The Ricoh GX200 has the same unique look as its predecessor as well as some of its noise issues.

I’m beginning to think that my search for the ultimate pocket camera is turning into some weird version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. “This one is too noisy, and this one is too slow, but this one is juuuussssssst. . .wrong.” Though I’ve played with most of the major “professional” pocket-sized digital cameras out there (Canon G9, Sigma DP1, Panasonic LX3, etc.). I haven’t found anything yet that quite fits the bill for me.

One model that caught my attention not long ago—as well as the attention of other photographers out there—was the Ricoh Caplio GX100, a 10-megapixel digital camera with a sharp 24-72mm lens and a strange-looking tilting electronic viewfinder that slides onto the hot shoe. Though Ricoh is a name that is more often associated with copiers than with digital cameras, the GX100’s classic but comfortable design, good image quality, and host of interesting accessories—including a wide-angle lens conversion kit—earned it a cult following among photographers.

The Achilles’ Heel of the GX100—as is common with many cameras in this class—was its small imaging sensor which generated lots of ugly noise when shooting at higher ISOs. (The only model in the pocket shooter category that doesn’t suffer from this problem is the Sigma DP1, which uses a larger “full-frame” sensor. But if you read my mixed review of the DP1 in the June issue of PDN, you’ll know that camera has some other significant liabilities.)

Because of the excessive noise when shooting above ISO 400, the Ricoh Caplio GX100, for all its culty appeal, turned out to be just another case of “close, but no cigar.”

TAKE TWO

My ears pricked up recently when I heard that Ricoh had already come up with a successor to the GX100, a nearly identical-looking model that drops the “Caplio” middle name while increasing the megapixels a couple of notches to 12.4 mp. Say “hello” to the GX200.

Though a bump up in megapixels on a camera that was already noisy didn’t sound promising, Ricoh claims that the new image processor in the GX200—the “Smooth Imaging Engine III”—offers “dramatic noise reduction.” “We’ll see,” I thought, after acquiring a GX200 loan that included a bunch of familiar but fun Ricoh accessories—along with a couple of new ones—and tucked the camera into a pack for a trip out to the Grand Canyon.

One of those accessories, the Ricoh DW-6 19mm wide conversion lens ($139), proved to be a good choice for the open Arizona landscapes I would be photographing and reminded me why I liked this camera’s predecessor so much. In a nutshell, it was just too darn cute.

I also used the VF-1 electronic viewfinder ($166) but felt it was less necessary this time around because of the GX200’s improved 2.7-inch LCD, which offered great image preview and playback. Additionally, these two accessories drastically add to the dimensions of the GX200, removing it from the pocket category.

You’ve got to give Ricoh credit, though, for coming up with the SC-45 leather case ($36), which through its ingenious design provides room for the odd, protruding viewfinder on the GX200.

Two other new accessories I liked but didn’t use very much were the LC-1 self-retaining lens cap ($18,) which opens and closes with the adjustable lens, and the TC-1 tele conversion lens ($150), which increases the focal length to 135mm. At the Grand Canyon, I was mostly shooting wide stuff so neither the lens cap nor the tele conversion lens seemed necessary.

FAMILIAR NOISE ISSUES

Though I still genuinely liked how the GX200 performed when shooting at low ISOs—it can go down to ISO 64—in adequate lighting conditions, once again at higher ISOs my shots were extremely noisy. It was such a startling difference in image quality that when I looked at them in Adobe Bridge, the shots taken above ISO 400 made me think for a second that something was wrong with my Apple Cinema HD Display. (The GX200, like the GX100, shoots RAW in the versatile Adobe DNG format, and while my DNG shots were cleaner than my JPEGs, they weren’t cleaner by that much.)

Images I captured of buttes in Sedona were riddled with noise, with the famous “red dirt” of that region resembling rough Play-Doh. It was disappointing, to say the least. I took other shots at ISO 800 of the sunrise over the Grand Canyon, which looked like a Pointillist painting—an effect that was unintended and, it should be emphasized, unwanted.

On the other hand, as I stated before, pictures I captured of the Canyon and the surrounding Arizona hills in better lighting at lower ISOs were nice and sharp, with a good dynamic range, rivaling similar shots I took with a Canon 1Ds Mark III during the same trip. Not faint praise, indeed.

But it was like Jekyll & Hyde with the GX200 when the shadows rolled in and I turned the camera to ISO 800. Overall, it was a frustrating experience and a bit irritating, considering the claims Ricoh had made for reduced noise with the new image processor. My Goldilocks moment had eluded me once again.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Though the GX200, like its predecessor, is a high-quality pocket camera that, under the right lighting conditions, can take some surprisingly good shots, it strikes out in the noise department when set to ISOs of above 400. Close but still no cigar. The search continues.

Ricoh GX200
www.ricoh.com

Pros: A charming little camera that can capture high-quality images in good lighting conditions; accessorizing the GX200 with interesting add-ons including a 19mm conversion lens is half the fun; improved 2.7-inch LCD.

Cons: Still suffers from noise issues when shooting above ISO 400; accessories make the GX200 less pocket friendly; was bump in megapixels from previous model really necessary?

Price: $599; $749 for kit with VF-1 electronic viewfinder.