Ricoh Caplio GX Review

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By: Steve's Digicams

Review posted 9/2/04

Click to take a QTVR tour of the GX

The Caplio GX is a compact and lightweight 5.13-megapixel camera with a wide angle 3x optical zoom (28-85mm in 35mm equivalent) that Ricoh claims has a shutter release time of just 0.12 of a second. Ricoh states: "The Caplio GX's shutter releases almost instantly once pressed enabling you to capture shots that would otherwise be missed on other digital cameras. It is ideal for taking pictures of moving objects. Speed measured as time between depressing shutter release button to the start of exposure in autofocus mode without using focus lock."

The GX can be powered by two AA batteries or an optional rechargeable lithium battery. With the lithium pack it can take up to 400 shots (50% with flash and using zoom, LCD on, 30 secs between shots and post capture review of all photos.) The 3x optical zoom has a most impressive 1cm macro mode, the flash is useable down to 15cm in macro. A normal continuous capture mode plus; M-Continuous saves the last 16 frames at 8fps when you release the shutter and S-Continuous saves 16 frames in 2 seconds as you push the shutter. The High Sensitivity mode provides illumination of subjects in darkened rooms so you don't need the flash, the LCD display is also brightened to aid in framing.

The GX's hybrid auto focus system is comprised of both external and TTL focusing components. Other features include a 256-element matrix exposure metering with center-weighted and spot options, aperture-priority, auto exposure bracketing, six Scene modes (portrait, sports, landscape, nightscape, text and high-sensitivity), automatic shutter speeds from 1/2000 to 8 seconds with manual settings up to 30 seconds. Motion video capture with sound for up to 80 seconds at 320x240 or 300 seconds at 160x120. The LCD turns on automatically when the shutter button is pressed and remains on for several seconds and then shuts off to extend battery life. Image and movie data can be stored in 16MB of internal memory or on Secure Digital or MultiMedia Cards. The JPEG file format is Exif 2.2 (Exif Print) and Epson PIM II compatible and you can also select to save images in uncompressed TIFF file format. The GX is PictBridge compatible for direct-printing with many of today's new photo printers.

Caplio GX Features

5.1 Megapixel CCD imager for up to A3 size prints
3x optical 28-85mm equivalent wide angle zoom
Almost instantaneous shutter release (0.12 seconds)
Fast 1.2 second turn-on time, 1.3 seconds capture intervals
Macro focus as close as 1cm (1/2 inch), macro flash as close as 15cm
JPEG and TIFF uncompressed file formats
1.8" color LCD with live histogram display
Compact and lightweight aluminum alloy body
Program AE, AE Bracketing, Aperture, Manual and 6 Scene exposure modes
Movie mode w/sound, 320x240 to 80 secs, 160x120 to 300 secs.
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 30 seconds to 1/2000 second
Time-lapse interval recording 30 secs to 3 hours
Selectable ISO settings from 64 to 1600
Standard hot shoe for external flash
Powered by two AA type batteries or
Optional high-capacity lithium-ion rechargeable battery
USB connectivity for PC and Mac
PictBridge USB direct-print compatible
16MB internal memory plus SD/MMC card slot

Physical Views

The Caplio GX compared to a standard CD disc.

The Caplio GX compared to the Kodak LS753.

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Caplio GX Specifications

CCD	1/1.8-inch primary-color CCD Effective 5.13 million pixels (5.25 million square pixels)
Resolution	Still: 2592 x 1944 2048 x 1536 1280 x 960 640 x 480 Text :2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536 Motion :320 x 240, 160 x 120
Recording Mode	Still (Continuous, S-Continuous, M-Continuous), Aperture-Priority/Manual exposure, Scene (Portrait Sports, Landscape, Night Scene, Text, High-Sensitivity), Motion, Sound
Picture Mode	Fine, Normal, Non-Compressed
Recording format	Still :JPEG(Exif ver.2.21)Non-compressed(TIFF) DCF^*1 compliant,DPOF compliant, Text :TIFF(MMR system) Motion :AVI(Open DML Motion JPEG format compliant) Sound :WAV(Exif ver.2.21)
Lens	Focal range f:5.8-17.4mm (28-85mm in 35mm eqivalent) Step-zoom intervals: 4 steps (28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm) Brightness F:2.5(W)-4.3(T) Lens structure 9 glass elements in 7 groups
Focus modes	Autofocus, Manual Focus, Fixed Focus(Snap), Infinity (includes AF auxiliary light)
Focus range	Approx. 0.3m-inf (Macro: Approx. 0.01m-inf , Telemacro: Approx. 0.08m-inf )
Digital Zoom	x4(Maximum x 12 in combination with optical zoom)
Recording Media	SD Memory Card (8MB - 512MB), MultiMediaCard (16/32/64MB) Built-in memory(16MB)
Storage capacity (No. of pictures) (Internal 16MB Memory)^*2	Still 7 (2592 x 1944 Fine), 13 (2592 x 1944 Normal) 1 (2592 x 1944 NC), 10 (2048 x 1536 Fine), 20 (2048 x 1536 Normal), 20 (1280 x 960 Fine), 39 (1280 x 960 Normal), 141 (640 x 480 Normal)
Storage capacity(time) (Internal 16MB Memory)^*3	Motion :44 seconds(320 x 240), 158 seconds(160 x 120) Sound :33 minutes 53 seconds
Storage data capacity	Still Approx. 9.61MB (2592 x 1944 Non-compressed), Approx. 1.79MB (2592 x 1944 Fine), Approx. 1.03MB (2592 x 1944 Normal), Approx. 1.29MB (2048 x 1536 Fine), Approx. 671KB (2048 x 1536 Normal), Approx. 686KB (1280 x 960 Fine), Approx. 356KB (1280 x 960 Normal), Approx. 82KB (640 x 480 Normal)
Shutter	Still :30,15,8,4,2,1-1/2000 sec. (electronic/mechanical shutter), During long- term exposure, has noise Elimination function. Motion :1/30-1/2,000 sec.(electronic shutter)
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
View Finder^*4	Real-image optical zoom finder
LCD Monitor	1.8 inch low temp polysilicon TFT LCD, 130,000 pixels
Flash^*5	Auto (automatic flash in backlight), Red-eye Reduction, On, Slow Synchro, Off Distance: 0.2-5.0m(W), 0.15-2.9m(T) (ISO auto or ISO400)
Exposure Adjustment	TTL-CCD photometric system: Multi(256 segments), Center Weight, Spot
Exposure Compensation	Manual compensation(+2.0--2.0EV in 1/3EV steps), Auto-bracket(-0.5EV, ±0, +0.5EV)
White Balance	Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light, One push(Manual) White Balance Bracket
Self Timer	Delay: Approx. 10sec., 2sec.
Interval Timer	Shooting interval: 30sec.-3hours(30 sec.steps)
PC Interface	USB 1.1 (compatible with Windows98/98SE/2000 Professional/Me/XP Home Edition XP Professional pre-installed or Macintosh OS 8.6-9.2.2 or OS X 10.1.2-10.3)
AV Interface	Audio Out, Video Out
Video Signal Method	NTSC/PAL switchable
Battery	Specialized lithium-ion rechargeable battery (DB-43 option) AA battery (Alkaline/NiMH rechargeable battery)
Shooting Capacity^*6	Using DB-43:Approx.3,700 pictures(continuous), approx.400 pictures(normal). Continuous reproduction of still pictures:Approx.340minutes Using AA alkaline batteries:Approx.120 pictures(normal)
Dimensions (W x D x H)	113.6 x 29.0 x 58.0 mm (excluding projections) 4.47 x 1.14 x 2.28 in.
Weight	Approx. 205g / 7.24 oz. (excluding battery, SD Memory Card, hand strap)
Operating Temperature	0-40°C / 32-104°F

*1:	DCF is the abbreviation of JEITA Standard "Design rule for Camera Files system. " ( It does not guarantee perfect inter-camera compatibility. )
*2:	General guide for still-picture recording capacity
*3:	Maximum.80sec. per shot(320 x 240), maximum 300sec. per shot(160 x 120)
*4:	When shooting at wide-angles, the vignette can be seen at the bottom left-hand corner of the view finder - this has no affect on captured images.
*5:	Distance is valid when ISO auto or ISO400 are set.
*6:	Under Ricoh measurement parameters. Actual performance may vary depending on the condition of use Continuous mode: 640 x 460 flash off, zoom not used, and Monitor Display off (power-saving mode) Normal mode: Approx. 30 second intervals using flash and zoom for 1 out of 2 photos, AA alkaline batteries allow usage of approx. 60minutes.

(Specifications as represented by the manufacturer)

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