Ricoh announces GR Digital II
The newest generation in the GR camera line, for landscape photo specialists and enthusiasts, gets a 10-megapixel sensor and a revamped lens.
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Ricoh announced its GR Digital II this week, the second-generation digital model in an unusual camera family geared for landscape specialists and enthusiasts with similar photographic needs.
Unlike virtually all other compact cameras sold these days, the GR Digital II's lens has a fixed focal length, the equivalent of 28mm on a 35mm film camera. The new six-element lens emphasizes sharpness and contrast, and has a maximum aperture of f/2.4, the company said. Other differences from the 8-megapixel predecessor include the new GR Engine II image-processing chip, a resolution bump to 10 megapixels, and the ability to shoot with a square frame.
Like the Ricoh Caplio GX100, a zoom lens-enabled relative, the GR Digital supports raw files, the data taken directly from the image sensor without any in-camera processing into JPEG. Also like the GX100, the GR Digital's raw files are stored as Adobe Systems' Digital Negative (DNG) format, an attempt to standardize some of the profusion of proprietary raw formats that typically are unique to each camera.
Ricoh doesn't have a big retail presence in the United States, but the new model is available at Adorama and PopFlash.Photo. The camera will be available in November, both outlets said.
The GR Digital II costs $700, about $100 more than the earlier model.
Unlike the GX100, the GR Digital II doesn't have an electronic viewfinder option, but there are two $200 optical viewfinder add-ons: the GV-1 with a 21mm- or 28mm-equivalent field of view and the new $200 GV-2 with a 28mm field of view. Another option is a $150 40mm-equivalent lens adapter.
(Via The Online Photographer)