light, flat, has wide 30mm and very wide 24mm for a P/S

feels fragile

The lens is not the sharpest, but has pleasing results. I would say that my Olympus Infinity Stylus is a tad sharper. The color balance is very warm and rich, though- which is nice. Facial tones come out very smooth, very pleasing. The problem with this camera is that it is so slow at locking focus. By the time I lock focus, it is probably around 1 second, leaving enough time for ansy subjects to hide for cover. (The GR1 has a very similar autofocus mechanism) Indoor and flash off mode gives great, saturated shots, even with print film- smart metering. The strange thing, though is that it seems that the lens is fixed aperature, especially in 24mm mode with a very small F8. I am planning to block the panorama sliders with a small rod and see if I can get a full 24mm frame- someone with a website has already tried it (making the R1 a true 24mm P/S). There will be severe light fall off and possibly some totally dark corners, but the thought of having a pocketable 24mm lens is intriguing. I will update as soon as I run a roll through it. I got mine dirt cheap- it is a fun camera, though not up technically great.

Customer Service

?alas USA Ricoh is no more

Similar Products Used:

many

Super light, super cool gunmetal finish. Very good grip.

lots of soft spots- plastic not stiff
I can twist entire camera body

The design of this camera is wonderful. It is very flat and very light weight. The controls are simple and the bulged grip is very secure. The metering/autofocus is the same as on the GR1 (which is good and bad). I haven't used this camera much, but wide open, the 30mm lense vignettes and there is noticable falloff. There is slight pincushion also. My Olympus Epic is much sharper and so is my Olympus XA4 (with much less falloff), but this 30mm Ricoh is autofocus-which helps me when I don't want to think. The metering is okay, but it does get fooled- spot focussing has both focus lock and exposure lock (kind of a spot meter). I haven't tried faster film, but stay away from 100 or even 200. [Here is where the Epic's f2.8 helps a lot] The framing window is very small, compared to what I get- so frame right on the lines. I can twist the entire camera body quite easily- and pressing my thumb onthe camera back, I can squish in the frame door. Fragile and somewhat exotic is what comes to mind- no hammerheads for sure. The GR1 is not this flimsy. The top panel is made of soft plastic and I can squish the LCD with my finger.
Overall, [until I use some faster film], I'd have to say that this camera is a compromise: The design is great and so is the promise of a 30mm (vs.35mm), but the images are less sharp (still contrasty, though) than my Epic and also my XA4 (30 years old, 28mm). The amount of glass is very small- like those used in the early P&S cameras. The rear element is not coated. [My GR1 is sharper and contrastier than these, two, but has similar hangups as the R1] It also focusses slow (similar problem to my GR1), but is neat in that it finds the correct (closest) focus on screen. Night metering is good however-which most compact don't work well. I got mine used for even less- I consider them rare these days as I never come across one in the market, new or used. 4 rating for the fun, cool factor. An Epic is a way better picture taker in all aspects, but is not wider than the norm, 35mm. The R1 is unique and doesn't overlap my collection of compact cameras.

Customer Service

needed. LCD is going bonkers

Similar Products Used:

O.Epic, Stylus,Minolta,Nikon

(See my original post above)
The images that I can now produce using this camera in 30 mm mode are very good - smooothy sharp (not Leica sharp, but good plus) and detailed, and to me, more than acceptable -- my Ricoh GR1 craving is gone. (You've gotta try Provia 100F!)

In 24mm mode, you will still notice medium light falloff at both edges, so try to hide it with some foliage or contrasty and detailed bright scenary -- pictures of an overcast beach will noticably show this falloff at both ends.

Details are very good in 30mm mode and even in images with deep fields of view, if the aperature happens to be stopped down enough to cover that range, it'll be nice and crisp all across to the eye (but you have to use Provia 100F).

Light metering in both modes are very good to excellent IMO, so I'll keep this used $55 bargin around for much longer.

n/a

I'm bumping my original rating up to 4 stars on this camera after trying some Fuji Provia 100F (RDP III) in it. I've discovered that many of my image quality nit-picks had a lot to do with the use of grainy (esp. noticable in shadows) Kodak Elite Chrome 100, a fine 100 speed film until Provia 100F arrived. It's a fine bargin as a used camera for under
However, if you were to buy a new fixed P/S, I'd point you to the sharper lens Olympus Stylus Epic or Yashica T4 Supers for ~$100-150.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

n/a

Sleek, super-slim body fit's into any pocket easily.
24mm & 30mm lenses built-in. 7-point passive AF is a wonder in a camera so small. Reliable AE and flash that reduces output depending on distance means very good exposures all day long with slide film.
Very big and easy to push buttons on top to adjust modes. Even the new Minolta Vectis 2000 is larger when open (although it is a cute to hold egg shape when closed; both offer a good grip and hold well; the Vectis however has a dumber design - the left hand's finger covers and closes the popup flash when held).

Passive AF doesn't work in dim conditions, unlike active AF systems. Slower AF speeds than the Olympus Stylus in normal mode - better if you use the spot AF mode where the lens moves into focus at the same time.

Lens is not as sharp as a Yashica T4 or Ricoh GR1/GR10 series. About 50 lp/mm in 30mm mode center vs. 91 lp/mm max for the GR1 and just under 90 lp/mm for the Olympus Stylus Epic.

This means 8x10" enlargements off 100 speed slide film will be slightly soft; 5x7" prints or smaller will be fine, but you can still see a noticable difference in sharpness between the R1 and Yashica T4/Olympus Stylus Epic/GR1/GR10 prints at 4x6".

Panoramic mode lens (24mm) isn't as sharp to the edges, and things get fuzzy. Center sharpness is decent.

A good P/S if you love the design (which I do) and a good buy used (got mine for $55).

There are many other cameras that can take as good or better pictures (an Olympus Stylus or better), so it's not a stunner of a P/S lens here.

Still, it's very easy to carry and pocket this camera and it does make you play with picture taking all day long. Slide film will show how well it exposes, and helps bring out the best in this camera, esp. for prints done later on.

Slower passive AF is a limitation at night as it doesn't not have an AF illuminator aid built-in; nevertheless, it's a wonder seeing the AF marks light up for left, right, or center as it locks onto the edge and details of objects.

Altogether, a mixed bag. Would prefer the Ricoh GR1/GR10 instead for it's much sharper lens in the same body, but for the $55 I got it for, it's a keeper for now due to light weight and accurate slide exposures.

Customer Service

N/A.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Stylus

Slimness
Wide angle - a rarity in most p&s
Cool Viewfinder with LCD focus indicator and framing lines
Remote control
"Super Night Mode"
Close focus
Great "party" camera.
Excellent for landscapes and interiors too.

No telephoto - but would not want to sacrifice the size for this
Developed a squeal after some time without use.
Maybe it's just mine but the 24mm is not sharp at all - I suspect it's an alignment issue

The R1 is a cool camera. It's nice to have a camera that has all the features built into the big zoom cameras - minus the zoom. (OK there's no aperture priority or anything, but who does in the 2 bill range?)
Compared to the competition (T4, Big Mini, Stylus Epic) its lens is not quite there, but it's sure sharper than any of the zoom cameras in its price range. Plus it has some features that the others don't even approach.

The seven point passive auto focus can be a little slow and finicky in low contrast situations, but precise when it locks in. Plus it has a LCD indicator to show if it's locked on the left, right, or center of the frame.

Super Night Mode makes for some intersting shots. This differs from the usual "slow" flash, which it also has. In Super Night Mode it actually makes a double exposure. First it infinity locks and takes an exposure with flash off, then it immidiately takes another with flash focused on the subject. This allows one to take scenic people pictures with both the background and foreground properly exposed and focused.

Plus the remote is a great investment - although it looks pretty big compared to the slim camera. Get yourself a mini tripod (Ricoh markets one that is no bigger than a fountain pen) set it up in a strategic location during a get-together, and fire away candidly.

I have had my R1 for 4 years now and it has done me well. I did abuse it recently. The body separated and a spring popped out. I could not figure where that spring came from, but was able to get the shell back together - sans spring - and it seems to be working fine. Hard to believe that a package that small could have "extra parts" in it?? I've ran 4 rolls through it since then with no problem.

Bottom line - I've really enjoyed the little darling, but now I've got my eyes on a digital. Maybe the Canon S100 - in case you can't tell I like em small. But I wish they had a digital with a built in Wide Angle. Telephoto is nice, but one can always crop.

Customer Service

Excellent initial return policy. Vendors are allowed to Return product for replacement instead of repair.
My initial camra was an early production model that had a weakness in the spring that holds the film to the take-up spool, and I was able to just swap it out for a new one.

Similar Products Used:

Konica Big Mini 300, Yashica T4, Olympus Stylus & Stylus Epic, Minolta Vista

slim boby, well made, 30mm and 24mm(full frame with easy conversion), ergonomics - comfortable grip, clear view finder, focus spot indication, pre-postion of lens during focusing,spot focus and metering,

Minimum aperture only down to f9.x(Ex ranged up to EV 15 only), no exposure compensation,flash not strong enough, does not use cr123 battery

I prefer slim camera body to smaller but more bulgingbody. Lens is decently sharp(even to the corners) and well algined. Wish the aperture can close down to f16 for brightly lit objects and deeper field as the weak flash and f8 24mm auxillary lens require ISO 400 film. It is very easy to convert the 24 mm panaroma into full-frame 24mm: open the back, at each side of the image window, there is a "rail" along which the panaroma masks travel. At the right-hand side lower corner, there is a 1-2mm slot where one can stick a little piece of black plastic (e.g.,cut from a floppy disk casing) to block the lower mask from moving up (this also prevents the upper mask from moving down). This way, the masks are complely out of the way and you still have the date imprint function. Taking away this blocking piece re-converts the camera to original. At 24mm full frame, one can easily notice image softening and light fall-off near each corner but it is definitely not very objectionable --- but you do get 24 mm picture!

Similar Products Used:

Richo 35-R,Samsung 40S, Vivitar P&S with 30mm lens

cool, slimmer than any other
24mm FULL FRAME

CR2 tiny battery-weak
body not durable-LCD conked out

This is a cool gunmetal grey colored camera which is superslim- just like the GR1, which is a great design. The autofocus system looks like it belongs on a Canon SLR, but is much slower in reaction time. It actually chooses one of three AF sensor spots. It is cool to watch, but a little slow. I converted the camera to full frame 24mm with a toothpick tip like the review far below! It works (at F8) especially well with Superia 400 film. The corners are a bit distorted, but the rest is still pretty good. I have printed a magnificent beachcliff scene taken with Superia 400 onto black and white paper (with proper filtration) and it looks great. This camera is so lightweight and slim that it can be carried everywhere easily. The negatives are of decent quality- the 30mm lens is very good and has even negative quality- the 24mm lens is good until the very corners, but can pull it off with proper framing. Indoor handheld shots with Superia 400 really give you full use of the full frame 24mm lens- very unique for a compact. Because I got it used (due to a broken LCD), it was vvery cheap, but really delivers with a unique 30mm wide angle lens and the most unique 24mm full frame lens (with conversion). Ricoh does make interesting cameras. Checkout the 35R.

Similar Products Used:

None

Small - always have it on me
Decent lens
Good w/o flash
Durable...dropped several times

Slow on click
Slow to recharge flash
Distorted edges on 24mm

I have several cameras (P&S, Rangefinders, SLR's), and this is by far the camera that gets the most use. Its small size let's me bring it everywhere; I often just carry it in my pocket.

Although I do use the 24mm frequently, I tend to get better results at 30mm (24mm likes 400 speed film and lots of light, otherwise you're gonna get a grainy shot). Night mode is good, and the R1 also gets interesting results with low light and suppressed flash.

Another feature I like is that it prewinds the entire roll of film when you first load, then the counter counts backwards. This let's you know exactly how many shots you get (typically 25 on a 24 roll)...also saves most of your shots if for some reason the back gets opened up.

Battery life is okay, but once you see the low battery indicator, better change it immediately. Batteries are readily available at all camera stores and radio shacks.

Overall, I highly recommed it as a point and shoot, and its incredibly small size outweighs any advantages you'll find on competing cameras (Olympus, etc.)

Customer Service

Never tried

Similar Products Used:

Lots

Perfect size for a pocket camera. Longer than others but thinner which makes it tuck away more comfortably.

24mm panoramic lens - no other P&S can do this.

30mm lens gives a nice perspective as well.

Decent controls

FRAGILE!!!

I love this camera, if only it weren't so dang fragile. The flash on the first one I owned suddenly stopped working. Before I could get it fixed, though, I lost it. So I bought another one. Just after then end of the warranty period, the same thing happened again. I explained this to Ricoh and they agreed to fix it for free. As I remember, they had to replace a defective circuit board.

After working fine for over a year, something bizarre started happening again. The pictures I take with the regular 30mm lens look like they're being taken with a toy camera. The flash is still working but doesn't appear to be syncing properly with the shutter because none of the flash pictures taken at 30mm show evidence of flash. They're terribly underexposed. The outdoor pictures at 24mm seem okay but this might just be because the greater depth-of-field at 24mm may be masking some of the problem.

All that said, if I can't get it fixed, I'm very tempted to buy another one (perhaps I should just consider it the world's most expensive disposable camera) if I can find one new. I'm wary of buying it used. I'm seriously considering upgrading to the Rollei Prego Micron version of the camera just to see if there really is a difference in the pictures.

So why do I love the camera? It's a perfect size for a small P&S - long but thin. Fits very nicely in the pocket. The 30mm lens is reasonably sharp and gives a very nice perspective. I love having the option of the 24mm lens. I've been able to capture pictures that I would have never gotten with another camera: other P&Ss don't go that wide and I can take the R1 places where I don't want to take my SLR. That's why I'm not considering the Ricoh GR-1. The 24mm definitely has some light falloff at the corners - usually not objectionably so. And it is slow (f8) so it's really only practical for outdoor photos. I haven't bothered to modify the camera to do full frame 24mm photos.

Customer Service

Decent. Camera is no longer sold in the US. My second R1 stopped working properly a little more than a year after I purchased it. Even though the camera was out of warranty and not sold in the US anymore, they fixed it for free. But it had to go out to California and took quite a while to come back.

Similar Products Used:

Yashica T4
Olympus Stylus Epic
Nikon 35ti

Very sharp, pocketable, metal so it's a little stronger. 2 sec. shutter speed. I got a great shot of a guy cleaning a 50 lb. halibut in Homer, AK a couple of years ago using this and it was extremely sharp!

None actually but I would have liked a bigger flash.

I like it the best of all of the point and shoots. Having a 30mm regular lens and a 24mm wide angle available in a pinch is very handy!
It's sharper at 30mm though!

Customer Service

LCD not functioning when new, Ricoh was very responsive. No problems since.

Similar Products Used:

Many, many point-and- shoots; this is the best.