Ricoh R10

Opinion: This is the 4th Ricoh I've owned starting with the fiirst Caplio R1. In my experience they just keep getting better with each iteration. So far this is the best.
The menu system and ease of navigation with the 'toggle' button is just great.
I am getting very good quality images for what I want and "she-who-must-be-obeyed" gets good shots of her dogs and Grandchildren when she wants and that keeps her happy.
Build quality is top shelf.
The wide angle lens and zoom capabilty means that you can get shots (particularly indoors) that the others can't.
Battery life is excellent.
Portability (literally) pop it in a shirt pocket is very practical and yet is give results very comparable to the massive SLR's that need a small truck to transport!
Ricoh is the 'unsung hero' in compact cameras. I just wish they wouldn't keep churning out the latest model QUITE so often. I'm hard pushed to keep up, and now the CX2 is announced meaning I'm TWO models behind the pace!
RATS!

Opinion: Ok, now that I've been using it for quite a while I can definitely say that this is a small gem.

Compact, fast, extremely easy to use, perfectly logical menu system.
The two customisable settings are very nice, set it to snap focus, then you can pull it out of your pocket, turn it on and press the shutter button.
Just perfect for street photography.

Did I mention that it is a really fast camera?

The macro modus is another thing that you don't want to miss, it is so good it makes you wonder, if it gets any better in a pocketable compact camera.

I cannot emphasise this enough, the usability of this camera is wonderful, in fact this is where it outshines the whole competition! In it's price class I think it is without par here. Everything is there where you want it to be (while still being as compact as it is). And if its not there, it's mostly your fault, because you can customize it a lot.

In good light images turn out very nice, if you shoot b&w (or convert them later) you get very good results up to iso 400. Maybe 800, if you limit prints to 6x4 (the standard photo size?). The lens is good, with almost no distortion. And if you think about it, how often do you see a very good photograph and just look for noise, chromatic aberrations (not that the R10 produces a lot, it's way better that average here) and the like? I, never. If the photo is really good, I don't care. What I like about the R10 is, that the 'grain' turns out quite pleasant, almost film-like.

Do I like it?
Well, you can bet on that, in fact I like it so much, that I easily sold my Panasonic LX1, as the Ricoh is just the better camera for me!

The only thing I miss is a manual mode, but them it most likely would be to close to the GX200, and I'm pretty sure, Ricoh would not want this ;-)

Can I recommend it? Yes, if you want a camera to take photos. If you want, or need, HD-Video, want to play JAVA games, use it as a GPS unit, or whatever a camera is NOT meant to do, please look elsewhere.

Michael

Opinion: Experienced only with Canon film and digital EOS cameras, a month-long daily testing of the R10's range of adjustments has been a happy one that yielded no glitches, disappointments nor awkward engineering functions. The results continue to be astonishingly satisfying--in and out of doors, in color and in b/w. Found to be genuinely and comfortably a pocketable daily accessory--if that's what is wanted. Sufficiently convinced to anticipate adding the GX 200!