Product ReviewsDigital cameras
Ricoh's Caplio G3 is a three-megapixel camera which provides excellent value for money and is easy to use. It costs £212, is traditional looking, longer than most, and light at 160g without batteries or memory card. Those longer dimensions prove a big asset when holding the camera steady, and it's one of those real-world benefits you can't work out from the printed specifications alone. Other commendable features are not so immediately apparent. For instance, it has the fastest shutter response time of any camera, only 0.14 seconds. This makes it perfect for capturing action shots. The RGB CCD has a total 3.34 megapixel count, with 3.24 megapixels being actively used, creating a maximum image size of 2048 x 1536 pixels. Saved as a JPEG with a low (fine) or normal compression, these dimensions can be changed to 1280 x 960 or 640 x 480 pixels. The top option provides for decent A4 output resolution, and the image quality can be improved further by altering the sharpness capabilities. AVI Motion JPEG movies can also be shot as 320 x 240 or 160 x 120 pixels. There's no point having a good sensor and decent image processing if the lens isn't up to the job. The 5.5-16.5mm focal length gives coverage equivalent to 35-105mm on a 35mm camera. The G3 focuses down to an amazing 1cm in macro mode. As a general-purpose lens for small enlargements or on-screen viewing, it does a good job, having low distortion and decent resolution. But the rear LCD is a little bit disappointing in its playback definition. Exposure control is good, mainly using a 256-segment multi-pattern meter, although centre weight and spot options are also included, which is more than you would expect on a digital camera retailing at about £250. Pick a program Although there
Manual settings for sunlight or cloudy, fluorescent, tungsten, or manual measurement were fine. In fact colours generally were natural, but being given the option to adjust colour saturation or even shoot monochrome would have been icing on the cake. Another bonus was the 125 to 800 ISO sensitivity, although at settings above 200 ISO noise may be an issue for darker subjects or areas of deep shadow. The autofocus system uses a cross-hair marker on the rear display and works well. But this is not replicated in the optical finder, and as a whole, the optical finder is disappointingly small. We liked the 'snap' mode, which works on the 'hyper focal distance' theory, maximising the depth of field by setting the focus point and aperture for maximum sharpness near to far. This is a nice touch, but not many will use it. The good shutter speed range from 1/2000th of a second down to 8 seconds, with movies shot at a minimum of 1/30th of a second, is more practical. The camera appears as an external disk on the desktop in Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X when uploading shots via a supplied USB cable. Images can be stored on an optional SecureDigital card, but there is also a very useful 8Mb of internal memory - a small but potentially crucial aspect that should be applauded. A thought-through design means that accessing the SD card chamber does not cause the 2 AA batteries to fall out, or visa versa. The batteries were disappointing because they were slow at recharging the flash, but results were good for interiors and fill-in outside. However, the self-timer that pulses a flash during the count down is pointless - a front illuminating LED is a better choice. There's more to the Caplio than meets the eye, but it can remain essentially point-and-shoot if you wish. For its price, this is a very fine camera, and would be a great budget choice. By John Clements |
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