Tokyo, January 30, 2003. Ricoh is very pleased to announce the release of the new Caplio RR230, a delightful, easy to use, compact digital camera with a high definition 2.0-megapixel CCD and powerful 3x optical and 2x digital zoom that offers consumers an enticing chance to enter the expanding world of digital photography.

The Caplio RR230 succeeds the popular Caplio RR120, an earlier model that earned great praise for its simple, user-friendly design and operation when it came to market last year. The Caplio RR230 takes this simplicity one large step further with an improved, stylish body and new functionality, such as the Quick Review feature that allows users to swiftly review their latest shots with just one push on the handy menu controller - eliminating time spent fumbling through different modes.

Continued growth in the PC market has led to a buoyant rise in the demand for digital cameras worldwide - especially in the 2-megapixel/3x-zoom category. Ricoh's calculated decision to release the Caplio RR230 in this competitive group was due in part with the success of the Caplio RR30, a revolutionary 3-megapixel, 3x zoom digital camera launched in the autumn of last year. Without question, the ever-growing Caplio family now offers consumers an impressive choice of reliable models.

"We are very proud of the Caplio RR230 because everyone, even beginners, can now take advantage of exceptional digital photography," says Katsunori Nakata, General Manager of the Marketing Office at Ricoh's Personal Multimedia Products Company. "Every step of the way it was designed with the photographer in mind. It's perfect for those with active lifestyles. Just shoot, then transfer the files to a PC quickly and easily. We're truly confident users will love this camera!"

< Main Features >

Dynamic range of Output Possibilities with a 2.0-megapixel CCD

By taking advantage of three helpful compression-setting levels: Super Fine, Fine, or Normal and choosing 800x600 or 1600x1200 pixel image resolutions, Caplio RR230 users can capture a dynamic range of output possibilities that includes high-quality prints on a home printer to the sharing of images with friends and family via e-mail. Additionally, in Motion mode, owners can take great pleasure in recording and playing back short AVI movie clips.

Exceptional 6x Zoom; Clear, Bright 1.6-inch LCD

With the Caplio RR230's combined 6x zoom (3x optical, 2x digital), users can magnify even the tiniest details of a captured image on the 1.6-inch, high-resolution TFT LCD screen.

Inspiring List of Functionality

Fitting comfortably in the hands of the photographer, the Caplio RR230 is a simple and compact digital camera that offers a list of inspiring user-friendly functions including quick, accurate auto-focusing capabilities, five white balance settings and a strong built-in flash effective at a distance of up to 8 feet. Additionally, impressive 10-cm macros, delayed self-timer, red-eye reduction and slow synchro options for long exposure opportunities offer the user further creative promise.

Built with photographers in mind

The extremely handy, cleverly designed menu controller makes it possible to easily switch from one mode to another while the Quick Review mode conveniently allows the user to review the most recent images captured. For those who demand a little simplicity in this diverse digital age, the Caplio RR230 is a truly enjoyable and affordable digital camera especially built with photographers who lead active lifestyles in mind.

Image transfer and storage simplicity

The Caplio RR230 comes with a handy USB port, cable, and 8MB of internal memory (which can be supplemented by SD memory cards, which can expand the storage capacity to 128MB), making the transfer of literally hundreds of JPEG images to a PC fast, simple, and rewarding.