Ricoh’s new WG-M1 action cam looks like a mix of G-Shock watch and bike light

Ricoh, the proprietor of the Pentax brand name, has just annouced a new action cam that continues the WR and WG lines of rugged Pentax cameras. Called the WG-M1, the device looks a bit like a mix of a G-Shock watch and a bike lamp. But as always, it's what's on the inside that counts most.

The basic specs of the Ricoh WG-M1 read as follows: a 17mm-equivalent lens with a maximum 160-degree angle-of-view in stills mode (that is reduced to a max. 137-degree in video mode), a bright initial f/2.8 aperture, a 14 megapixel CMOS sensor that supports ISO values from 100 to 800, 30 fps Full HD video, 60 and 120 fps at reduced resolutions and a 1.5" 115k dot LCD screen.

The unique, rugged design of the Ricoh WG-M1 goes along with IPX8 certified weather proofing that includes water resistance to depths of 10 m (33 ft,) shock resistance that allows the camera to drop from up to 2 m (6.6 ft,) pressure resistance up to 100 kg (220 lbs,) and temperature resistance down to -10°C (14°F.) So not only can the camera go snorkling with you, it'll also accompany you on a hiking tour to Mount McKinley (if not quite all the way to its summit.)

Besides regular still photography and video at resolutions ranging from 848x400 pixels all the way to Full HD, the Ricoh WG-M1 can also record timelapse videos natively, which means you won't have to fiddle with complicated post-processing techniques. In addition, the camera also sports a 'loop recording' function that captures short video clips at fixed intervals, as well as motion detection that starts video recording as soon as the camera detects movement in a scene.

Depending on what you're going to do with the Ricoh WG-M1, the angle-of-view can be set to be wider or narrower, so you can include more or less of a scene's surroundings in your clip. Once your done recording, videos and photos can be transmitted to a computer, smartphone, tablet or TV either via the integrated WiFi module, or via HDMI.

The Ricoh WG-M1 will be available in October for $299.95 in a choice of orange and black colors.