Ricoh GR-1 Date 35mm Film Camera

Pros: ultra-slim, ultra-light. 24mm full-frame view.
Cons: Brand new ones cost too much for its spec.

Ricoh R1 is a cool camera. But I am not extremely happy with this, because I paid too much when I bought mine more than a few years ago, and also because some serious problems developed while I left it alone for a while.

Probably, I am not the...

Pros: portability, ergonomics, picture quality, versatility
Cons: hard to find in the U.S.

I've been on a spree to find the perfect point-and-shoot camera, testing various models from Konica, Minox, and Olympus. While each camera has its strengths and weaknesses, the Ricoh R1 has become my favorite.

The first thing I noticed was its...

Pros: 28-135mm, amazing_speed, AA_batteries, Macro_1cm, good_video_30fps, nice_compact_design, good_value_for_money
Cons: Some s/w problems (sometimes fails to shutdown), poor battery door, no analogue zoom for movies.

Pros: 1)The size, look and user-interface is just great. It fits in the pocket and the lens is protected. 2)LCD screen quality is very good. 3)Macro mode is perfect. 4)Movie capture at 30fps is easy, with very decent audio quality. Initially I wanted ...

Pros: Small, light-weight, compact camera with the possibility off a full frame 24 mm!
Cons: ?

I am currently using medium-format cameras, but I have resently bought a Ricoh R1. I thought I would use it as a "notebook", but have discovered that the camera has some very special qualities. The camera has a true panoramic feature (Turns from 30mm to...

Pros: Terrific 28mm wide angle on the zoom, good battery life and flexibility
Cons: Pictures on the 2 cameras used were just nowhere near sharp enough

On the face if it, this is a digital compact camera to die for! Small enough to put in a pocket, excellent battery life, and most importantly a decent wide-angle lens capability. It's that wide angle lens that makes this camera almost unique at anywhere near this price. The fast start-up and shutter response times are just what you need to capture shots of people - especially children on the move. The camera is easy to use except for the zoom rocker switch which is not positive enough. But the bad news is that on two R1s I've used, it was impossible to get sharp pictures. I tried everything including tripods, manual focus but the bottom line is that there is a real lack of sharpness that no amount of Photoshop work can correct. I've no idea what the problem is and it may be confined to particular batches but until Ricoh can get their quality control sorted out, I really can't recommend this camera. If you want to buy one, I suggest you get it on a sale or return basis and make really sure the images are sharp on yours.