Ricoh GR Digital II Review

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
  • Powered by included 3.7V 1150mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery or 2 AAA type batteries
  • 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

Ricoh GR Digital II

Ricoh GR Digital II

Ricoh GR Digital II Ricoh GR Digital II

Ricoh GR Digital II

Ricoh GR Digital II





Ricoh GR Digital II

The GR Digital II compared to a standard CD disc.





Continue on to
Features & Controls



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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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