Florida GM Club

Originally Posted by PopPhoto

By Aimee Baldridge
October 31, 2007

Ricoh has introduced a successor to its GR Digital compact camera. Like its predecessor, the magnesium-alloy GR Digital II is designed for serious photographers and sports an f/2.4, 28mm (35mm equivalent) lens. Ricoh has endowed the new model with its GR Engine II processor, a 10-megapixel CCD, and a 2.7-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD with a 160-degree viewing angle. It's equipped with a hotshoe for mounting a flash to supplement the camera's pop-up unit or to attach an external optical viewfinder. The LCD can be switched to an information display mode when the optical viewfinder is being used. Ricoh says that the RAW image write time has been reduced to 3.8 seconds in the GR Digital II, and that its buffer memory has been improved to allow the camera to take another shot while saving a RAW file.

The GR Digital II offers both manual and aperture-priority exposure modes, in addition to automatic settings. It also provides a range of features that are uncommon in a compact camera, including flash exposure compensation, depth-of-field and electronic level displays on the LCD viewfinder, a mode for shooting with a square frame, and fine-tuning controls for adjusting the look of monochrome images. The electronic level can be set to beep when the camera is perfectly horizontal. The camera offers five focus modes, including spot focus, and can focus as close as 1.5cm in macro mode.

There are numerous ways of customizing the camera controls, and the GR Digital II is compatible with a range of accessories, including the new GT-1 40mm (35mm equivalent) teleconverter and GV-2 external viewfinder. The GV-2 provides a view equivalent to 28 mm on a 35 mm camera and is compatible with the camera's square-format shooting mode. Ricoh has created a new GC-2 soft case that can carry the GR Digital II with the GV-2 attached. The camera also supports the existing GW-1 21mm (35mm equivalent) lens converter, GH-1 hood and adapter, and GV-1 21mm-28mm external viewfinder.

The GR Digital II will available in late November 2007 for $699 at Adorama and Popflash in the United States. Both retailers are currently taking preorders for it. Go to Ricoh's Web site for further details on the camera.