV steps), Auto bracket function (-0.5 EV, ±0, +0.5 EV / -0.3 EV, ±0, +0.3 EV)

ISO sensitivity (Standard Output Sensitivity)

AUTO/AUTO-HI/ISO80/100/200/400/800/1600

White Balance Mode

Auto/Outdoors/Cloudy/Incandescent Lamp/Fluorescent Lamp/Manual Settings/Detail, White balance bracket function

Flash

Flash mode	Auto (fires automatically when subject poorly lit or in backlight situations)/ Red-eye/Flash On/Flash Synchro/Flash Off
Built-in flash range	Approx. 20 cm to approx. 3.0 m (ISO AUTO)
Flash compensation	±2.0 EV (1/3 EV steps)

Picture Display

2.7-inch Transparent Amorphous Silicon TFT LCD, approx. 230,000 pixels

Shooting Mode

Auto Shooting Mode/Program Shift Mode/Aperture Priority Mode/Manual Exposure Mode/Scene Mode (skew correct/text/movie)/My Settings Mode

Picture Quality Mode ^*2

F(Fine)/ N(Normal) / RAW (DNG file format) ^*3

Number of Recorded Pixels

Still image	3648 x 2736, 3648 x 2432, 2736 x 2736, 3264 x 2600, 2592 x 1944,2048 x 1536, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480
Movie	640 x 480, 320 x 240
Text	3648 x 2736, 2048 x 1536

Recording Media

SD memory card, SDHC card, Multi media card, Internal memory (approx. 54MB)

Storage Capacity/ Time ^*4 (Built-in approx. 54 MB storage)

Still	3648 x 2736 (RAW: 2, F: 14, N: 24), 3648 x 2432 (RAW: 3, F: 15, N: 27), 2736 x 2736 (RAW: 3, F: 18, N: 32), 3264 x 2600 (N: 30), 2592 x 1944 (N: 47), 2048 x 1536 (N: 73), 1280 x 960 (N: 133), 640 x 480 (N: 497)
Movie^*5	640 x 480 @ 30 frames/sec. (41 sec.), 640 x 480 @ 15 frames/sec.(1 min 22 sec.), 320 x 240 @ 30 frames/sec. (1 min 22 sec.), 320 x 240 @ 15 frames/sec. (2 min 40 sec.)

Recording File Formats

Still	JPEG (Exif ver2.21) ^*6, RAW (DNG)
Movie	AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG Format Compliant)

Other Major Shooting Function

Continuous/S-Cont/M-Cont, Self-Timer (delay: approx. 10 sec./ approx. 2 sec.),Interval (shooting interval: 5 sec. to 3 hrs. in 5-sec. intervals)^*7, Color Bracket,Double Tone, Color Space Set, Noise Reduction, Histogram Display, Grid Guide Display, Depth of Field Display, Enlarge Photo Icon, Electronic Level (accuracy: ±0.5°), Hot Shoe

Other Major Playback Function

Auto Rotate, Three-frame View/Grid View, Magnifying (up to 16X), Resize

Interface

USB2.0 (High-Speed USB) Mini-B cable, Mass storage ^*8, AV output

Video Signal Format

NTSC, PAL switchable

Power Source

Rechargeable Battery (DB60) x 1, AC Adapter (AC-4c option), AAA Alkaline Batteries x 2, AAA Oxyride Batteries x 2, AAA Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries x 2

Battery Consumption ^*9

When CIPA-standard compliant DB60 used: approx. 370 pictures When AAA alkaline batteries used: approx 45 pictures^*10

Dimensions

107.0 mm x 58.0 mm x 25.0 mm (W x H x D); does not include protruding parts

Weight

Camera: Approx. 168 g (excluding battery/SD memory card/strap); Accessories: Approx. 30 g (battery/strap)

Operating temperature

0°C to 40°C

(Specifications as represented by the manufacturer)

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