| The Ricoh R8 is a 10 megapixel digital camera. It has a | | | | cameras I have tested. They are certainly vivid and |
| 7.1x wide angle lens. The design is different to all the | | | | have plenty of brightness too. In some cases the |
| more standard digital cameras out there, with a stylish, | | | | strength of colour is too much for me. |
| retro look. | | | | Macro |
| Why Buy the Ricoh R8? | | | | This is another example of a sharply focused shot |
| The R8 is a step up from the more simple point and | | | | with plenty of definition. The R8 is well above average |
| shoot cameras. This is true when it comes to build | | | | when it comes to close up shots. |
| quality and picture quality. Among its features are | | | | ISO 400 and ISO 1600 |
| image stabilisation, a 2.7 inch LCD screen (I found easy | | | | At ISO 400 you should still be able to take a decent |
| to see even in sunny conditions) and a face recognition | | | | shot in brighter conditions, but darker areas will attract |
| setting for portraits. It also has an option to produce | | | | noise. Picture quality has broken down even more than |
| square photos. | | | | usual at ISO 1600. |
| Image Quality Ricoh R8 test shots | | | | Overall |
| Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom) | | | | I found focusing and definition to be some way above |
| This is a shot with a lot of contrast. There are the | | | | average. The R8 also handled contrasting scenes well. |
| bright areas of the boats and the wooden slats | | | | Colours are very strong and I would prefer to see |
| underneath the roof of the building. In addition there are | | | | these toned down in a number of my test shots. |
| plenty of shady areas under the trees. The R8 | | | | Shutter Lag |
| manages to bring out an impressive level of detail, | | | | Shutter lag times were 0.34 seconds for a single photo |
| especially in the lighter areas where it outperforms | | | | and 8.98 seconds for five photos. With flash on times |
| many cameras. This helps to make the detail on the | | | | increased to 0.51 seconds for a single shot and 14.4 |
| boats stand out. | | | | seconds for five shots. All of these times are standard |
| Outdoor 2 (No Zoom) | | | | times. |
| In this photo sharpness stands up well and the scene | | | | It took 2.36 seconds to turn the R8 on and take a |
| also shows vivid colours. Many digital cameras tend to | | | | picture. This is in line with the majority of digital |
| lose sharpness when the lens is fully zoomed out, but | | | | cameras I have tested recently. |
| this camera copes with the scene better than most | | | | You can compare this camera to other models by |
| cameras manage. | | | | taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table. |
| Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom) | | | | Style: Ricoh have given the R8 a bit of an old |
| As in the first test shot the light colours on the boats | | | | fashioned look. This helps it to stand out from the |
| are handled well. There is a very small amount of | | | | crowd. It is available in black, silver and in a two tone |
| purple fringing, but in my opinion the R8 handles this | | | | version. |
| very well when you take into account the longer than | | | | Dimensions: 102 x 58.3 x 26.1mm |
| standard zoom lens. Focusing is again above average. | | | | Weight: 168g |
| Outdoor 4 (Building) | | | | Batteries: Ricoh estimates you should be able to get |
| The R8 does very well in this test. The brickwork on | | | | around 270 pictures before the lithium ion battery |
| the building is sharply focused. Even in the shady areas | | | | needs to be recharged. Both a battery and charger |
| the camera does a good job. When it comes to | | | | are supplied with the R8. |
| focusing the R8 is up there with the best compact | | | | Memory cards: 24mb of storage have been built into |
| digital cameras. | | | | the R8. This is enough for around 7 photos. The |
| Outdoor Portrait | | | | camera is also compatible with SD and SDHC cards. |
| Looking at this photo I can see that the colours are | | | | Ease of use rating: Good. There are one or two extra |
| very strong. That is fair enough if you like strong | | | | features to get used to when compared to a more |
| colours, but they are a bit too powerful for my own | | | | basic point and shoot model. If you are planning to use |
| taste. Otherwise the level of detail the R8 manages to | | | | the R8 as a fully automatic camera then you should |
| pick out is impressive. | | | | be up and running in no time. |
| Indoor Portrait with Flash | | | | Points I like: |
| The sharpness of this photo is very good indeed and | | | | LCD screen clarity - novel design - sharpness |
| the R8 picks out the eyes very well. The skin tones | | | | Where it could improve: |
| are overdone. They give areas of the cheeks and | | | | Skin tones in some portrait shots |
| nose a vivid pink that does not exist. This can also be | | | | Alternatives |
| seen in the lips. | | | | There are not that many digital cameras that strike me |
| Indoor Portrait without Flash | | | | as a clear alternative to the R8. Other 10 megapixel |
| When I looked at the indoor shot with flash I felt the | | | | cameras with a wide angle lens include: Samsung |
| skin tone problem may have been down to the light | | | | NV24HD. |
| produced by the flash. Even with the flash turned off | | | | Verdict: |
| the skin tones are harsh. Otherwise the photo is o.k., | | | | I like the Ricoh R8. It is certainly worth considering |
| but could do with a touch of extra brightness. | | | | alongside some of the more widely recognised brands |
| Colours | | | | such as Canon, Sony and Panasonic. Aside from |
| The colours produced by the R8 have a different feel | | | | some issues with colour the R8 takes a decent photo |
| to them than those produced by most other digital | | | | in most situations. |