The Ricoh GR is the latest update to the GR range and features a 28mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8 lens, 16.2 million pixel APS-C sensor and light weight magnesium alloy body.
The Ricoh GR’s new sensor is nine times larger than the 1/1.7-inch sensor found in the Ricoh GR IV. And with the Ricoh GR price tag starting around £599 (approximately US$920 / AU$882), it could perhaps give the Nikon COOLPIX A a run for its money.
Here Ali Jennings of our testing team takes a look at what the Ricoh GR premium compact camera has to offer in his hands-on Ricoh GR review video.
This is the Ricoh GR, the update to the company's premium line of compact cameras. It's quite a significant upgrade however as has an APS-C sized sensor, which is around 9x larger than the 1/1.7 inch device in the GR IV.
The pixel count of the sensor has also been boosted from 10 million to 16.2 million.
To accompany that sensor is an 18.3mm f/2.8 lens, which is equivalent to around 28mm in 35mm terms. Although it's a fixed focal length lens there's an optional adapter available to transform it into a wider, 21mm optic. At the other end of the scale, a 35mm crop mode is also available.
One of the trade offs Ricoh has made as a result of the larger sensor is that the lens can't focus quite as close as its predecessor. However, Macro mode can be activated via this dedicated button to get as close as 10cm to the subject.
Built from a sturdy magnesium alloy, the GR is billed as the world's smallest and lightest APS-C format camera. Despite the much larger sensor, as you can see it's actually only marginally larger overall than the GR IV.
This slightly pronounced grip, which has a useful rubberised texture, helps when shooting one-handed. The layout of the buttons on the back of the camera also makes changing settings with a thumb quick and easy.
Here at the top we've got a mode dial for speedily changing between automatic, semi-automatic and fully manual modes. There's also space for up to three customisable groups of settings here and this lock button prevents accidental dial changes while the camera's in a pocket or bag.
This small dial on the grip is used for altering aperture or shutter speed, depending on the mode you're shooting in. When shooting in fully manual mode, this dial is used for aperture, while this switch at the back of the camera controls shutter speed.
One of the best things about the GR is that several of the buttons on the back, and side, of the camera are customisable. These dedicated function buttons here and here can be changed to suit your needs, while this effects button and this switch are also customisable.
Exposure compensation is changed quickly by this plus and minus switch which doubles up as the zooming buttons during playback.
Changing autofocus point by default is done by tapping this Function button //Fn 1// and using the arrow keys to scroll around the scene to the point you want to use. After pressing this button, you can use the zoom //+// to check critical focus.
On the back of the camera is a high resolution, 1.2 million-dot 3 inch LCD screen. It's not articulating, or touch sensitive, but it appears cope reasonably well with direct light, not suffering too badly from glare or reflections.
Making an appearance just weeks after the Nikon Coolpix A, the Ricoh GR will go on sale with an asking price of around £599 (that's about 920 US dollars)– making it significantly cheaper than the Nikon camera.
It will be interesting to see if this camera manages to capture the imagination of the experienced user looking for a backup compact that is capable of delivering excellent images. Look out for our full review of the Ricoh GR in the near future.
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