Ricoh Caplio GX200

Opinion: I love my GX200, it has one of the nicest user interfaces and control set of any camera I have, or had. The handling and build quality is simply superb. I've had several P&S/compact cameras over the years, including the (IMO over rated) LX series from Pany and this is easily the best I've used.

The lens is superb and the results in Raw are stunning for such a small sensor. Okay, the high ISO performance isn't super low noise, but then, none are if they aren't smeared away by noise reduction, but at the lower ISO's (64 & 100) the results are really excellent.

The responsiveness is very good, but the screen freeze while autofocussing can be a bit distracting, but you soon get used to it, there is always Snap or manual focus if it's an issue, the depth of field with a small sensor is sufficient to make it very usable. The clip-on VF is also very worthwhile, I use it quite a lot as I'm an old school (also old!) photographer, essential for those very bright sunny days, which sadly we don't get much of here in the UK!

I've been a Pentax DSLR (*istD, K10D & K20D) user for several years and now have Nikon (D300s) for my big bag!

My wife is also very happy using the GX200 and she is a dedicated non-techie shooter!

Opinion: When I bought the GX200, it was the finest compact small-sensor camera at its price. It still is except that the Canon S90 has come out since then, and in certain areas excels.
The GX200 is great for snapshots except in low light. It is also a great camera for the casual photographer who wants to start learning more photography by doing and studying the results. With the GX200 I shot the first photos that I want to keep for aesthetic qualities, especially if post-processing the raw file is part of the game.

The GX200 does very good macro photography for those who would like to shoot closeups of flowers or insects or...

If you want a camera for decent snapshots, spend less.
If you can spend 20 percent more and are getting into "real" photography, look at the Sigma DP2.
If you can spend twice as much, are serious about photography, and want a pocketable camera (with low-profile prime lens), look at the Panasonic GF1 and Olympus EP2.

A couple of fundamental issues compared with the S90, despite my never having touched the latter:
GX200 is solidly built, with magnesium housing - S90 some users report quality issues
GX200 has electronic viewfinder (addon) - S90 no viewfinder option
For all the features the S90 might dangle, these two issues give the nod to the GX200.

Opinion: The GX200 is a wonderful pocket camera, ideal for daylight travel and street photography, but also suitable for nightscapes and indoor photography with the right accessories.

Pros:
+ Small size without compromising ergonomics. The grip is nicer than most compacts and the button layout is great.
+ Superb user interface. Very customizable and easy to use. Almost every important control can be changed in an instant.
+ Fast RAW writings speeds with 5 shot buffer. Very important in a camera intended for serious use that is limited by its small-sensor IQ. With RAW it's always possible to squeeze out a bit more.
+ Hot-shoe. A great addition that makes high-ISO quality less important. It's much easier to just use low-ISO indoor and bounce a small flash (e.g. Metz 20 C-2 or Olympus FL36) to get very flattering lighting without any hand shake or subject movement issues.
+ Excellent optical image quality.
+ The best tele macro performance of any small-sensor camera, ever (at 72mm, it's possible to fill the frame with a 2cm wide object).
+ Digital level. Very useful when shooting landscapes.
+ Electronic viewfinder (EVF). Makes shooting in bright daylight easier than with the LCD, and as a bonus tilts 90 degrees up for shots from odd angles or tripod work.
+ System camera. Ricoh makes high quality 19mm and 135mm adapter lenses, a lens hood, and a cable release. Many flash units can be used.

Cons:
- Noise. The GX200 is probably the noisiest P&S camera in recent years. For best results, lock the camera at ISO 64 and be done with it. Use bounce flash indoors and a mini tripod for ambient light photography or nightscapes.
- Audible noise. AF is not very noisy, but the sound is a bit annoying and feels "cheap". The stabilizer also adds its own rattlesnake-like noise. It best to just turn it off unless shooting handheld under tough ambient light.
- Low frame rate in continues mode. The GX200 can't even shoot 2 fps, while some other Ricoh digicams (CX-series and GXR) manage 4 and 5 fps.
- Slow to change shutter speeds via the ADJ lever. Ricoh should have bound shutter speed (rather than aperture values) to the front wheel.

Opinion: Let's get the negatives out of the way first: this would not be my first choice for a
low light, high ISO camera. You can read about that just about anywhere. But then
- that's the ONLY negative.

As for the positives, there are plenty:

Build quality is excellent, with a magnesium alloy construction. It feels solid yet
light. The design and layout is also great, and it's very comfortable to hold and to
operate.

The screen is brilliant. Large, vivid and contrasty with high enough resolution for
you to judge sharpness etc.

The lens is a gem, with low distortion and excellent sharpness across the range.

Handling is the best I've ever experienced, in any camera. Changing just about any
setting is fast and intuitive, and the number of user definable custom functions is
mind-boggling. There's so many clever inclusions that I'm bound to forget a bunch
of them, but a few off the top of my head:

- Electronic level, easy to turn on and off
- Back "wheel" also functions as a button, calling up five different adjustments (eg
WB, metering mode, bracketing, flash expo comp) of which four can be defined by
the user
- Two Fn buttons to which you can assign just about any function
- Very clever exposure functions, eg ability to instantly get the "right" shutter speed
in manual mode with the press of a button
- Snap focus mode locks focus to 2.5m, meaning no AF lag - combined with low
shutter lag means almost instant captures

There's more, much much more but I'll stop there.

I was intrigued by the GX100 when it first appeared, especially for underwater use,
but in the end decided against it due to some issues such as the long RAW file write
times. All of the issues that concerned me with that camera have been fixed with
the GX200. If the GX300 improves on high ISO performance and (slightly) on DR,
I'll sell my SLR gear!

Opinion: The GX200 is my little travel and street photography camera. It handles very
well and the zoom lens is of a very useful range and very sharp with very little
distortion. This camera has unique features like electronic level, external
electronic viewfinder, Snap focus. It shoots raw in DNG format or JPG or both. I
usually do not bother shooting JPG in B&W but this camera has amazing B&W
JPG processing engine built-in. Higher ISO B&W look film-like to me.
The Ricoh GX200 is a pleasure to use.

Opinion: A distinct improvement from the GX100, with RAW/DNG use now a realistic option,
as a consequence of the addition of a RAW buffer. Noise still a problem on higher
ISO's and it is disappointing to see little improvement on this front from the GX100.
I would have been happier sticking with 10MP and getting lower noise than
stepping up to 12MP. The electronic level is a very nice feature for wide angle
shots. The image quality apart from noise seems noticeably improved from the
GX100. GX200 images will now happy print to A4 which was a struggle for the 100.
Converted from DNG, currently using ACR in PS CS3, printed to A4, I can from time
to time, struggle to tell which image I took with my Leica M8 and which with
GX200 but only for ISO 64 or ISO 100 images.

Opinion: Finding myself using my wife's very cheap P&S instead
of lugging my metal bodied dSLR, I realized that if I am
to have my camera with me as much as I wish, it will
have to be a form factor of a P&S but with the artistic
control I demand in any camera. The Ricoh seemed
closest to my desires / needs and in use has proved
itself well.

I am a wide angle person myself so the 24 mm lens on
this camera immediately grabbed my attention. In fact,
the lens quality is much better than I bargained for - I
couldn't be happier. Add to that that I have almost
complete artistic control lacking only an auto shutter
priority mode and that pretty well sums up my needs.
The macro capacity of this little camera is truly terrific -
way ahead of the pack.

The electronic viewfinder also puts this machine ahead
of the competition for my use. Not only a viewfinder,
but you can review what you've shot through it. Thus
I can see my photos clearly in bright sunlight where
the usual LCD screen would be washed out. Thus
unlike cameras with just a view finder, I can absolutely
see my results whilst in the field no matter the
conditions.

The downside is a bit more noise at higher ISO's than
some prosumer P&S's and with the viewfinder
attached, the camera loses some of its handiness. I
carry mine with the viewfinder detached. It goes on in
less than a second. As to the noise, I shoot at 200
ISO or less almost always. If I need a higher ISO, I need
to decease the noise post processing. Not wonderful but
not bad either. This is not an ideal tool for available light
but no P&S is either due to the sensor size (except the
Sigma).

Since getting this camera, I hardly ever use my
expensive and bulky dSLR.

Opinion: I have dipped into the point-n-shoot realm many times attempting to find an alternative to lugging my DSLR around, and have never found anything that was good enough to substitute for my other cameras, until now. I had the Ricoh GX100 and was pretty happy with it, the two things that held me back were the amazingly slow RAW file writing and the inability to control the flash output (as it had a tendency to over expose). Both of these issues have been fixed with the GX200 update, making it a realistic alternative to a DSLR (something I know a lot of photographers are looking for).

The speedy RAW file writing allows me to only shoot RAW finally and that's where this camera pushes way ahead of anything else comparable. I recently spent a month on a trip and shot with both the Ricoh GX200 and a Canon 5D (both on RAW). In the process of editing, I often have to check to see which camera was used when comparing images. The RAW capture elevates this camera where it can be used by serious photographers.

As expected, a point-n-shoot sized sensor is going to have noise at 400 ASA and above, but the Ricoh has a great setting that is like an "intelligent auto" setting and adjusts the ASA automatically while not going above whatever speed you choose (400 by default). So I don't have to be changing film speeds and still never have to worry about it getting too noisy. All the common controls are within a click or two of the different conveniently-placed controls. It is a truly intelligently designed camera.

I recently did a little shoot-n-compare test with my friend and her Canon G9 (which is 35mm, not wide enough for me). When we were done, the Ricoh was declared the winner and my friend went home to Ebay her camera and buy a GX200. It is also pocket-sized enough to fit in my jeans (barely), which I can't say about the G9.

Another thing that sold me is the wide 24-70mm lens, for me having it wide is essential. The fact that the flash is off by default since it is a pop-up is nice too. My only improvement would be to somehow get rid of the lens cap and have the lens protect itself similar to the Ricoh GR II.

If you are looking for a compact alternative to a DSLR, start with the GX200. The Sigma DP1 is a large, clunky, and slow, hopefully future generations will improve, but for now it is a joke. The G9 is nice, but if you want more pocket-sized and a wider lens, the Ricoh is it, hands down.

Opinion: For the fully featured compact, this camera still competes as the current compact king, all said and considered. Yes it is noisy from ISO 400 on, but with a nice and bright 2.5 aperture, and Camera Shake Correction, you are able to use much lower ISO's than typical compact cameras in lower light situations. Even tho noisy, it retains detail as a priority vs. smearing images. This allows the photographer to decide on noise removal, or you can just set the camera to remove noise. Enough on IQ.

Handling, ergonomics, features, writing speed w/raw,this camera takes first place. Not to mention it uses DNG format which is fast and easy to use with Adobe products in comparison to other formats that often require additional raw support software. These features cannot be understated. In use, they really matter the most. And thats what the GX200 is, a camera that performs best in most situation where they matter most. You get a lot for its higher than average price, but once you use it, you will be thankful for the extra money spent.