Ricoh announces GR Digital II

Just over two years since the launch of the GR Digital model, Ricoh has announced its successor in the shape of the GR Digital II. The compact sees a two megapixel increase – now at an effective ten – with a new imaging processor also featuring. The same 28mm f/2.4 lens and Raw shooting mode from the original model have been retained, with the latter seeing an improvement in its writing time, claimed to be around 3.8sec. The LCD screen on the rear of the unit has been increased in size to 2.7 inches, while its resolution has also been upped to 230,000 pixels. The ISO range remains the same as in the GR Digital, running from ISO 80-1600. Further details are yet to be available on Ricoh’s website, but for the full specifications list see below. Ricoh Digital II Imaging Sensor 1/1.75" primary-colour CCD with 10.01 million effective pixels (total pixels: 10.3 million) Lens Focal length 5.9 mm (equivalent to 28mm on a 35mm camera) F-aperture F2.4 to F11 (+F7.1 in auto mode is with ND filter) Shooting distance Approx. 30cm from lens tip to infinity Approx. 1.5cm from lens tip to infinity (macro) Lens construction 6 elements in 5 groups (two aspherical lenses/three aspherical surfaces) Digital Zoom Magnification Approx. 4.0X digital zoom. Approx. 5.7X auto-resize zoom (VGA images) Focus Mode Multi AF (CCD method)/Spot AF (CCD method)/Manual focus/nap/Infinity (focus lock and AF auxiliary light also available) Shutter Speed [1] Still image 180, 120, 60, 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1 to 1/2000 sec. Movie 1/30 to 1/2000 sec. Exposure Adjustment Exposure Multi Light Metering (256 segments), Centre-weighted Light Metering, metering mode Spot Metering (TTL-CCD Metering Method, AE lock available) Exposure mode Programme shift AE/Aperture priority AE/Manual exposure Exposure Manual compensation (+2.0 to -2.0 EV in 1/3 EV steps), compensation Auto bracket function (-0.5 EV, ±0, +0.5 EV / -0.3 EV, ±0, +0.3 EV) ISO sensitivity AUTO/AUTO-HI/ISO80/100/200/400/800/1600 (Standard Output Sensitivity) White Balance Mode Auto/Outdoors/Cloudy/Incandescent Lamp/Fluorescent Lamp/ Manual Settings/Detail, White balance bracket function Flash Flash mode Auto (fires automatically when subject poorly lit or in backlight situations)/ Red-eye/ Flash On/Flash Synchro/Flash Off Built-in flash range Approx. 20 cm to approx. 3.0 m (ISO AUTO) Flash compensation ±2.0 EV (1/3 EV steps) Picture Display 2.7-inch Transparent Amorphous Silicon TFT LCD, approx. 230,000 pixels Shooting Mode Auto Shooting Mode/Program Shift Mode/Aperture Priority Mode/ Manual Exposure Mode/Scene Mode (skew correct/text/movie)/My Settings Mode Picture Quality Mode [2] F(Fine)/ N(Normal) / RAW (DNG file format) [3] Number of Recorded Pixels Still image 3648 x 2736, 3648 x 2432, 2736 x 2736, 3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480 Movie 640 x 480, 320 x 240 Text 3648 x 2736, 2048 x 1536 Recording Media SD memory card, SDHC card, Multi media card, Internal memory (approx. 54MB) Storage Capacity/Time [4] Still 3648 x 2736 (RAW: 2, F: 14, N: 24), 3648 x 2432 (RAW: 3, F: 15, N: 27), (Built-in approx. 54 MB storage) 2736 x 2736 (RAW: 3, F: 18, N: 32), 3264 x 2448 (N: 30), 2592 x 1944 (N: 47), 2048 x 1536 (N: 73), 1280 x 960 (N: 133), 640 x 480 (N: 497) Movie [5] 640 x 480 @ 30 frames/sec. (41 sec.), 640 x 480 @ 15 frames/sec. (1 min 22 sec.), 320 x 240 @ 30 frames/sec. (1 min 22 sec.), 320 x 240 @ 15 frames/sec. (2 min 40 sec.) Recording File Formats Still JPEG (Exif ver2.21) [6], RAW (DNG) Movie AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG Format Compliant) Other Major Shooting Continuous/S-Cont/M-Cont, Self-Timer (delay: approx. 10 sec./ approx. 2 sec.), Function Interval (shooting interval: 5 sec. to 3 hrs. in 5-sec. intervals) [7], Color Bracket, B&W(TE), Colour Space Set, Noise Reduction, Histogram Display, Grid Guide Display, Depth of Field Display, Enlarge Photo Icon, Electronic Level, Hot Shoe Other Major Playback Function Auto Rotate, Three-frame View/Grid View, Magnifying (up to 16X), Resize Interface USB2.0 (High-Speed USB) Mini-B cable, Mass storage [8], AV output Video Signal Format NTSC, PAL switchable Power Source Rechargeable Battery (DB60) x 1, AC Adapter (AC-4c option), AAA Alkaline Batteries x 2, AAA Oxyride Batteries x 2? AAA Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries x 2 Battery Consumption [9] When CIPA-standard compliant DB60 used: approx. 370 pictures When AAA alkaline batteries used: approx 45 pictures [10] Dimensions 107.0 mm x 58.0 mm x 25.0 mm (W x H x D); does not include protruding parts Weight Camera: Approx. 168 g (excluding battery/SD memory card/strap); Accessories: Approx. 30 g (battery/strap) Operating temperature 0ºC to 40ºC 1. Maximum and minimum shutter speeds differ by shooting mode and flash mode. 2. Image-quality modes that can be set differ depending on the image size. 3. Simultaneous recording of a JPEG in Fine/Normal or Normal640 mode at the same size as the RAW image. DNG is a type of RAW image file format. It is a standard file format advocated by Adobe Systems. 4. Estimated number of shots/time that can be recorded. 5. Up to 90 min. or 4 GB can be recorded in one shot. 6. DCF compliant; DPOF supported. DCF is an abbreviation for Design rule for Camera File system standardized by JEITA. (Full compatibility between devices not guaranteed.) 7. With Flash off. 8. Mass storage supports Windows Me/2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS 9.0 to 9.2.2/Mac OS X 10.1.2 to 10.4.9. 9. The numbers of photos that can be taken were measured using conditions compliant with the CIPA standard. Actual number of photos that can be taken will differ greatly depending on conditions of use. 10. AAA alkaline dry-cell batteries made by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., Ltd. were used