Ricoh dubbed the original Caplio R3 the "smallest digicam in the world with a 5x or greater optical zoom lens" when it was announced last September. The Ricoh Caplio R30 offers the exact same dimensions and weight as the original R3 model, but with a slightly reduced lens range at the telephoto end. Where the original R3 offered a range of 28 - 200mm, the R30 provides a range of 28 - 160mm. As with the R3, body thickness is kept down courtesy of a "double retracting lens system", which separately moves two lens elements into the optical path when the lens extends as the camera is powered up, and removes them again as the camera powers off.

The R30's lens is coupled with a five megapixel CCD imager, the same as the original R3 model. However, where the R3's sensor was mounted on a moving platter, allowing it to be used for a CCD shift-type image stabilisation system, the R30's sensor is fixed in place. Hence, the R30 cannot offer the Vibration Reduction system from the original R3.

Other features of the Caplio R30 are largely the same as the original R3 model. The only other differences we noted between the spec sheets are that the flash range at telephoto is just slightly further for the R3 (since it doesn't have as powerful a zoom), and that the battery life was slightly increased for the R3 (likely because the CIPA standard battery test requires the entire zoom range to be traversed once between each shot, and possibly also because there is now no CCD shifting to consume battery power).

Pricing and availability of the Caplio R30 have not been announced at this time.

Ricoh Caplio R30
General
Camera Type	Ultra Compact
Manufacturer	Ricoh
Model Number	R30
Dimensions	3.7 x 2.1 x 1.0" 95.0 x 53.0 x 26.0mm
Weight	135.0 g 4.7 oz
Image Capture
Sensor Type	1/2.5" CCD 5.25 megapixels (total) 5.13 megapixels (effective)
Filter Type	RGBG
Aspect Ratio	4:3, 3:2
Image Dimensions	2592 x 1944 (5.0 megapixels) 2592 x 1728 (4.5 megapixels) 2048 x 1536 (3.1 megapixels) 1280 x 960 (1.2 megapixels) 640 x 480 (0.3 megapixels)
Image Quality	2 levels
Image Preview / Review
Viewfinder	No
LCD	2.5", 114,000 pixels
Lens
Lens Type	Ricoh Zoom Lens 5.7x optical zoom
Image Stabilization	No
Focal Length	4.6 - 26.4mm (actual) 28 - 160mm (35mm equivalent)
Aperture Range	f/3.3 (wide) / f4.8 (tele) - ???
Focusing System	TTL with AF assist lamp Manual Focus possible (0) steps
Focusing Range	Normal: 12" - infinity (30 cm - infinity) Macro: 0.4"
Exposure
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800
Shutter Speed	8 - 1/2000 second
Metering Modes	256-segment multi, center-weighted, spot
Exposure Compensation	+/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV increments
White Balance	Image Sensor - Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten Light 1 & 2, Fluorescent, Manual, Manual
Internal Flash	Modes: Auto, Red-Eye Reduction,On, Slow Synchro, Flash Off Range: 0.2 m - 2.4 m (wide) / 0.14 m - 1.85 m (tele)
Creative
Scene Modes	Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Night Scene, Tilt Correction, Text, Zoom Macro, High-Sensitivity
Digital Zoom	3.6x
Self Timer	Yes, 2 or 10 seconds
Time Lapse	Yes
Movie Format	AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG) with audio 320x240 and 160x120 Max. frame-rate: 30 frames per second
Storage
Recording Medium	SD/MMC, Built-in
File System	Complies with Design Rule for Camera File System (DCF)
File Format	TIFF (MMR system ITU-T.6), JPEG (EXIF 2.21)
Connectivity
Video	Yes, NTSC / PAL switchable
Computer	USB 1.1
Other	DC In
Power
Battery Type	Lithium Ion rechargeable
Battery Form Factor	Proprietary DB-60
Product Bundle
Battery / Charger	Proprietary DB-60 Lithium Ion rechargeable battery and charger
Flash Memory	26.0MB built-in memory
Other
Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) compliant	Yes
PictBridge Compliant	Yes
Internal Microphone	Yes
Tripod Mount	Yes