  First Look: Ricoh RDC-5000 digital camera Ricoh makes a strong entry in the 2+ megapixel competition. ("First Look" Review posted 4 June, 1999) |
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2.3 Million pixel sensor |
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1792 x 1200 pixel resolution | |
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2.3X optical zoom + 2.8x digital | |
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Autofocus lens focuses to 1.6 inches | |
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Built-in 7-mode flash | |
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Dual-function RS-232/USB(!) interface port |
In the midst of all the hoopla over the recently-announced (June, 1999) 2-megapixel
cameras from Fuji, Olympus, and Nikon, Ricoh's entry hasn't received much attention.
Officially announced at the PMA show in mid-February, 1999, little has been
heard of the RDC-5000 since.
Ricoh has been quietly active though, with the result that we recently received
a production unit of the RDC-5000 for evaluation. We hastened to get some images
up on the web quickly, as the first rollout of the product is scheduled for
June 6, on the QVC shopping network. (Unusual move, that!) The following is
intended as a quick overview of the camera that will suffice until we can get
our typically detailed full review posted.
Background
Ricoh has been a player in the digicam market from the very early days, and
was an early innovator in merging multimedia capabilities with their cameras.
More recently, they've focused on delivering high value with more conventional
feature sets. One hallmark of their cameras has always been excellent macro
performance, a tradition the RDC-5000 continues.
Ricoh has considerable experience building film-based point & shoot cameras,
a market they only recently exited, intending to focus their photographic expertise
solely on the digital marketplace. The RDC-5000 is the first product released
since this change of direction, so its design and capabilities are interesting
as possible indicators of things to come.
High-Points Overview
- 2.3 Megapixel CCD sensor delivering 1792 x 1200 or 796 x 600 pixel resolutions
- 1.8 inch, 110,000 pixel color LCD plus a "real image" optical viewfinder
- Zoom lens with f2.8/3.2 lens maximum aperture
- Lens focal length: f=8-18 mm (38 -86 mm on 35mm cameras)
- ISO 100 equivalent (approximate)
- 1 to 1/500 second shutter speed
- Auto focus from 1.6 inches to infinity
- Manual focus override for tough-to-focus scenes
- Three recording modes: Still, Text, and Continuous Shooting
- Three color capture modes: full color, sepia-toned, or black and white
- Built-in flash with seven modes: Flash Off , Auto , Forced Flash, and Slow Synchro, plus red-eye reduction available in all 3 flash-active modes.
- Flash range from 1.3 to 9.8 ft (0.4 - 3.0m) (telephoto), or to 11 ft (3.4m) (wide-angle)
- Five white balance settings: Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Fluorescent, and Incandescent
- Manual exposure compensation from -2 EV to +2 EV, set in .5 EV increments
- Three image-compression settings at each of two file sizes
- 8 MB internal memory with support for 3.3v SmartMedia cards in 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 MB capacities
- Transfer of images to PC through a single port capable of both Universal Serial Bus (USB) or standard RS-232 connection
- Video out capability in either PAL or NTSC format
- Stores images in standard JPEG format
- Auto Power-Off activates at 5 minutes, but can be disabled for continuous operation(!)
- Easy-to-navigate menu system and camera controls
- Easy-to-handle design
- Uses 4, AA Alkaline batteries (NiCd or NiMH)
- AC Adapter included in the box(!)
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"Executive Overview/First Look"
We've recently been adding "executive overview" sections to our reviews,
to provide our readers with a more compact presentation on each product, for
those not yet interested to the point that they're willing to brave a full-size
Imaging Resource review. In the case of the Ricoh RDC-5000, this First Look
will eventually become the Executive Overview for the full review. (Actually,
as we've been writing this, it's turning out to be something between a full
review and the simple overview: We'll probably end up doing a fairly extensive
rewrite when we complete the full review.)
First impressions
The RDC-5000 is a relatively compact digicam, with a long, slender profile makes
it a workable fit for the average pocket, albeit a somewhat heavy one. With
dimensions of 5.17" x 2.71" x 1.78" (131 x 69 x 45mm), and weighing
in at 11 ounces (315g) without the batteries, it is about midrange in the current
field of digicams, in terms of size and weight.
The RDC-5000's case appears to be about a 50/50 mixture of aluminum and structural
plastic, and we were very pleased to see not only an automatic lens cover on
the telescoping zoom lens, but a unique protective shield over the LCD screen.
Both of these encourage "take it anywhere" handling by the user, a
design goal we constantly preach. The photo below shows a rear view of the camera
with the LCD cover closed, while the small inset shows it with the cover open.
The cover retracts via a purely mechanical connection with the same slide switch
that powers-up the camera, meaning there are no finicky little motors or gears
associated with it. Some reviewers have dismissed the LCD cover as a gimmick,
but we feel it's a genuinely useful design feature: In the constant flow of
digicams we receive for review, we've seen several with scratched LCD screens
from the hard knocks of a review unit's life. Certainly, we'd be more comfortable
putting the RDC-5000 into a crowded purse or backpack than other cameras lacking
its tortoise-like protection. (The LCD cover won't do anything to prevent nose
prints though: It will perforce always be open when the camera is operating,
and the LCD is wonderfully positioned to receive nose imprints from right-eyed
users looking through the viewfinder!)
In the photo above, you can see the rear-panel controls: Under the LCD display
are the Display button, to turn the display on or off in record mode, the Menu
button, which brings up the LCD menus in each of the operating modes, the Enter
button, used for making selections in the LCD menus. The Power button is a slide-switch
with a fairly long travel, as this is also how the protective cover over the
LCD is retracted. At top center is the optical viewfinder, a "real image"
design that's fairly immune to framing errors due to eye position, but does
have a fairly low "eyepoint", and no diopter correction, making it
less than ideal for eyeglass wearers. At upper right is the rocker toggle that
controls the zoom lens, or (in manual focus mode) the lens' focus setting. Also
at upper right, you can see an edge-on view of the mode dial, which selects
from among 5 different camera operating modes. (We're big fans of mode dials,
feeling that they simplify camera operation, and reduce menu clutter.)
The
photo below is a shot of the top of the camera, showing the control buttons
there, another view of the mode dial (also shown at right), and the shutter
button. Right of center is a small LCD readout that shows current settings for
resolution, image quality, flash setting, pictures remaining, and memory selection.
This last is a particularly interesting aspect of the RDC-5000's design: When
we first opened the box, we hunted high and low for the SmartMedia card we were
sure should have come with it. – It turns out that the camera has 8 megabytes
of built-in Flash memory, allowing it to take pictures right out of the box,
without any additional memory cards. Normally, we're not keen on cameras with
built-in memory, since it can take so long to get images out of the camera.
With the RDC-5000 though, two factors make the built-in memory quite useful:
First, the camera is equipped with a fast USB port, which greatly speeds
image downloads to your host PC. Second, the camera includes menu options that
let you transfer images from the internal memory to an inserted SmartMedia card
or back quite quickly. We appreciated this feature in our studio test shooting:
We have a FlashPath floppy-disk adapter for the SmartMedia cards, but it can
be pretty slow when dumping 8 meg or more of data to the computer. With the
RDC-5000, we could shoot onto the internal memory, transfer it quickly to a
SmartMedia card, which we then popped into our FlashPath to transfer the images
to the PC, while we continued shooting with the camera. While this may not be
a common usage pattern, we found it very handy while we were testing the camera.
(Note: Some other reviews we've seen have referred to the internal memory as
a RAM buffer – There is a RAM buffer, but the 8 meg of memory that
stores the images is nonvolatile Flash memory, not volatile RAM.)
From left to right across the top of the camera, the buttons are:
- Card/In: Select which memory to use for camera operations
- Flash: Choose one of four flash operating modes
- Self-Timer: Enable the 10-second self timer so you can get in the picture too.
- Pic: Picture quality control: Cycles through 3 image quality settings
and 2 resolution levels
The
photo at right shows the left side of the camera, with the cover over the I/O
& power ports open, but the hatch concealing the SmartMedia closed. Ports
include a power connector for the (included!) 5Vdc wall adapter, a digital connector
for the dual-function Serial/USB interface, and the video port. – This
last was immediately intriguing to us, as there's a switch that reads "Video
– In/Out." At first, we thought perhaps the RDC-5000 could not only
output video, but capture it as well! We didn't find any mention of this capability
in the manual, so tried connecting the camera up to a camcorder output. Somewhat
to our disappointment, it turns out that the video "in" function is
limited to using the RDC-5000's LCD screen as an NTSC (PAL in Europe) monitor:
The camera will display video signals, but not capture them, but it does switch
between NTSC or PAL under menu control.
Completing our tour around the camera, the photo below (flipped 180 degrees, so the text would read right-side-up) shows the bottom of the unit. At right is the battery-compartment cover, the tripod socket (plastic) is just left of center, and what looks like a thin slot on the far left is actually a tiny thumbwheel to adjust LCD brightness.
Lens
The RDC-5000 has a 2.3x optical zoom lens, with a focal length range equivalent
to a 38-86mm zoom on a 35mm film camera. The lens is fairly "fast"
optically, with a maximum aperture of f/2.8-f/3.2 (wide to tele), and a minimum
aperture of f/13.5-f/14.4. The lens is an autofocus design, using a contrast-detect
system that operates directly from the CCD. (Providing true through-the-lens
(TTL) autofocus.) The lens does not have any filter threads on it for mounting
external accessories, but a press-fit removable lens shade (see photos below)
holds the potential for third-parties to provide filter adapters for the camera.
The inclusion of a lens shade is interesting: This is the first case
we're aware of in which one was provided as an accessory to a digital camera.
Lens "flare" seems to be a fairly general issue in lens design. Because
we haven't had a good "scientific" test for it, we haven't reported
on it the past. At least one camera that we're aware of though, had an "internal
lens shade" added to its optics in the form of a black rectangular mask
on the lens' inside front surface, as part of a general redesign. Since Ricoh
included the lens shade with the camera, we suspect there's a good reason for
it's existence, and so recommend that RDC-5000 owners use it routinely. Unfortunately,
the shade adds a bit of bulk to the unit, making it a tougher fit for typical
shirt pockets.
We mentioned the automatic lens cover before: It takes the form of two
diagonal leaves that open by rotating to the sides as the lens telescopes out
when the camera is turned on. While they do protect the lens from careless fingerprints,
they don't strike us as especially robust, since nothing locks them in place:
A slight touch can easily rotate one or both of them to the "open"
position, leaving the lens exposed. We therefore don't know how much protection
they'd provide to a camera dropped into a purse. Ricoh does provide a lightweight
padded carrying pouch for the camera though, which should afford the extra protection
required. The combination of pouch and automatic lens cover ought to work pretty
well, and you'll never need to worry about losing the @%$# lens cover, as you
do with many digicams.
One rather unusual feature of the RDC-5000's optics is an option for
manual focus: You can select manual focus via a menu option, and then control
the focus of the lens with the rocker toggle that normally operates the zoom
lens. (You'll want to adjust the zoom prior to entering this mode, for obvious
reasons.) This is potentially a great feature, as there are bound to be situations
in which the autofocus won't work (such as very low-light shooting). Even better,
the continuous focusing offered by the RDC-5000 is much preferable to the discrete
steps offered by some other cameras with manual focus override, offering the
potential for truly precise focus, rather than "sorta close". The
problem we see with the RDC-5000's implementation though, is that there's no
feedback on the manual focusing available, other than the image you see in the
viewfinder, which is really too small to be relied upon. – Either a distance
readout in feet or meters, or some sort of feedback on how good the camera thinks
the focus is would make the manual-focus option much more useful.
In normal mode, the lens autofocuses from infinity down to about 15.8
inches (40cm) at the maximum telephoto setting, and an amazing 1.6 inches at
the wide-angle setting, in a single, continuous range. (There's no separate
"macro" mode.) Even though the lens must be at its wide angle setting,
the minimum macro area is quite small, covering an area of only 1.4 x 2.0 inches
(35 x 52mm).
There's also a roughly 2.8x "digital telephoto" mode that kicks
in when you continue pressing the zoom toggle for several seconds after the
maximum optical telephoto setting is reached. Like all digital telephotos, that
on the RDC-5000 trades-off resolution for magnification, cropping the image
to 640x480 pixels. Thus, the final effect is no different than cropping the
relevant area out of a full-size image after the exposure. The only difference
is that you save yourself a cropping step on the computer, and you use less
memory space to store the image in the camera. A little different twist with
the RDC-5000's digital tele though, is the way it tells you what the active
capture area is: Rather than trying to blow-up the image to fill the LCD screen
(usually resulting in dramatically blurred LCD images), the RDC-5000 simply
indicates the active area by drawing a box of four white lines on the LCD display.
We're not sure which approach we like better, but probably come down in favor
of the full-screen, interpolated method. (But then, we're not big fans of digital
tele in the first place.)
We mentioned the lens shade earlier: Here's a couple of pictures of it.
It press-fits over the body ring around the lens assembly, with the tab at the
bottom keeping it square with the camera body.
Exposure
Ricoh rates the RDC-5000 at an equivalent ISO of "about 100" (the
"about" showing remarkable candor about the "guesstimate"
nature of such ISO ratings). Combined with a shutter speed range of 1-1/500
seconds, and an aperture range of f/2.8 to f/14, the camera should produce usable
images under light levels ranging from EV8 to EV22, a very wide range. We haven't
yet had the opportunity to verify this performance with our own low-light tests,
but the camera did seem able to capture pretty bright images under rather dim
conditions. The "official" minimum of EV8 should let you get usable
pictures outdoors at dusk, but probably not true night shots.
The RDC-5000 sports the usual assortment of white-balance settings, including
auto, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, and fluorescent. Exposure compensation of
+/- 2EV, in 0.5EV stops is also provided, a good range and degree of control,
although we dislike having to resort to the LCD menu system to make exposure
compensation settings. (We find ourselves using exposure compensation fairly
often, to adjust for unusual subject conditions, or unusual lighting, so prefer
to be able to make these settings from the camera's external controls directly.)
Besides the standard exposure mode, the RDC-5000 also provides "text"
and "continuous" modes. The "text" mode is designed to enhance
contrast and reduce noise when photographing monochrome subjects, such as text.
In our own tests with the ISO resolution target, we were surprised by how much
the "text" setting increased the apparent resolution. (Note we said
"apparent:" The actual resolution didn't change any, it's just that
the fine detail was made more evident.)
The "continuous" capture mode grabs one image after another,
about a second apart, until the buffer memory is filled. This corresponds to
only two images at maximum resolution and quality, but as many as 28 images
at the small image size and lowest quality setting.
An unusual feature is the inclusion of a time-lapse exposure mode, in
which you can set the camera to snap pictures at programmable intervals, ranging
from 30 seconds to 3 hours, in 30 second increments. The camera will continue
taking pictures until it runs out of memory space to store the images, or you
disable the mode via the menu options.
Finally, there's an enhanced-sensitivity exposure mode, intended to reduce
camera shake problems under low-light conditions by reducing the exposure time.
Ricoh calls this "S" mode (for sensitive?), and warns that image noise
may be increased when it is used. We haven't played with this yet, but will
do so when we perform our low-light tests. If the resulting increased noise
isn't too objectionable, this could boost sensitivity enough for true night-shooting.
(Defined in our book as the ability to take pictures under typical artificial
illumination outdoors: Streetlights & such...)
Oops – Almost forgot: There are also black & white and sepia
recording modes. Black & white makes sense, as it could save memory space
those times you don't need color photos. Sepia strikes us as more of a gimmick,
present more because it's easy to add, rather than arising out of any strong
user need or demand. (This is injecting a little more opinion than we're usually
comfortable with: There may well be people out there who consider a sepia option
a necessity...)
Flash
The RDC-5000's flash is more flexible than most: Besides the usual on/off/auto
modes, it offers a slow-sync mode and red-eye reduction in conjunction with
all other flash modes. The slow-sync mode combines a slower shutter speed with
the flash, allowing more ambient light into the image. This helps lighten backgrounds
for flash shots, and avoid some of the starkness of typical flash pictures.
Other Modes
Playback Mode
Playback on the RDC-5000 is fairly typical, although it does include a "zoomed"
playback mode that enlarges the image on the LCD monitor about 3x, and lets
you scroll around different parts of it to observe details. This is a useful
function for checking image detail, although we prefer smooth scrolling, rather
than the roughly 1/3-image jumps the RDC-5000 provides. (Not a big objection,
just feedback for Ricoh and others for their next-generation cameras.) Other
playback-mode functions include Auto Playback (a slide-show mode with selectable
timing), image protection (to guard against accidental erasure), a copy function
(to move images, either one at a time or all at once, between the internal memory
and a SmartMedia card), a folder selection option, if your memory card has separate
storage folders on it, and a DPOF (digital print order format, or direct print
of file) option to mark images on the memory card for subsequent output by intelligent
photo printers.
Delete Mode
Just what it sounds like: Three options provide for erasing single images, all
images, or selected images.
PC Mode
Enables the camera's digital I/O ports, and puts it into a mode where it waits
for communications from the host computer.
Power
The RDC-5000 runs from 4 AA-cell batteries, preferably high-capacity NiCd or
NiMH rechargeables. We're still setting up for our actual camera power-consumption
measurements, but our distinct impression was that the RDC-5000 was rather power-hungry
as digicams go: Get a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH batteries and a good
charger, you won't regret it. Big kudos to Ricoh in the power department though:
The RDC-5000 comes with an AC adapter in the box, a very unusual move for digicam
manufacturers, and one we'd like to see repeated more frequently by others!
Included Software
The RDC-5000 has one of the most complete packages of bundled software we've
seen in a while, providing the entire ArcSoft PhotoSuite package, as well as
an intro pack for our favorite on-line photo-sharing service, ClubPhoto. The
software package includes:
- PhotoStudio – Image enhancement and manipulation (Mac/Windows)
- PhotoBase – Image organization (Mac/Windows)
- PhotoPrinter – Prints multiple images per page, using a variety of layout templates (Windows)PhotoFantasy – Create "fantasy" images (you as a movie star, etc.) (Windows)
- PhotoMontage – Unique application to convert your photos to "montages," composed of thousands of tiny images.
- ClubPhoto – Great desktop photo organizer, create and share photo albums (for free!) on the 'web. (Organizer currently Windows only, sharing is Mac/Windows)
- Drivers & Utility Program - Standard TWAIN drivers and a utility
camera-connect program from Ricoh are also included.
In Use
We found the RDC-5000 very easy to shoot with: In most situations, we didn't
have to touch the controls, and the pictures came out fine. The instruction
manual was a model of clarity. We really liked the larger format, function-by-function
organization, and single language, not to mention an actual PAPER manual, as
opposed to the print-your-own-from-the-CD approach that appears to be becoming
more prevalent. This would be a great camera for the more casual shooter, as
you can get great pictures from it without having to go to "digital camera
school" for a week to learn how to use it.
The RDC-5000's image quality is a bit of a mixed bag, mostly very good,
but with one annoying flaw. The good parts are that resolution, detail, color,
and tone are all very good, clearly in the running with other 2+ megapixel cameras.
(Check our pictures page, we have a subset
of our full test suite currently on-line, and will add more shots as we're able.)
The flaw is that some pictures show pattern of noise or compression artifacts
across them, most noticeable in areas of relatively flat color. We're not sure
what this is, as it doesn't look like a typical compression artifact, nor does
it look like typical sensor noise. (Maybe it's a combination of both, the compression
acting on image noise?) Regardless, it's evident enough that we noticed it in
some of our test shots in areas of flat tint, and several readers have commented
on it in other images we've shot. We haven't shot our official low-light tests
yet, but it appears that the artifacts dramatically increase when taking available-light
shots. We're hoping this is the result of some sort of early production glitch,
as it's the only thing that keeps us from a very high opinion of the camera:
If you're printing images shot in fairly bright light on typical inkjet printers,
this artifact may not be evident at all. In our own viewing of the test images
taken under normal lighting conditions, we didn't see it as a serious problem,
but from the email we've received, it's obviously very much a subjective reaction:
Some readers feel it's no big deal, others view it as a deal breaker. Under
low light conditions (dim interior shots), it is much more apparent, and would
likely be a problem, regardless of the images' final use. The best suggestion
we can make to our readers is to download some of the test images we have posted
on the pictures page, print them out on your
own printer, and decide for yourself what you think of the results. Meanwhile,
we've communicated our results back to Ricoh and are waiting to hear what they
have to say about the test images.
See for Yourself!
Take a look at the test images from the RDC-5000
(with extensive comments), or jump to the Comparometer(tm)
page to compare its reference images with those from other digital cameras.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, the RDC-5000 provides great value for the money (we've
been told the retail price will be only $699, a very low initial price point
for a 2.3 megapixel camera with a true optical zoom lens), but at least the
early unit we tested showed some image noise/artifacts, particularly under low-light
conditions. Decide for yourself: If the image quality as shown in our test images
is sufficient to your needs, the RDC-5000 is one of the best buys on the market.
It takes sharp pictures with good color, and the fast USB interface is a huge
plus. It's more of a pure point & shoot design, rather than trying for the
semi-manual exposure options of some other cameras on the market. If you want
lots of exposure control, this probably isn't the camera for you. On the other
hand, if you're looking for a point & shoot with good color & resolution,
that's easy to operate, and that takes really BIG pictures, this could
be your answer.
Do you have a RDC-5000 camera? If you'll post an album of your samples on one of the photo-sharing services and email us at [email protected], we'll list the album here for others to see!
For More Info:
View the data sheet for the RDC-5000
View the test images from the RDC-5000
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