Digital Camera Review: Canon EOS 550D

The Canon EOS 550D is a tempting proposition if you are looking to move on from an entry-level DSLR to bigger things.

IF YOU are an amateur photographer who’s grown tired of the limitations of your entry level DSLR camera, you may consider upgrading to a mid-range DSLR.

The Canon EOS 550D fits that description nicely and it comes with a slew of drool worthy features such as the 18-megapixel resolution that it inherits from the higher-end EOS 7D.

It also boasts improved full 1080p HD video recording, which is now capable of recording smoother 30 frames per second (fps) videos.

Design

From the outset, the 550D looks and feels like its predecessor the EOS 500D. It’s a very lightweight camera even with its supplied 18-55mm kit lens mounted. This makes it great for travel. Certainly, it’s better than lugging a bigger DSLR camera around on your travels.

The 550D feels great in the hand with a nice rubber grip providing ample room to hold the camera firmly. On the downside though, the grip may be too small for users with large hands.

The 3in LCD screen serves well for framing shots in Live View mode as well when recording videos. The screen’s refresh rate is very smooth so it looks almost as good as you would see it on the viewfinder.

Control-wise, the the 550D is similar to the 500D. The button layout remains the same but gone are the small rounded buttons, which are now replaced by larger square buttons that are easier to press.

SIMPLE LAYOUT: On the back of the 550D you'll find a nice large
3in LCD display and well spaced buttons that are within easy reach.

Another subtle change is the placement of a dedicated Live View/Movie record button to the right of the viewfinder for recording videos and engaging the Live View mode.

The 550D still operates on a single rotating dial so it still depends on using a “quick select” button to change camera settings when shooting in manual mode.

As to be expected, the 550D’s mode dial comes with all kinds of modes to choose from. However, the movie record mode is located on the opposite end of the dial from the creative shooting modes. This makes it very inconvenient to quickly switch between shooting still photos to recording videos.

A handful of basic automatic shooting modes like the full Auto mode helps less experienced users. A semi automatic mode called Creative Auto also serves as a beginner-friendly aperture priority mode that basically simplifies things.

Instead of turning the dial to change the f-number, it presents an on-screen slider to adjust the depth-of-field. Also present is another slider to adjust for exposure compensation.

Of course, the 550D comes with the regular creative shooting modes that you’d come to expect. Mainstays like Aperture and Shutter Priority, Program plus Manual shooting modes are all present here.

Performance

In use, the 550D has a quick to startup time of under a second, making it handy for those spontaneous situations when you need the camera to snap to action.

Combining the camera’s quick autofocus and 3.7 shots per second continuous shooting speed, the 550D is just the camera to have around when you’ve need to capture fast moving action scenes.

Aside from automatic and manual autofocus point selection, the 550D also gives you face detection under the Live View mode, which works fine when you need to take pictures of people.

The camera by default uses contrast dectection autofocus in Live View mode to lock in on subjects. However its really slow as it takes three to five seconds to fix a focus.

There’s however a faster focusing mode called Quick mode, which flips the mirror up and uses the camera’s normal autofocus, briefly taking a one to two seconds to focus. Most surprisingly it is almost as quick as using the optical viewfinder so there’s no issue when shooting fast subjects.

The standard 18-55mm kit lens provided in the bundle served us well for day-to-day usage. It is a decent all around lens that gets the job done for situations when you need to go from wide to tele at a moment’s notice. It isn’t the sharpest lens in the drawer but it gets the job done.

Variety: The 550D has lots of different
shooting modes to choose from

There’s noticeable barrel distortion when shooting at the widest angle though it is easily corrected in post editting. Built-in image stabilisation comes in handy when shooting in low light conditions but a good steady hand is still needed.

I have to say I came away pretty pleased with the pictures taken on the 550D. The image quality is simply fantastic — most came off crisp, sharp and full of detail.

The 550D handled high dynamic range scenes reasonably well, keeping a balance in details from getting too underexposed or blown out.

Even more impressive is the 550D’s ISO performance, which allowed us to take pictures very well under low light conditions. The 550D has a very diverse ISO range running from 100 all the way up to 6400.

An ISO test I did showed that the camera was very competent in shooting from ISO 100 to ISO 400 as it showed little signs of noise or degradation interms of sharpness. At ISO 800 there’s visible loss in detail and softness in an image though the camera does output impressively well-lit pictures at ISO 3200. Pictures were only too grainy and unusable at ISO 6400.

Overall, the 550D takes decent quality photos even at ISO 3200 that I didn’t need a fast prime lens to take pictures under poor lighting conditions.

Granted there’s still a high degree of noise reduction in the photos. The bottom line is the 550D is an amazing performer in low light situations and the overall results are stunning for a mid-range DSLR camera.

The battery performance is also pretty decent as it can last through a whole day of heavy shooting.

Smooth videos

Canon has impressed users in the past with the 7D’s video recording capabilities. The 550D inherits much of the same features from its higher-end cousin as it offers the option to record videos in full 1080p high definition or at a lower 720p resolution.

Switching to the video mode engages Live View mode automatically where you can begin to record videos as well as shoot photos. The autofocus during video recording is still slow so you’re better off using manual focus to quickly focus on something. This also lets you get creative with out-of-focus into focus shots.

The 550D benefits from a few marked improvements that enhance its overall video quality. 1080p videos now run smoother at up to 30fps over the previous 24fps on the 500D. In the same way, 720p videos have received a big boost with a doubling of the frame rate to 60fps as compared to 30fps on the previous model.

Whichever resolution you choose, there’s no denying that the 550D takes some great-looking videos. The higher resolution 1080p videos definitely pack more detail but I personally prefer to shoot in 720p because it takes up less storage space and looks much better when it comes to motion.

Under good sunny conditions, videos show lots of detail and the silky smooth captures of moving subjects look amazing during playback. Judging from the quality of the videos, I have to say that the 550D shoots some of the best videos that I’ve seen recorded on a DSLR.

Even in dark conditions the camera holds up very well with subjects still very visible under low light. The trade-off, however, is there’s more grain and noise present due to the higher ISO level.

Conclusion

Overall, the Canon EOS 550D is a great camera that’s chock full of features. Its lightweight and compact design make it a great camera for travel.

The increase to 18-megapixels gives an added advantage to 550D as it can capture highly detailed pictures. Image quality overall is great and shows accurate, rich colours in photos.

There are other notable enhancements on the 550D too — it’s got a faster continuous shooting for capturing sporting events and above-average ISO performance for better pictures in low light situations.

The single most impressive improvement in the 550D, however, is its superb HD video recording capabilities. This really makes the camera an all-in-one package for holidays when you need a camera that both shoots great looking photos and terrific videos.

Still the video recording mode could’ve been much improved if there was a dedicated video record button instead of cycling to an entirely different mode to start recording.

All in all, the 550D has a lot going for it and it is a great camera to consider for both pros as a secondary camera or beginners who want to upgrade from their entry-level DSLR camera.

Pros: Good image quality; great looking videos; terrific ISO performance.

Cons: Slow video autofocus speeds; no quick way to begin video recording.

Canon EOS 550DDigital SLR
LENS: 18-55mm f/3.5-f/5.6 IS
SENSOR: 18-megapixels (5,184 x 3,456-pixels)
ISO RANGE: 100 - 6400
EXPOSURE MODES: Auto, Program, Shutter priority, Aperture priority, Manual, Creative Auto, Auto Depth of Field, Scene Modes
VIDEO CAPTURE: 1080p (up to 30fps), 720p (up to 60fps), VGA (up to 60fps) in .MOV format
VIEWFINDER: 3in LCD
BATTERY: Battery pack LP-E8
STORAGE: SD, SDHC, SDXC card
INTERFACE: USB 2.0
OTHER FEATURES: Built-in flash
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D): 128.8 x 97.5 x 75.3mm
WEIGHT: 475g

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Digital Camera Review: Olympus Pen E-PL1

RETRO: The E-PL1 doesn't quite have the retro appeal of the
E-P1 and E-P2, but it's still reasonably appealing in design.

The E-PL1 is Olympus' perfect answer to all the criticism it received over the noteworthy but expensive E-P2.

A WHILE back, we reviewed the Olympus E-P2, an update to the retro-styled E-P1 — we loved the camera but thought it was pushing things a little bit in terms of pricing.

The problem is that while the E-P2 addressed some of the issues with the E-P1 (such as the lack of an electronic viewfinder), it added on quite a bit of money to the price, putting it firmly into a much higher-end category than most people were willing to get into.

Olympus was obviously aware of this criticism, as shortly after, they announced the E-PL1, the camera that goes much further in features and yet comes in at a little lower price too.

In the box

You’d think that for the price, Olympus would have removed a whole load of features from the E-PL1.

Well, believe it or not very little has been removed from the camera — the most significant losses are the input wheels that allowed you to navigate the menus and adjust the shutter and aperture. The screen is also a smaller 2.7in one (but with the same resolution as the E-P2) and you cannot record stereo audio when recording videos.

From what I understand, the reason for removing the input wheels was to make the interface more familiar to compact camera users.

Indeed, most users probably won’t miss it when navigating the menus but for people who use the manual exposure mode, it does make adjusting aperture and shutter a tad less intuitive.

Instead of rotating input wheels, you use the four-way direction pad for adjusting aperture and shutter in manual mode — Up/Down for shutter adjustment, Left/Right for aperture — not too bad, though not as elegant as the E-P2.

On the upside, Olympus has (finally) included a built-in pop-up flash, which is great — I don’t use flash much, but when I do, it’s something I’m really glad the E-PL1 offers.

Design-wise, the camera is more blocky than the E-P2 and certainly looks a little more plasticky (even though the front plate is made of aluminium). However it still retains much of the general design-cues and is roughly the same size.

REDESIGNED: The E-PL1's buttons have been tweaked
to look more like Olympus' consumer compact cameras.

There’s not much to look at in the front, but on the back the controls have been greatly simplified — apart from the missing input wheels, the number of buttons has also been greatly reduced and mirror the control scheme of Olympus’ compact digicams.

In use

In all the usual modes, the E-PL1 performs much like the E-P2, which means it works fine and the controls generally don’t get in the way of your shooting.

As far as I can tell, even the autofocus performs much the same as on the E-P2 — it’s not as fast as Panasonic’s GF1, but it’ll do in bright lighting. Just don’t expect to be able to take action shots in dim light, as the autofocus tends to struggle a little bit in such situations.

The E-PL1 we received was a pre-release version without the final firmware, but our impressions of the high ISO noise performance was similar to the E-P2. But we did get slightly sharper results, which apparently is due to a weaker anti-aliasing filter.

In fact, the E-PL1’s performance is so much like the E-P2 I just won’t repeat myself — just read our E-P2 review at Digital Camera Review: Olympus Pen E-P2 for more of the handling and performance.

What’s new however is a dedicated record button that falls right under the thumb — this button allows you to quickly engage video recording at any time in whatever mode, and you get continuous autofocus in video recording mode too.

PRESS THE RED BUTTON: The dedicated record button allows you to record videos anytime, and can also be customised to perform other functions.

The problem is, of course, the microphone will pick up the autofocus motor sounds during video recording.

This brings me to the next item — like the E-P2, the E-PL1 also carries the little accessory port just under the flash hotshoe. This expansion port accepts the same electronic viewfinder or external microphone adapter as the E-P2, so if you don’t want to capture the AF motor during video recording, I suggest you get the external microphone adapter.

Oh yes, just before this review was published, Olympus announced a firmware update for the entire Pen series that addresses a couple of issues I had with the E-P1, E-P2 and the E-PL1.

According to the documentation on the new firmware, autofocus speed has been improved, while an option has been added to both display the playback image and menus on both the VF-2 electronic viewfinder and the camera’s built-in LCD as well.

The image display thing is important because as I mentioned before in the review of the E-P2, I tend to frame with the VF-2 at eye level, while I like to use the back LCD to review the images I’ve taken. Before the firmware, I had to physically switch between the LCD and the VF-2 to do that.

By the time the firmware came out, however, we returned the E-PL1 so I was not be able to test how well the new firmware worked on the camera.

iAuto

If there’s one thing that really stands out on the E-PL1, it’s got to be its iAuto mode.

I don’t usually use the fully automatic shooting mode in digicams, but I have to admit that the iAuto is something special for the novice photographer.

Why? Well instead of having a completely automatic mode which takes all control away from you, the software designers at Olympus have come up with a really novel system to allow you to have a measure of control over the camera’s various aperture, shutter, white balance and exposure compensation settings without necessarily understanding how they work.

Instead of having you adjust confusing shutter speed settings to reduce motion blur or stop fast-moving subjects, the iAuto mode has an “Express Motions” setting with a slider with “Blurred Motion” at one end and “Stop Motion” at the other end of the scale.

The meaning is obvious — just slide towards Stop Motion and it will stop fast moving subjects while sliding it to the other end of the scale means just the opposite.

Again, instead of having you understand what each shutter setting does, you get a “Blur Background” mode with a slider that allows you to get more blur or more sharp backgrounds.

I’ve seen a lot of automatic, so-called “idiot modes” in my time, but I have to say that Olympus is the first company that attempts to make usually difficult-to-explain settings easier to understand — and it works for the most part.

Conclusion

While the E-PL1 doesn’t quite have the retro chic of the E-P1 and E-P2, it is generally a much improved camera and at a slightly cheaper price too.

In fact, if you’re a novice photographer who wants to be able to control the camera like the pros without having the steep learning curve of understanding concepts like depth of field and shutter speed and aperture combinations, then the E-PL1 could very well be the camera for you.

Pros: Solid number of features for pros and novices alike; iAuto mode is brilliant for novice shooters; good picture quality.

Cons: Not as nice-looking as the E-P2; autofocus still slower than the competition.

(Olympus Corp)
Digital camera with interchangeable lens
SENSOR: 12.3-megapixels (4,032 x 3,024-pixels)
LENS: Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens mount
SHUTTER: 60sec – 1/2,000sec
ISO RANGE: 100 – 6400
EXPOSURE MODES: iAuto, P, S, A, M
VIEWFINDER: 2.7in external LCD
BATTERY: 1,150mAh lithium-ion
STORAGE: SDHC
INTERFACE: USB 2.0, HDMI out
OTHER FEATURES: Built-in image stabilisation, accessory port for external EVF
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 12.1 x 7 x 3.6cm
WEIGHT: 334g

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Digital Camera Review: Nikon Coolpix P100

The Nikon Coolpix P100 is a prosumer grade camera that has some solid features to make it a noteworthy choice for advanced amateurs.

WHEN I first read the press release for the Nikon Coolpix P100, I was immediately attracted to it. Like a nail to a magnet, I was drawn to the idea of having its DSLR-like manual modes to play around with, the lengthy 26x optical zoom and full HD video recording.

Thankfully I managed to get hold of the P100 before my recent trip to Hainan Island and I was truly impressed at the capabilities of the camera.

First of all, it fit snugly and comfortably in my hands. With the right amount of grip and at the right places, you will not mind holding the camera.

It is not particularly heavy and although it is heavier than the Nikon Coolpix L110, it gives the camera a solid feeling.

I had a chance to hold the new Nikon Coolpix L110 as well but somehow the dimensions of the P100 felt more at home in my small hands.

There were a slew of other cameras on this trip — a simple point-and-shoot Canon Ixus camera, a Nikon D90, an Olympus E-620 and a Canon 30D. The P100 fared pretty well with its competition.

Friendly features

It takes the P100 about three seconds to warm up and get that shot which is speedy enough to catch that smile or that moment.

The 26x optical zoom served its purpose with aplomb as I was able to get the most close-up picture even though I was lazy. For example, when I visited the Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone in Sanya, there was a 108m statue of Guan Yin and I was able to get a really close up shot of her face with the P100’s optical zoom fully extended. It was amazing. I was so proud of the P100 that it could get the shot and not only that, the photo was evenly exposed and clear.

The 26x optical zoom coupled with 10.3-megapixels really gives a good chance for your pictures to be usable.

Picture quality may suffer quite a bit and seem a lot softer than DSLRs but really you cannot complain with the P100’s ease-of-use, price and capabilities.

Other bright spots

The swivel LCD screen is also very appealing and helpful when there are the hard to reach shots. I was stuck in a sea of people in a family village and due to my height, I had to hold up the camera above my head and tilt the LCD screen to take the shot of the homecoming parade. It was very handy indeed.

HANDY: The swivel LCD screen is also very appealing
and helpful when there are hard to reach shots.

On top of that, the LCD works well in sunlight.

The electronic viewfinder is a good addition and is conveniently accessed via the EVF button but the only gripe I have is the resolution. It makes the viewfinder quite unpleasant to use.

There is a dedicated button for the full HD video recording function, which allows you to start recording almost immediately.

There are two modes — the HD for high definition and the HS mode is for slow / fast motion playback.

It also records in stereo. The quality of the video is generally smooth and it takes the camera approximately three seconds to start filming.

Conclusion

The one thing that would have made the P100 the perfect travel camera would be if it had a better way to protect the lens.

The lens cap is annoying and bulky. Had it been automated it would have really been a good a plus point.

The battery life of the camera is also good. I could use it constantly over two days with a single charge.

Overall, I really enjoyed using the Nikon Coolpix P100 and I was really happy to have this snappy camera as a travelling companion. Even in low light, it was able to capture photos admirably.

Pros: Long optical zoom; HD recording; swivel LCD screen; good image quality.

Cons: Electronic Viewfinder could be better; cumbersome lens cap.

Nikon Coolpix P100
Prosumer compact camera
SENSOR: 10.3-megapixels
VIEWFINDER: 3in vari-angle TFT LCD
LENS: 4.6-120mm, f/2.8- f/5.0 (35mm equivalent); 26x zoom
ISO RANGE:160 - 3200
EXPOSURE MODES: Program, Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Scene modes
VIDEO MODES: 1080p HD at 30fps
STORAGE: SD Card (SDHC-compatible); 43MB internal
INTERFACE: High-speed USB
OTHER FEATURES: Vibration reduction
BATTERY: Rechargeable EN-EL5
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 114.4 × 82.7 × 98.6mm (excluding projections)
WEIGHT: 481g (without batteries of memory card)

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Digital Camera Review: Samsung ST550

Shooting self-portraits can be challenging but not if you have a Samsung ST550.

A compact camera’s resolution can only do so much to attract buyers. Users are looking for more than insanely high megapixels and want more features such as wireless connectivity or built-in projector.

The Samsung ST550’s main attraction is its dual screens — a smaller second one located in front allows users to frame themselves better when taking self-portrait shots.

Plus, this model ships with other attractive features such as 720p HD video recording, haptic feedback for the touchscreen, smart gesture capability and a 12.2-megapixel sensor.

These features should make the ST550 an appealing buy for most users.

INTUITIVE: All you need is to touch the screen
to access some of the camera’s features.

The design

The sturdy ST550 has a black glossy finish with purple trimmings. The pocketable camera has only four physical buttons — power, shutter, tiny zoom lever and playback switch — as most of its functions are only accessible via the 3.5in touchscreen.

The Smart Gesture function allows users to swipe or draw patterns on the screen to access most of its other features.

Also, there is a built-in accelerometer so users can simply tilt the camera to execute the selected function.

Plus, the display’s haptic feedback provides physical confirmation when users tap on the screen.

All images are saved in either the camera’s built-in 55MB memory or on a microSD card. If you tend to keep a lot of photos on the storage card, it can be a problem to look for a particular image.

Thankfully, the camera’s Smart Album function categorises photos by favourites, face, timeline, week, colour and content. This makes it easier to locate a particular shot.

Easy self-portraits

A simple tap is all it takes to switch on the secondary front screen. The screen can be unresponsive at times and takes more than one tap to turn it on.

Even thought the display appears a little washed out but it performs its function well for taking self- portraits.

SIMPLE: The camera only has four buttons:
power, shutter, zoom, and playback.

You can also enable the smile detection feature so that the camera will take a shot as soon as you smile.

Holding the ST550 at arm’s length is enough to squeeze up to four people within the screen’s frame.

The front LCD also supports other features including Children mode, Shutter Info, Function Info and self-timer.

In Children mode, it plays a fun clown animation to capture a child’s attention so that the child would look directly at the camera.

Shutter Info displays a “smiley face” on the screen to signal to the subjects that you’re ready to take their photo.

Function Info provides a visual read out of key camera settings such as the flash and macro modes that are being used.

Finally, when taking a group photo using the self-timer, it will show a preview of the shot as well as a visual countdown timer so that everyone knows exactly when the photo will be snapped.

Overall, most of the features worked really great for taking self-portraits.

Like any other compact camera this model also has a lot of features to help you get a better shot when you are behind the camera.

It comes with built-in Advanced Dual Image Stabilisation technology which combines both the optical and digital image stabilisers.

Based on our experience, this feature really make a difference as it helps capture much sharper images.

Speedy shooter

The ST550 offers a fast startup time of less than two seconds so you can start snapping pictures really fast.

You don’t even have to tweak the settings as the camera’s Auto mode was pretty good, and you can spice up your photos with Scene modes too.

The still photos turned out sharp with good colour saturation and minimal chromatic aberration.

The camera has an ISO range of 80 to 3,200 but we recommend ISO 400 or lower because the image becomes progressively noisy at higher levels.

At ISO 400 the noise is hardly noticeable but once you hit ISO 1,600 or 3,200 the images become very grainy.

Also, the camera has a normal macro (less than 80cm) and Super Macro (between 3 and 8cm) mode.

Again, the macro shots turned out pretty good as long as the ISO was set at 100 or 80.

The ST550 shoots HD movies in 720p using the H.264 (MPEG4.AVC) format. If you storage is an issue, you could lower the resolution to 640 × 480-pixels or 320 × 240-pixels.

The camera doesn’t disappoint when shooting HD videos. The recordings turned out clear and crisp.

Plus, you can pause the video recording at any time. Also, if zooming is used the camera stops recording sound temporarily.

The camera can be easily be hooked up to a HDTV so that you enjoy your HD recordings. In terms of battery life, the camera fared well.

Even when shooting at the max resolution and with the flash turned on, we were able to shoot more than 300 images before the power ran out.

Switching on the secondary screen simultaneously will reduce the battery life further.

Conclusion

If you are the type that takes a lot of self-portraits then the you’ll love the secondary screen on the Samsung ST550. Plus, the ST550 has a lot of handy features which make it easy and fun to take pictures.

We are also happy with the camera’s picture and video quality.

The Samsung ST550’s asking price of RM1,299 is reasonable considering that it’s feature packed.

Overall, this camera is a recommended buy especially if you are looking to take a lot of self-portrait shots.

Pros: Two screens; friendly interface; good image and video quality; supports HD

Cons: Only minor issues.

Samsung ST550

Compact camera

Sensor: 12.2-megapixels

Lens: Schneider Kreuznach lens with f/4.9 - 22.5mm (35mm film equivalent: 27 - 124.2mm)

ISO range: 80 – 3,200

Displays: 3.5in touchscreen, 1.5in secondary screen

Internal storage: 55MB

External storage: MicroSDHC up to 8GB

Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI out (via shared proprietary port)

Other features: Multi autofocus mode, face detection, smart touch, smart face recognition

Dimensions (w x h x d): 99.8 x 59.8 x 18.6mm

Weight: 166g

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Digital Camera Review: Ricoh GXR

LIMITED CHOICE: The Ricoh GXR only has two camera units to
choose from,the A12 macro lens (left) and S10 zoom lens (right).

The Ricoh GXR takes the road less travelled with its interchangeable camera unit approach but does it pass muster? Read on to find out.

RICOH's new GXR interchangeable camera unit system has generated lots of buzz since it was first announced last November.

The GXR is a unique offering in that the camera body comes without a camera sensor, lens or processing engine. Instead they are integrated into a single, optimised camera unit that you can slot into the body, using a slide-in mount system.

Switching camera units in and out of the system is easy using the handy slide mount. Since the image sensor is not exposed when switching lenses there’s little risk of dust or dirt getting inside it. Sweet.

USER FRIENDLY: The GXR’s slide-in mount system is very easy to use when
switching lenses and there’s no risk of dust entering each camera unit’s sensor.

The significance of this design is that each camera unit can have different types of sensors (CCD or CMOS) and possess different specialty lens such as macro lenses or video-optimised lenses for recording HD videos.

Essentially, each camera unit allows the GXR to function like a completely different camera.

Our review unit came with two lenses: A GR Lens A12 50mm f/2.5 macro (A12) and Ricoh Lens S10 24-72mm f/2.5-f/4.4 VC. At the time of writing, the A12 and S10 are only available lenses available for the GXR.

Admittedly, Ricoh’s GXR has an uphill battle against Micro Four Thirds format cameras developed by Panasonic and Olympus.

The body

First things first, the GXR is one of the most compact camera systems we’ve handled. Mounted with an S10 camera unit, the GXR is roughly the size of a compact camera — small enough to slip into your pocket and bring along wherever you go.

This makes it much smaller when compared against Micro Four Thirds cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix G1 and the Olympus E-P1.

The physical construction is very solid and durable for such a small camera. In the hand, the camera is very lightweight, despite being crafted from thick magnesium alloy.

It is comfortable to hold thanks to its nice rubber hand grip along the right-hand side.

The GXR’s controls are very well-placed and all are within easy reach. On the top is a single mode dial that gives you full access to the various manual modes: Program, Aperture & Shutter Priority and Full Manual control.

In addition, it has three custom modes that you can set for different scenes.

NEAT: On the back the GXR has a gorgeous 3in LCD screen
and a well laid out control scheme that’s highly customisable.

On the back you’ll find the GXR’s high-resolution 920,000-dot 3in LCD screen that’s terrific for framing your shots and reviewing them in playback mode.

Also along the back are a directional pad and various dials that are used for changing various camera settings.

The buttons are nicely spaced out to give you adequate room to move about without accidentally hitting anything by mistake.

The GXR’s menu interface is mostly geared towards advanced users with a myriad of shooting options for different camera settings from focus modes, metering to the white balance.

Admittedly, some beginners may be put off by the complex-looking interface.

Interestingly, the camera uses a dual-dial system with one at the back and another on top of the camera.

The dials come in handy when you are shooting in full manual mode when you need one dial for controlling the shutter speed and the other for aperture.

Aside from that, the ADJ lever (a dial below the power button) doubles as a useful navigation tool for in-camera menus and picture playback.

Apart from that, the camera comes with its own pop-up built-in flash unit that can nicely be tucked away when not in use.

Undeniably, the flash isn’t very powerful but it is good enough to illuminate close subjects. There’s also a hot shoe unit on top of the camera that allows users to mount an external flash or viewfinder to the GXR.

The S10 lens

Upon closer examination of the A12 and S10 camera units, it is evident that both are distinctly different.

The 10-megapixel CCD sensor S10 zoom lens behaves and functions similar to your average compact camera, complete with a collapsible lens for easy storage.

Ricoh GXR with S10 zoom lens

What I liked best about the S10 is its ability to capture great wide-angle shots at 24mm, taking in more of the scenery around it.

While the S10’s ability to capture wide-angle shots is very useful both indoors and out, it does suffer from minor barrel distortion.

The S10 is a pretty splendid shooter when shooting outdoor scenery; it had no problems handling scenes with high dynamic range and showed little signs of purple fringing around the edges of brightly lit objects.

It opens wide up to a maximum aperture of f/2.5 when shooting at the widest angle — this makes it better at taking pictures under low light conditions though you will still need a steady hand. It also comes with camera shake reduction to reduce motion blur.

Surprisingly, the S10 has a great macro mode function that takes great close-up shots, allowing you to get close to your subject with a minimum focusing distance of just 1cm.

While it’s good at capturing tiny, hard-to-see details, it still doesn’t come close to a real macro lens like the A12.

Disappointingly, the S10’s images aren’t quite up to par with the level of sharpness or clarity of a DSLR camera. This is likely due to the smaller sensor size, similar to those found in typical point-and-shoot cameras.

But to be fair, while the pictures aren’t razor sharp, they are still good given its sensor size.

The main drawback of the S10, however, is its weak ISO performance. Even at low ISO levels, there are high degrees of noise reduction going on.

At ISO 400, the loss of detail is unsettling. Unsurprisingly, noise becomes a significant issue with pictures taken at ISO 800 and above.

Enter the A12

Next up is Ricoh’s 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensor A12 camera unit, which is a dedicated 50mm macro lens unit that looks more like your standard DSLR lens.

The A12 does its job well, taking close-up macro shots of objects and getting all the remarkable details in them.

The manual focus ring comes in handy when you want more control over focusing.

However, the lack of manual focus assist, whereby the camera would magnify a small section scene, makes it difficult to accurately focus on a subject.

Ricoh GXR with A12 macro lens

In stark contrast with the S10, the A12 is worlds better in terms of image quality.

Judging from pictures we’ve taken, the A12’s image quality is undeniably sharp, detailed and richly coloured.

The A12 also doubles as a great portrait lens, producing excellent bokeh effects when shooting at wide-open apertures. Low light shots also don’t prove to be a problem for it.

The A12’s ISO performance is also significantly better than the S10.

Generally, images hold out considerably well even at ISO 800. In fact, there isn’t any serious image degradation in both noise and softness until you max out at ISO 3200.

Unfortunately, the A12’s autofocus speed leaves much to be desired. Taking shots in dimly-lit environments proved to be a quite challenge for it has trouble tracking and fixing focus on subjects — it sometimes takes up to five seconds to achieve a lock.

Not for videos

Like many other cameras, both of Ricoh’s camera units are able to record video. Interestingly, the S10 only records in standard definition (480p) VGA quality videos while the A12 is able to record 720p HD videos.

Needless to say, the S10’s videos paled in comparison with the A12’s HD video quality. The video quality is decent but it is unfortunate that the A12 operates on a fixed focal length so it can’t zoom in or out.

Another disappointment with the A12’s video recording is that you cannot manually focus videos with the focusing ring. Instead you need to pre-focus on something and start recording.

Other gripes with the GXR’s video recording is the underwhelming audio quality recorded in mono from the built-in microphone.

Conclusion

The Ricoh GXR is a bold and interesting concept that could potentially change the game for small form factor cameras.

To its credit, it has good handling and controls with easily customisable buttons and modes that pros can tailor to their needs.

The GXR’s slide mount system is quick and easy to use with relatively little fuss.

The S10 naturally comes as the first choice for users of the GXR but truth be told, it isn’t very remarkable.

It performs no better than a compact camera with mediocre quality ­images and has poor ISO performance.

Similarly, the A12 has its own set of problems with poor autofocus performance in low light situations and lack of manual focus assist to fully utilise its manual focus features.

Both camera units also have lacklustre video capture capabilities.

Overall, the Ricoh GXR is an interesting and versatile camera for professionals and enthusiasts camera alike.

It may have its drawbacks but the concept has lots of potential in the future as the range of camera units grow.

Pros: Small and lightweight; manual and custom settings for advanced users; S10 is good for wide-angle shots; A12 shoots great close-ups.

Cons: Poor video quality; S10 has poor ISO performance; A12 struggles in low light conditions; expensive.

Ricoh GXR
Interchangeable lens camera system
Lens: Ricoh Lens S10 24-72mm f/2.5-f/4.4 VC; GR Lens A12 50mm f/2.5 macro
Sensor: 10-megapixels, 1/1.7in type CCD (S10); and 12.3-megapixel, 23.6 x 15.7mm (APS-C size) CMOS (A12)
ISO range: 100 - 3200 (S10); 200- 3200 (A12)
Exposure modes: Auto, Program, Shutter priority, Aperture priority, manual, scene modes
Video capture: 640 x 480-pixels at 30fps (S10); 1,280 x 720-pixels at 24fps (A12) AVI format
Viewfinder: 3in LCD
Battery: DB-90 rechargeable battery
Storage: SD, SDHC, 86MB internal memory
Interface: USB 2.0
Other features: Camera shake reduction; built-in flash
Dimensions (W x H x D): 113.9 x 70.2 x 28.9mm
Weight: 226g

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