The Ricoh Caplio RR30
A Holiday Review
All in all, I have found this camera to be excellent value for money and a unit that produces good quality results. There have been some comments on forums about excessive blue cast and poor flash range. I have not found issue with the camera I use. It may be the case that some of my shots may not be up to the standard that some people expect or may show some errors, but as someone who has been involved with analogue camera repairs for over 20 years, I would have to say that, unlike some, I do remember how many 'good shots' I used to get off a 36 exp roll. I don't expect any digital camera to give 100% perfect results every time. Quite the opposite in fact. I tend to take large numbers of shots just to get one or two that I feel are good.
Some of the macro shots of the damselflies were taken only about 2 to 3cms from the subject. With the wind blowing the trees, my 'shaky' hand and the camera so close it is producing shading on some shots, it is fantastic that any shots came out! I don't have great expectations of such a small flashgun. I have seen the results from similar guns on both analogue and digital cameras. The RR30 is not particularly bad in my opinion.
Noise levels seem to be worse than the much more expensive 3M pixel I-500 but similar to the 3m pixel RDC7. If you view at 100% noise is evident - but it is on many sub £400 units, perhaps most. If you print at A4, as I do, it is no bother. The one thing I REALLY miss is a screen like the I-500 and RDC7. I do a lot of macro work... it is a lot harder when the screen does not tilt!Where from here?
Well for those who do want to update firmware, there is a file to use (1/11/02) here..
http://www.ricoh.co.jp/r_dc/dc/support/download/softmatch/winxp/rr30.htmlI have updated my unit just to see if I can spot any difference. I am not sure that I can. Winter is upon us, so, now that I am away from sunny France I'm not sure how much time I will spend on photography. Only time will tell . I will post more stuff here or on my normal site www.g4wjx.freeserve.co.uk if I get the time .
The info for the cottage I stayed at is here...
www.lacombedupech.co.ukA good independent Ricoh forum is here...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ricohtalk/The main forum for Ricoh cameras in the UK (up to the I-500) is here..
www.ricoh-cameras.co.uk/forum/index.html
but do bear in mind with the UK forum above... it is hosted by Johnsons Photopia who are only responsible for support up to the I-500. Many people are using the forum to comment about the RR30. It is quite likely that the forum will not be open to Caplio users for long, or it may be 'thinned out' to just RR30 sales info .UK RR30 tech support is via... tel (UK) 0207 365 6580 or via www.service.ricohpmmc.com
I can be contacted via my email address as found on my website. I hope you have found the pictures and comment useful. Please let me know if you want to use the pictures.
Best regardsMartin
