Ricoh takes Pentax's rugged WG series into its 17th generation (pictures)
The Ricoh WG-4 (with and without GPS) and WG-20 offer the same durable construction that the series is known for, as well as a new mounting system for action cam lovers, and it officially drops the Pentax name from point-and-shoots.
Joshua Goldman
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
The WG-4 GPS is the 17th-generation of rugged cameras in this line. It was originally sold under the Pentax brand, but is now a Ricoh camera. The WG-4 can go on dives down to 45 feet, be dropped from up to 6.6 feet, survive 220 pounds of pressure, and keep shooting in temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
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WG-4
The WG-4 shares the same specs as the WG-4 GPS but doesn't have GPS. Those specs include a 4x f2.0-4.9 25-100mm lens; a 16-megapixel backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor for faster performance and better low-light results; a ring of six LEDs around the lens for macro photography; a 3-inch 460K-dot-resolution LCD with 170-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angles; full HD and slow-motion movie capture; and sensor-shift image stabilization.
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Back of WG-4
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Colors
The WG-4 GPS will come in black and blue versions and sell for $379.95, while the WG-4 will be available for $329.95 in silver and lime yellow. By the way, the small LCD on the front of the WG-4 GPS displays the time, pressure, and altitude.
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Ricoh WG-20
The WG-20 is Ricoh's more budget-friendly rugged camera, coming in at $199.95. The body is waterproof to 33 feet; shockproof against drops of up to 4.9 feet; dust-proof; freeze-proof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit; and crushproof, withstanding up to 220 foot-pounds of force. Outside of the rugged construction, though, the camera is fairly unremarkable with a 14-megapixel CCD sensor and 5x, f3.5-5.5, 28-140mm lens. The switch to a CCD sensor means you don't get full HD or high-speed movie capture, or an HDR mode. It also has a slower, narrower lens with digital image stabilization only, and a smaller 2.7-inch 230K-dot-resolution LCD.
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New mounts
With the release of these new cameras, Ricoh has created several ball-and-socket mounts that will enable the WG models to be used as action cams. Here's the suction-cup mount ($42.99) on a $19.99 camera holder.
