Ricoh Caplio GX100

Opinion: Great camera..yes you do need to take some time to learn it, but that is when the rewards begin. Shooting RAW is a bit slow but will always give you things you would have lost in jpg, but the 100 is the best ricoh for jpegs, simply wonderful in all ways.

Opinion: I bought the GX100 to replace a heavily used GX which I loved. I haven't been
disappointed with it. This is the camera I pocket when I don't want to take my SLR
or even if I just don't want to carry the equivalent SLR lenses as it is smaller than
most SLR lenses short of pancakes.
Image Quality is very good, particularly with the latest firmware which has fixed
some problems with over exposure in some situations. Images are sharp at all focal
lengths, corner to corner although some extreme apertures at extreme focal lengths
are less than perfect. Colour balance is by default very naturally saturated, not
gaudy like so many pocket cameras. I do find there is less detail retained in bright
highlights than with the SLR. ISO 400 is quite usable. Haven't tried pushing it
further than that.
I like most of the features and build of the camera. The pop-up flash does a great
job (with latest firmware). A pity there isn't an automatic lens protector (other than
the add on one). The customisable buttons are great. Manual focus is well
implemented for such a small camera.
The screen is excellent, usable in bright light and with extreme viewing angles.
Image stabilisation seems to have limited benefit on this camera. It is better than
nothing but hopefully it can be improved on future models.
The wide angle lens is fantastic. I don't know how you could have a pocket camera
without a lens wider than 30 mm equiv..
I love being able to add a polarising filter and external flash units! I also love the
range of controls the GX 100 gives the photographer.

Opinion: Lovely camera with excellent manual controls and user interface. 24mm eqv lens very useful, and rather unique in its macro capabilities - a really cool combination. Small enough to fit in a medium sized pocket, large enough to handle comfortably. The small grip is surprisingly good to grip. Useful features like step zoom (like a bag full of primes) and hyperfocal focusing and two fully customisable My modes.

Opinion: I bought this camera for its wide-angle lens; it was the only non-DSLR on the market
that went to 24mm at the time. For outdoor shots I'm very pleased with it. The
ergonomics of the camera are excellent, very well thought-out. I enjoy using this
camera.

If you can find it, the GX100 is a much better option than the newer GX200, as that
camera squeezes more pixels onto the same sized sensor.

Opinion: I've had my GX100 for a few months now and have given it the full 5 stars for 4 categories. The 4.5 for construction is due to the fact that the lens wobbles a bit as it leaves the camera body, but attaching the LC-1 self opening lens cap helps with that a bit. When I first got the camera I read on a number of forums that dust getting into the lens housing was an issue for some and, to be honest, my camera had that problem too, there was a very noticeable dust spot in the top right corner of images, I thought about returning it but just couldn't take it back as I loved having it with me. About a month ago the dust spot magically disappeared so I guess whatever was causing it got dislodged.

I have had many cameras including Canon, Oly and Pentax D-SLR's and a wide variety of compacts - Canon G9 and Panasonic LX2 among them, and while those are all great cameras this Ricoh is by far my favourite camera to use, it allows me to compose in a square format which I love, has a great wide angle lens, the step zoom idea is brilliant, the camera feels incredible in the hand and the user interface is just genius, the best I've come across on any camera, with everything easily to hand and full manual control available via 2 quickly accessible control dials.

But most importantly image quality is absolutely superb the roll off on highlights is excellent and the grainy texture at higher ISO B&W is a rare thing in a world of detail smearing through noise reduction. The film like appearance of the camera's files both colour and BW is exceptionally beautiful.

I recently bought the R8 as a back up to this and all that has done has confirmed for me further that the GX100 is a very special piece of equipment, while the R8 is a good camera, it is, unfortunately, disappointing by comparison, it has the square format I like and is beautifully designed but image quality is just not on a par.

In summary the GX100 is a fantastic camera. Usually when a new model comes along it would mean an automatic upgrade for me and I will seriously consider the GX200, but although it's now been out for some time I feel no real compulsion to abandon my GX100 to upgrade. As I said earlier this camera has something special and I'm inclined to think the finished item actually is more than the sum of it's parts, if it's not overstating it I'd say it has soul and there aren't many digital cameras you can say that about.

Opinion: excellent camera for street and landscape use. need i say more?

Opinion: Had this cam for a year now. Bought it used from a local dealer. Has performed flawlessly.

Easy to use in an advanced way with many options to customise. Front wheel and rear toggle makes it simple to shoot with, in manual mode.
If you set the top function button to AE Lock this will find the cameras metered exposure quickly and then its just a matter of a couple of pushs on the rear toggle to adjust shutter or front wheel for aperture. It really couldn't be easier.

I use custom setting one for Raw mode Black & White in 3x2 format and this is always set when the camera starts no matter how many changes I make during a shooting session.
Custom setting two I use as Jpeg 3x2 format with Snap focus with -3 EV. I can quickly switch to this mode by turning the top dial one notch to the 'My2' setting.

Raw write speed is slow at about 5-6 seconds but this has been addressed with the newer GX-200 which sadly I don't own.
But, it is a bearable burden until I see what exciting new camera Ricoh come up with next year.
For me the EVF is invaluable in bright light but a higher resolution would be nicer.

The 19mm wide angle is excellent to use if a little fidgety to attach with about 6 parts to be manipulated (including lens caps) in attaching it and being ready to shoot. Once on, it just blows me away.

I also have the wired remote which I have used a couple of times. Works fine but there is no bulb mode, I guess that would be helpful for fireworks etc. Requires 1 x AAA battery.

The camera can also be powered by 2 AAA batteries but I have not had the need yet. The supplied Lithium battery has always been sufficient.

I use a 4Gb SDHC Sandisk Extreme III card and I can fit a lot of images on it. Previously I used a 1Gb Extreme III card and I was limited to about 70 Raw + Jpegs images. For a while I had a 1GB Sandisk Ultra II (my daughter claimed it) and speed wise there was no perceptible difference in Raw write times.

I am happy with the image quality. The lens is quite sharp and I usually shoot in soft mode and sharpen in post-processing and I like the results.

High ISO is always an issue with smaller sensors and I usually try to avoid going over about ISO 200. But I have seem some well processed images at higher ISO's on the Ricoh forum and black & white is seems to be reasonable.

I guess I would highly recommend this camera for someone who wants a lighter alternative to an slr as a carry-everywhere camera or likes an advanced interface that simplifies the shooting process.

Opinion: I bought mine when the GX200 was released. The camera wasn't worth it's original price, but for what I paid (about € 400, including the viewfinder) it was a great deal.
The reason I wanted this camera was the wide angle and RAW.
I still love the wide angle, although it shows lots of distortions; it's very sharp . Some people say it's without distortion , but they are WRONG.
Out of the camera's JPG are so good, that I hardly ever use RAW, which is VERY SLOW. High iso's are worthless, which was to be expected.
Camera is fast and fun to use. Viewfinder is a wonderfull extra, but on the camera, the whole package doesn't fit in my pockets anymore.
I can recomended it to everyone, now the price has dropped.

Opinion: Like many others I bought this as my carry anywhere compact. I wanted something to stick in pocket that could shoot raw with a good lens and wider than 35mm. I also wanted a viewfinder. That left me with only one choice. As it happens I am not disappointed it meets Alamy quality control easily at low ISO and handles like a dream no other compacty comes close.

The lens is excellent up to 50mm equivalent and still very usable at 72mm. The EVF is a mixed bag since it adds a lot of bulk when it's on and it's not as clear as an optical finder BUT you get accurate framing and all the shooting info as well which no optical finder gives you on a compact.