Ricoh Imaging UK is out today with a new trio of camera kit. No, scratch that, make it eight items to get you snapping happy.
Up first is the Ricoh HZ15, a high-magnification digital compact camera, equipped with an optical 15x zoom lens that boasts 24mm wide-angle coverage.
Its frame is light and compact, coated in a glossy black for a nice sheen. The Ricoh HZ15 houses a 3-inch LCD screen to peek your pics after capture, which should be smooth thanks to a CCD shift-type Shake Reduction mechanism. The monitor is full of approximately 230,000 dots.
The lens employs 16MP for image pick up, and it can stretch to lengths of 24mm wide-angle to 360mm super-telephoto using the 35mm format.
In addition to snapping photos, the Ricoh HZ15 can capture HD quality movie clips at 1280 x 720 and about 30fps. It's important to point out that HD res playback is only achievable when you transfer a clip to a personal computer.
The camera also features an in-body recharging system for "phone-style battery recharging." It's compatible with Eye-Fi wireless Lan SD memory cards and comes with Windows 8 and Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion image viewing, editing and filing software.
There's no price yet, but the Ricoh HZ15 will be available by the end of September 2013. We've asked Ricoh Imaging UK for international availability details for this and all other products announced here, so stay tuned for updates.
High five
Ricoh is also serving up five HD Pentax-DA Limited Series interchangeable lenses, designed for K-mount interchangeable lens digital cameras.
The models are the 15mm f/4 ED AL Limited Series (£590 / US$645 / AU$990), 21mm f/3.2 AL Limited (£590 / US$650 (around AU$1,020)), 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited (£640 / US$700 (around AU$1,110)), 40mm f/2.8 Limited (£440 / US$500 (around AU$760)) and the 70mm f/2.4 Limited (£640 / US$700 (around AU$1,110)).
Pentax based the quintet on the Limited Lens series, yet they offer what Ricoh claimed is even better optical performance. They've been treated with an HD coating for higher light transmittance and are fitted with a round-shaped diaphragm to create a natural bokeh, or out-of-focus, effect in the foreground and background of images.
The group's lens barrels, hoods and caps are made of a high-grade aluminum, and all are available in black or silver versions. Though they share common traits, the 40mm F2.8 Limited was treated with Super Protect coating for dust and stain protect.
All five will be on sale by the end of next month.
Flashing lights
Lastly, Ricoh is sparking up two auto flash units designed for interchangeable lens cameras from Pentax.
The AF540FGZ II (£550 / US$630 / AU$820) and AF360FGZ II (£400 / US$430 / AU$460) are weather-resistant units that can power through difficult whether conditions, including rain and fog. They've been fashioned with 28 strategically applied seals to keep the elements at bay.
The models have been given a maximum guide number of 54 and 36 at ISO 100m, respectively. Both feature a newly designed, high-intensity fixed-light LED.
White LED light looks to provide some versatility in that it can not only capture close-distance movie clips, but also render still images that require a long exposure time. The LED can also act as a catch light for portraiture and an AF assist in dark settings.
The flashes feature a bounce flash function that adjusts to angles of -10 to 90 degrees vertically and up to 180 degrees horizontally. A power-zoom flash, built-in wide-angle panel, multi-flash emission function and shorter battery charge time all amount to some reliable light sources.
The pair too will be available at the end of September.
- Thinking of buying a new compact camera? Then you've come to the right place (if you follow this link, that is).
