The Ricoh CX3 is a brand new point-and-shoot compact camera featuring a 10.7x, 28-300mm zoom lens in a body less than 3cms thick. Successor to the 6-month old CX2 model, the Ricoh CX3 incorporates a 10 megapixel back-illuminated sensor and an enhanced noise reduction function which promises to improve image quality when shooting in low-light scenes.
The long-zoom compact market is a highly competitive one, and the CX3 has a couple of serious rivals, the most notable of course being the multi-award-winning Panasonic TZ7 and its replacement the impressive-looking new TZ10 which I’ll be reviewing later this week.
Inside is where the differences between the CX3 and its predecessors become more apparent. Its sensor is a 10-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS variety, which is purported to reduce noise as the sensitivity increases, as well as retain more detail and colour.
Other new features include an enhanced dynamic range double shot, which is a form of HDR where the camera takes two shots, and merges them together in-camera to preserve the most detail in photographs with tricky lighting situations. The CX3′s fast burst shooting speed allows the camera to take 5 frames per second at full resolution.
There is also a new S-Auto mode (taking the place of the easy auto on the previous cameras) which removes most of the control from the photographer and selects the most appropriate scene mode for the image.
Honoring the 1st anniversary of the GR Digital and marking the 10th anniversary since the debut of the popular GR Series film camera, as a gesture of Ricoh’s appreciation of their customers Ricoh has announced a limited edition of a special GR Digital 1st Anniversary Commemorative Model. Renowned Japanese illustrator Katsuya Terada has deigned the commemorative model to feature a blue sky and clouds as the base colour for the camera with figures of angels beside the lens and on the top of the camera body