It's a real shame the Ricoh Caplio R7 isn't more widely available -- although you can track it down on a few different Web sites -- because it's simply a great camera.
The R7 boasts 8-megapixel resolution and isn't cheap at around £200, but there are some seriously impressive features in this understated compact.
Design
The R7 comes in black, silver or orange flavours. The metal frame is solid and sturdy, which does mean that it is quite heavy. There are a number of neat touches that demonstrate the attention to detail on this camera, like a rubber thumb rest, a satisfyingly dinky door for the USB slot and fan-shaped lens cover elements.
Unusually, some of the R7's functions are controlled by a mini joystick as well as the standard clickpad. This makes altering settings like exposure compensation or white balance much more intuitive, and we'd love to see it unleashed on a full manual mode.
Features
The R7 is pocketable if not exactly slender, but when you consider there is CCD-shift image stabilisation and, impressively, a 7x zoom in there, it starts to look very compact indeed. As well as the humungous zoom, the lens is a satisfyingly wide 28mm so you can fit more into your pictures.
The stunning macro mode lets you get as close as 10mm from your subject. The increasingly ubiquitous face detection is also present and correct. There are two zoom speed options and incremental exposure compensation. Timelapse recording is a fun feature, for up to three hour intervals between images. Sadly, there is no aperture or shutter priority, though.
Video is available in VGA or 320x240-pixel resolution at 15 or 30 frames per second.
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irritateddata 23 May 2010
Good: very little, when it did work it was okayish
Bad: poor image quality, flimsy construction, faulty internals.
Comment: I don't understand the experts' rave reviews. Are they sure it was a Caplio R7 they tested. It's the worst compact camera I have ever owned. The lens seized up within a few weeks. I had to switch off and on several times to release it. A few months later the focusing went completely. The battery/card slide was always sliding open. Reading others' reviews I'm not alone in saying that the R7 is an utter waste of your money, avoid at all costs even at bargain prices. Ricoh should be ashamed of themselves.
academy13 30 July 2009
Good: Occasionally it allows you to take photos
Bad: It has a fundamental flaw which renders the camera useless
Comment: I wanted a small capable camera to carry when I couldnt tote my Nikon SLR around. After reading several review site I chose the Ricoh over the Panasonic Lumix. That was a mistake as it was soon clear that the camera has very poor low light capability and the flash bleaches out subjects. That however is the good news as it means the camera is at least taking pictures. The bad news is that the camera simply dies- leaving the lens fully extended and the screen blank. I was able to get this repaired under warranty after the first failure, and after taking only a further 180 shots it has failed again- this time outside the warranty period and going by the experience of the long long list of disgruntled purchasers I am not expecting to be using this camera again. Does CNET ever reconsider or update its opinion in the light of real time experience of a product.
Darby Lovelette 12 November 2008
Good: It was fun while it lasted, but then...
Bad: ...the lens froze, Ricoh is impossible to contact
Comment: I loved this camera while it worked, but now the lens is completely frozen. It won't retract, move or focus. Camera won't shut off as a result. Apparently, this is a common occurrence, as I've seen numerous postings with the same issue on Fixya.com.
I'm in the US and have tried emailing Ricoh at two different US email addresses as well as submitting a request for support here: http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/support/inquiry.html. Both email addresses are apparently no longer valid/working and I received no response from Ricoh with the online support request. As a last resort, I tried the 800 number on the warranty card. The phone tree has no option for the Caplio R7 (it does for other digitals), and you have to submit a credit card number for a $19 payment before they will connect the call.
I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a ultra compact with zoom. Avoid the hassle and headache of Ricoh.
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