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RICOH STEPS UP TO APS-C FOR ITS LATEST COMPACT
aS thIS month's cover story (page 66) notes, Ricoh had a hit back in the late 1990s with its GR1 compact f lm camera. Like the new GR, that camera had a fast f/2.8 wide-angle lens in a body that could f t into any jacket pocket. Like Ricoh's more recent GR Digital cameras, the new GR sports a sensor instead of f lm. But with the drop of the word "Digital" from the model name comes a move to an APS-C-sized CMOS sensor that has about 8.6 times the surface area of the 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor found in its predecessor, the GR Digital IV.
The Ricoh GR's body design remains very similar to the earlier GR Digital line. While not the sleekest looking camera, the minimalist GR has a solid feel, thanks in part to its magnesiumalloy chassis. With a 16.2MP sensor and 28mm (equivalent) lens, the $797 (street) GR shows similar specs to Nikon's Coolpix A (see test, page 73). You can get the Ricoh, however, for about $300 less than the Nikon.
As you might imagine, we wondered how the GR would fare in our tests. Read on to f nd out.
in the Test Lab
With wonderfully accurate color (when white balance is set properly), and an impressive ability to capture detail, the Ricoh GR earned an Extremely High rating from ISO 100 through ISO 400 in overall image quality.
In our color accuracy test, the GR had an average Delta E of 5.1. This score was achieved with the camera's white balance set using a neutral gray card-a practice we always recommend for proper color reproduction. One reason: In our f eld testing, we found that the GR's automatic white balance often failed to produce a neutral color rendition. In some instances, this lent a pleasing warm tone to images. But more often than not, we found ourselves f xing the white balance during RAW processing.
In our resolution tests, the GR showed a respectable result with 2425 lines per picture height at ISO 100, for an Extremely High rating. Much of this was retained at ISO 1600, where the camera captured 2375 lines. ISO 6400 brought a drop to...