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Ricoh blends camera technology

Ricoh announces the availability of a moderately priced "megapixel" camera offering digital and analog features.

Ricoh announced the commercial availability of a moderately priced "megapixel" camera offering a combination of digital and traditional photography features.

The $899 RDC-4300 offers 1.3 million pixels per image, making it one of the higher-resolution digital cameras on the market and comparable in picture quality to traditional single-lens reflex cameras. The Ricoh camera offers other familiar point-and-shoot features such as 3X zoom and a mechanical shutter.

Unlike traditional cameras, however, the RDC-4300 comes bundled with software which allows users to create Web pages, PowerPoint presentations, and QuickTime movie segments. Many analysts believe that robust software bundles are an important way to drive digital camera sales by providing useful applications for consumers.

It's practical to offer business-oriented software bundles, according to Carl Holec, imaging analyst with Associated Research Services. "It's primarily businesses spending $700 or $800 on digital cameras right now, so it makes sense to target that."

Additionally, Ricoh's camera allows users to capture up to eight seconds of audio with each picture and comes with the PhotoBase multimedia file database, which enables users to create an organized database of their digital photographs.

The RDC-4300 was one of the strongest megapixel offerings when it was announced last January, Holec said. Since then, both Kodak and Fuji have introduced new megapixel cameras with similar features.

"When it was introduced in January it was very impressive," said Holec. "[Now] It doesn't stand out as strongly as when it was first introduced. The whole segment has gotten very competitive."