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("First Look" Review posted 4 June, 1999) |
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2.3 Million pixel sensor |
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1792 x 1200 pixel resolution | |
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2.3X optical zoom + 2.8x digital | |
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Autofocus lens focuses to 1.6 inches | |
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Built-in 7-mode flash | |
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Dual-function RS-232/USB(!) interface port |
In the midst of all the hoopla over the recently-announced
(June, 1999) 2-megapixel cameras from Fuji, Olympus, and Nikon,
Ricoh's entry hasn't received much attention. Officially announced
at the PMA show in mid-February, 1999, little has been heard of
the RDC-5000 since.
Ricoh has been quietly active though, with the result that we
recently received a production unit of the RDC-5000 for evaluation.
We hastened to get some images up on the web quickly, as the first
rollout of the product is scheduled for June 6, on the QVC shopping
network. (Unusual move, that!) The following is intended as a
quick overview of the camera that will suffice until we can get
our typically detailed full review posted.
Background
Ricoh has been a player in the digicam market from the very early
days, and was an early innovator in merging multimedia capabilities
with their cameras. More recently, they've focused on delivering
high value with more conventional feature sets. One hallmark of
their cameras has always been excellent macro performance, a tradition
the RDC-5000 continues.
Ricoh has considerable experience building film-based point &
shoot cameras, a market they only recently exited, intending to
focus their photographic expertise solely on the digital marketplace.
The RDC-5000 is the first product released since this change of
direction, so its design and capabilities are interesting as possible
indicators of things to come.
High-Points Overview
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"Executive Overview/First Look"
We've recently been adding "executive overview" sections
to our reviews, to provide our readers with a more compact presentation
on each product, for those not yet interested to the point that
they're willing to brave a full-size Imaging Resource review.
In the case of the Ricoh RDC-5000, this First Look will eventually
become the Executive Overview for the full review. (Actually,
as we've been writing this, it's turning out to be something between
a full review and the simple overview: We'll probably end up doing
a fairly extensive rewrite when we complete the full review.)
First impressions
The RDC-5000 is a relatively compact digicam, with a long, slender
profile makes it a workable fit for the average pocket, albeit
a somewhat heavy one. With dimensions of 5.17" x 2.71"
x 1.78" (131 x 69 x 45mm), and weighing in at 11 ounces (315g)
without the batteries, it is about midrange in the current field
of digicams, in terms of size and weight.
The RDC-5000's case appears to be about a 50/50 mixture of aluminum
and structural plastic, and we were very pleased to see not only
an automatic lens cover on the telescoping zoom lens, but a unique
protective shield over the LCD screen. Both of these encourage
"take it anywhere" handling by the user, a design goal
we constantly preach. The photo below shows a rear view of the
camera with the LCD cover closed, while the small inset shows
it with the cover open. The cover retracts via a purely mechanical
connection with the same slide switch that powers-up the camera,
meaning there are no finicky little motors or gears associated
with it. Some reviewers have dismissed the LCD cover as a gimmick,
but we feel it's a genuinely useful design feature: In the constant
flow of digicams we receive for review, we've seen several with
scratched LCD screens from the hard knocks of a review unit's
life. Certainly, we'd be more comfortable putting the RDC-5000
into a crowded purse or backpack than other cameras lacking its
tortoise-like protection. (The LCD cover won't do anything to
prevent nose prints though: It will perforce always be open when
the camera is operating, and the LCD is wonderfully positioned
to receive nose imprints from right-eyed users looking through
the viewfinder!)
In the photo above, you can see the rear-panel controls: Under
the LCD display are the Display button, to turn the display on
or off in record mode, the Menu button, which brings up the LCD
menus in each of the operating modes, the Enter button, used for
making selections in the LCD menus. The Power button is a slide-switch
with a fairly long travel, as this is also how the protective
cover over the LCD is retracted. At top center is the optical
viewfinder, a "real image" design that's fairly immune
to framing errors due to eye position, but does have a fairly
low "eyepoint", and no diopter correction, making it
less than ideal for eyeglass wearers. At upper right is the rocker
toggle that controls the zoom lens, or (in manual focus mode)
the lens' focus setting. Also at upper right, you can see an edge-on
view of the mode dial, which selects from among 5 different camera
operating modes. (We're big fans of mode dials, feeling that they
simplify camera operation, and reduce menu clutter.)
The photo below is a shot of the top of the
camera, showing the control buttons there, another view of the
mode dial (also shown at right), and the shutter button. Right
of center is a small LCD readout that shows current settings for
resolution, image quality, flash setting, pictures remaining,
and memory selection. This last is a particularly interesting
aspect of the RDC-5000's design: When we first opened the box,
we hunted high and low for the SmartMedia card we were sure should
have come with it. It turns out that the camera has 8 megabytes
of built-in Flash memory, allowing it to take pictures right out
of the box, without any additional memory cards. Normally, we're
not keen on cameras with built-in memory, since it can take so
long to get images out of the camera. With the RDC-5000 though,
two factors make the built-in memory quite useful: First, the
camera is equipped with a fast USB port, which greatly
speeds image downloads to your host PC. Second, the camera includes
menu options that let you transfer images from the internal memory
to an inserted SmartMedia card or back quite quickly. We appreciated
this feature in our studio test shooting: We have a FlashPath
floppy-disk adapter for the SmartMedia cards, but it can be pretty
slow when dumping 8 meg or more of data to the computer. With
the RDC-5000, we could shoot onto the internal memory, transfer
it quickly to a SmartMedia card, which we then popped into our
FlashPath to transfer the images to the PC, while we continued
shooting with the camera. While this may not be a common usage
pattern, we found it very handy while we were testing the camera.
(Note: Some other reviews we've seen have referred to the internal
memory as a RAM buffer There is a RAM buffer, but
the 8 meg of memory that stores the images is nonvolatile Flash
memory, not volatile RAM.)
From left to right across the top of the camera, the buttons are:
The photo at right shows the left
side of the camera, with the cover over the I/O & power ports
open, but the hatch concealing the SmartMedia closed. Ports include
a power connector for the (included!) 5Vdc wall adapter, a digital
connector for the dual-function Serial/USB interface, and the
video port. This last was immediately intriguing to us,
as there's a switch that reads "Video In/Out."
At first, we thought perhaps the RDC-5000 could not only output
video, but capture it as well! We didn't find any mention of this
capability in the manual, so tried connecting the camera up to
a camcorder output. Somewhat to our disappointment, it turns out
that the video "in" function is limited to using the
RDC-5000's LCD screen as an NTSC (PAL in Europe) monitor: The
camera will display video signals, but not capture them, but it
does switch between NTSC or PAL under menu control.
Completing our tour around the camera, the photo below (flipped 180 degrees, so the text would read right-side-up) shows the bottom of the unit. At right is the battery-compartment cover, the tripod socket (plastic) is just left of center, and what looks like a thin slot on the far left is actually a tiny thumbwheel to adjust LCD brightness.
Lens
The RDC-5000 has a 2.3x optical zoom lens, with a focal length
range equivalent to a 38-86mm zoom on a 35mm film camera. The
lens is fairly "fast" optically, with a maximum aperture
of f/2.8-f/3.2 (wide to tele), and a minimum aperture of f/13.5-f/14.4.
The lens is an autofocus design, using a contrast-detect system
that operates directly from the CCD. (Providing true through-the-lens
(TTL) autofocus.) The lens does not have any filter threads on
it for mounting external accessories, but a press-fit removable
lens shade (see photos below) holds the potential for third-parties
to provide filter adapters for the camera.
The inclusion of a lens shade is interesting: This is the
first case we're aware of in which one was provided as an accessory
to a digital camera. Lens "flare" seems to be a fairly
general issue in lens design. Because we haven't had a good "scientific"
test for it, we haven't reported on it the past. At least one
camera that we're aware of though, had an "internal lens
shade" added to its optics in the form of a black rectangular
mask on the lens' inside front surface, as part of a general redesign.
Since Ricoh included the lens shade with the camera, we suspect
there's a good reason for it's existence, and so recommend that
RDC-5000 owners use it routinely. Unfortunately, the shade adds
a bit of bulk to the unit, making it a tougher fit for typical
shirt pockets.
We mentioned the automatic lens cover before: It takes
the form of two diagonal leaves that open by rotating to the sides
as the lens telescopes out when the camera is turned on. While
they do protect the lens from careless fingerprints, they don't
strike us as especially robust, since nothing locks them in place:
A slight touch can easily rotate one or both of them to the "open"
position, leaving the lens exposed. We therefore don't know how
much protection they'd provide to a camera dropped into a purse.
Ricoh does provide a lightweight padded carrying pouch for the
camera though, which should afford the extra protection required.
The combination of pouch and automatic lens cover ought to work
pretty well, and you'll never need to worry about losing the @%$#
lens cover, as you do with many digicams.
One rather unusual feature of the RDC-5000's optics is
an option for manual focus: You can select manual focus via a
menu option, and then control the focus of the lens with the rocker
toggle that normally operates the zoom lens. (You'll want to adjust
the zoom prior to entering this mode, for obvious reasons.) This
is potentially a great feature, as there are bound to be situations
in which the autofocus won't work (such as very low-light shooting).
Even better, the continuous focusing offered by the RDC-5000 is
much preferable to the discrete steps offered by some other cameras
with manual focus override, offering the potential for truly precise
focus, rather than "sorta close". The problem we see
with the RDC-5000's implementation though, is that there's no
feedback on the manual focusing available, other than the image
you see in the viewfinder, which is really too small to be relied
upon. Either a distance readout in feet or meters, or some
sort of feedback on how good the camera thinks the focus is would
make the manual-focus option much more useful.
In normal mode, the lens autofocuses from infinity down
to about 15.8 inches (40cm) at the maximum telephoto setting,
and an amazing 1.6 inches at the wide-angle setting, in a single,
continuous range. (There's no separate "macro" mode.)
Even though the lens must be at its wide angle setting, the minimum
macro area is quite small, covering an area of only 1.4 x 2.0
inches (35 x 52mm).
There's also a roughly 2.8x "digital telephoto"
mode that kicks in when you continue pressing the zoom toggle
for several seconds after the maximum optical telephoto setting
is reached. Like all digital telephotos, that on the RDC-5000
trades-off resolution for magnification, cropping the image to
640x480 pixels. Thus, the final effect is no different than cropping
the relevant area out of a full-size image after the exposure.
The only difference is that you save yourself a cropping step
on the computer, and you use less memory space to store the image
in the camera. A little different twist with the RDC-5000's digital
tele though, is the way it tells you what the active capture area
is: Rather than trying to blow-up the image to fill the LCD screen
(usually resulting in dramatically blurred LCD images), the RDC-5000
simply indicates the active area by drawing a box of four white
lines on the LCD display. We're not sure which approach we like
better, but probably come down in favor of the full-screen, interpolated
method. (But then, we're not big fans of digital tele in the first
place.)
We mentioned the lens shade earlier: Here's a couple of
pictures of it. It press-fits over the body ring around the lens
assembly, with the tab at the bottom keeping it square with the
camera body.
Exposure
Ricoh rates the RDC-5000 at an equivalent ISO of "about 100"
(the "about" showing remarkable candor about the "guesstimate"
nature of such ISO ratings). Combined with a shutter speed range
of 1-1/500 seconds, and an aperture range of f/2.8 to f/14, the
camera should produce usable images under light levels ranging
from EV8 to EV22, a very wide range. We haven't yet had the opportunity
to verify this performance with our own low-light tests, but the
camera did seem able to capture pretty bright images under rather
dim conditions. The "official" minimum of EV8 should
let you get usable pictures outdoors at dusk, but probably not
true night shots.
The RDC-5000 sports the usual assortment of white-balance
settings, including auto, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, and fluorescent.
Exposure compensation of +/- 2EV, in 0.5EV stops is also provided,
a good range and degree of control, although we dislike having
to resort to the LCD menu system to make exposure compensation
settings. (We find ourselves using exposure compensation fairly
often, to adjust for unusual subject conditions, or unusual lighting,
so prefer to be able to make these settings from the camera's
external controls directly.)
Besides the standard exposure mode, the RDC-5000 also provides
"text" and "continuous" modes. The "text"
mode is designed to enhance contrast and reduce noise when photographing
monochrome subjects, such as text. In our own tests with the ISO
resolution target, we were surprised by how much the "text"
setting increased the apparent resolution. (Note we said "apparent:"
The actual resolution didn't change any, it's just that the fine
detail was made more evident.)
The "continuous" capture mode grabs one image
after another, about a second apart, until the buffer memory is
filled. This corresponds to only two images at maximum resolution
and quality, but as many as 28 images at the small image size
and lowest quality setting.
An unusual feature is the inclusion of a time-lapse exposure
mode, in which you can set the camera to snap pictures at programmable
intervals, ranging from 30 seconds to 3 hours, in 30 second increments.
The camera will continue taking pictures until it runs out of
memory space to store the images, or you disable the mode via
the menu options.
Finally, there's an enhanced-sensitivity exposure mode,
intended to reduce camera shake problems under low-light conditions
by reducing the exposure time. Ricoh calls this "S"
mode (for sensitive?), and warns that image noise may be increased
when it is used. We haven't played with this yet, but will do
so when we perform our low-light tests. If the resulting increased
noise isn't too objectionable, this could boost sensitivity enough
for true night-shooting. (Defined in our book as the ability to
take pictures under typical artificial illumination outdoors:
Streetlights & such...)
Oops Almost forgot: There are also black & white
and sepia recording modes. Black & white makes sense, as it
could save memory space those times you don't need color photos.
Sepia strikes us as more of a gimmick, present more because it's
easy to add, rather than arising out of any strong user need or
demand. (This is injecting a little more opinion than we're usually
comfortable with: There may well be people out there who consider
a sepia option a necessity...)
Flash
The RDC-5000's flash is more flexible than most: Besides the usual
on/off/auto modes, it offers a slow-sync mode and red-eye reduction
in conjunction with all other flash modes. The slow-sync mode
combines a slower shutter speed with the flash, allowing more
ambient light into the image. This helps lighten backgrounds for
flash shots, and avoid some of the starkness of typical flash
pictures.
Other Modes
Playback Mode
Playback on the RDC-5000 is fairly typical, although it does include
a "zoomed" playback mode that enlarges the image on
the LCD monitor about 3x, and lets you scroll around different
parts of it to observe details. This is a useful function for
checking image detail, although we prefer smooth scrolling, rather
than the roughly 1/3-image jumps the RDC-5000 provides. (Not a
big objection, just feedback for Ricoh and others for their next-generation
cameras.) Other playback-mode functions include Auto Playback
(a slide-show mode with selectable timing), image protection (to
guard against accidental erasure), a copy function (to move images,
either one at a time or all at once, between the internal memory
and a SmartMedia card), a folder selection option, if your memory
card has separate storage folders on it, and a DPOF (digital print
order format, or direct print of file) option to mark images on
the memory card for subsequent output by intelligent photo printers.
Delete Mode
Just what it sounds like: Three options provide for erasing single
images, all images, or selected images.
PC Mode
Enables the camera's digital I/O ports, and puts it into a mode
where it waits for communications from the host computer.
Power
The RDC-5000 runs from 4 AA-cell batteries, preferably high-capacity
NiCd or NiMH rechargeables. We're still setting up for our actual
camera power-consumption measurements, but our distinct impression
was that the RDC-5000 was rather power-hungry as digicams go:
Get a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH batteries and a good
charger, you won't regret it. Big kudos to Ricoh in the power
department though: The RDC-5000 comes with an AC adapter in the
box, a very unusual move for digicam manufacturers, and one we'd
like to see repeated more frequently by others!
Included Software
The RDC-5000 has one of the most complete packages of bundled
software we've seen in a while, providing the entire ArcSoft PhotoSuite
package, as well as an intro pack for our favorite on-line photo-sharing
service, ClubPhoto. The software package includes:
In Use
We found the RDC-5000 very easy to shoot with: In most situations,
we didn't have to touch the controls, and the pictures came out
fine. The instruction manual was a model of clarity. We really
liked the larger format, function-by-function organization, and
single language, not to mention an actual PAPER manual, as opposed
to the print-your-own-from-the-CD approach that appears to be
becoming more prevalent. This would be a great camera for the
more casual shooter, as you can get great pictures from it without
having to go to "digital camera school" for a week to
learn how to use it.
The RDC-5000's image quality is a bit of a mixed bag, mostly
very good, but with one annoying flaw. The good parts are that
resolution, detail, color, and tone are all very good, clearly
in the running with other 2+ megapixel cameras. (Check our pictures page, we have a subset of
our full test suite currently on-line, and will add more shots
as we're able.) The flaw is that some pictures show pattern of
noise or compression artifacts across them, most noticeable in
areas of relatively flat color. We're not sure what this is, as
it doesn't look like a typical compression artifact, nor does
it look like typical sensor noise. (Maybe it's a combination of
both, the compression acting on image noise?) Regardless, it's
evident enough that we noticed it in some of our test shots in
areas of flat tint, and several readers have commented on it in
other images we've shot. We haven't shot our official low-light
tests yet, but it appears that the artifacts dramatically increase
when taking available-light shots. We're hoping this is the result
of some sort of early production glitch, as it's the only thing
that keeps us from a very high opinion of the camera: If you're
printing images shot in fairly bright light on typical inkjet
printers, this artifact may not be evident at all. In our own
viewing of the test images taken under normal lighting conditions,
we didn't see it as a serious problem, but from the email we've
received, it's obviously very much a subjective reaction: Some
readers feel it's no big deal, others view it as a deal breaker.
Under low light conditions (dim interior shots), it is much more
apparent, and would likely be a problem, regardless of the images'
final use. The best suggestion we can make to our readers is to
download some of the test images we have posted on the pictures page, print them out on your
own printer, and decide for yourself what you think of the results.
Meanwhile, we've communicated our results back to Ricoh and are
waiting to hear what they have to say about the test images.
See for Yourself!
Take a look at the test images from the
RDC-5000 (with extensive comments), or jump to the Comparometer(tm)
page to compare its reference images with those from other digital
cameras.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, the RDC-5000 provides great value for the
money (we've been told the retail price will be only $699, a very
low initial price point for a 2.3 megapixel camera with a true
optical zoom lens), but at least the early unit we tested showed
some image noise/artifacts, particularly under low-light conditions.
Decide for yourself: If the image quality as shown in our test
images is sufficient to your needs, the RDC-5000 is one of the
best buys on the market. It takes sharp pictures with good color,
and the fast USB interface is a huge plus. It's more of a pure
point & shoot design, rather than trying for the semi-manual
exposure options of some other cameras on the market. If you want
lots of exposure control, this probably isn't the camera for you.
On the other hand, if you're looking for a point & shoot with
good color & resolution, that's easy to operate, and that
takes really BIG pictures, this could be your answer.
Reader Comments!
See what
other Imaging Resource readers have had to say about the RDC-5000, or
add comments of your own. (Read what's here, then
add your own! Do you have an RDC-5000? - Share your experience!)
