Go to: Previous Item Current News Next Item Ricoh's RDC-i700 gets another new talent By Mike Tomkins (Wednesday, February 26, 2003 - 05:37 EST) In a fast-paced market where product life-cycles can be as little as six months, Japanese electronics manufacturer Ricoh has undeniably done a good job of identifying niche markets to extend the life of its RDC-i700 digital camera. An unusual model that couples 3 megapixel resolution and a 3x optical zoom lens with a huge 3.5" LCD touch-screen, the ability to support a range of peripheral cards such as modems and LAN cards, and basic Internet access capabilities, the RDC-i700 (which we reviewed in the middle of 2001) really doesn't have a direct rival from any other company. The sensor might not be the highest resolution and the lens might not have the best geometric qualities, but thanks to other its other features the camera still sells for a significant premium over other 3mpix, 3x zoom digital cameras - from $1475 to $2500 depending on the firmware and hardware bundled. The RDC-i700 was first announced in September 2000, and went on sale late that month in Japan. Subsequent firmware tweaks and the identification of numerous niche markets by Ricoh has seen the camera still selling - and even still being updated - almost 2 1/2 years later. The RDC-i700 connected to ActivePhoto's wireless imaging service, it could stream video in real-time across the Internet, it could be used to FTP or email images, to browse the web or a corporate LAN, to automatically fill in document templates with captured images, and was well-suited to markets like insurance claims and freight tracking. Today, Ricoh Japan has announced yet another update - the Ricoh RDC-i700 Model G. This latest incarnation, which should see the design through its third birthday, sees the camera getting the ability to use a PCMCIA Global Position System (GPS) card to identify the precise location at which images were captured - allowing that to be recorded in the image. Windows-only picture management software then allows images taken at certain locations to be found, or the positions of images to be mapped. The RDC-i700 isn't the first camera to have such a capability, but the new feature extends an already impressive repertoire of capabilities. The Ricoh RDC-i700 Model G will go on sale in Japan from February 27th at a price of ¥208,000 (US$1773 / €1648 / CDN$2649 / £1126 ignoring currency fluctuations, duties and taxes), and with a monthly production of 300 units. Full specifications translated from the Japanese announcement follow: Ricoh RDC-i700 Model G Recording Format Still Image Compressed: JPEG compliant (Exif Ver. 2.1); DCF compliant†; DPOF compliant; Uncompressed: TIFF-YUV Text TIFF (MMR ITU-T.6) Movie AVI (OpenDML Motion JPEG compliant) Audio WAV (Exif Ver. 2.1) Compression Still Image: JPEG baseline conforming, Text: MMR, Movie: JPEG baseline conforming Image Sensor 1/1.8" 3.24 megapixel CCD Video Output NTSC / PAL changeable Recording Resolution Still Image 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 Text 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 Movie 320 x 240 Recording Modes Still Image / Audio / Text / Burst / Movie Image Quality Modes Fine / Normal / Economy / Uncompressed Image Quantity (32MB CF card) Still Image 2048 x 1536 - Fine: Approx 26; Normal: Approx. 52; Economy: Approx. 102 1024 x 768 - Fine: Approx 77; Normal: Approx. 149; Economy: Approx. 277 640 x 480 - Fine: Approx 193; Normal: Approx. 323; Economy: Approx. 646 Image File Size (32MB CF card) Still Image 2048 x 1536 - Fine: Approx 1.12 MB; Normal: Approx. 568 KB; Economy: Approx. 280 KB 1024 x 768 - Fine: Approx 376 KB; Normal: Approx. 184 KB; Economy: Approx. 88 KB 640 x 480 - Fine: Approx 152 KB; Normal: Approx. 72 KB; Economy: Approx. 40 KB Record Time (32MB CF card) Movie 161 seconds (15 frames per second) Sound 66 seconds Lens 10 elements in 7 groups F: 2.6 ~ 3.4 3x optical zoom f: 7.3mm ~ 21.9mm (35mm equivalent: 35mm ~ 105mm) Digital Zoom 1.28, 1.6 and 3.2x (at 640 x 480 resolution only) Shutter Still Image 8, 4, 2, 1 ~ 1/1000 second (mechanical shutter) Movie 1/15 ~ 1/10000 second (electronic shutter) Focusing Distance Normal Approx. 0.24m - infinity Macro Approx. 0.01m - 0.24m ISO Sensitivity ISO 150 standard, 200 and 400 possible Viewfinder Real-image optical zoom type LCD Monitor Touch-sensitive 3.5" TFT Liquid Crystal w/ 200,000 pixels Flash Automatic / On / Off / Red-eye Reduction Flash does not operate when set to Auto in Text mode Focusing Automatic / Manual Exposure Adjustment TTL Center-Weighted CCD-type Program AE Exposure Compensation Automatic / Manual (+2.0 to -2.0EV in 0.5EV steps) White Balance Automatic / Fluorescent / Cloudy / Incandescent / Outdoor Self-timer Operation time: Approx. 10 seconds Interval Mode Photographing interval: 30 seconds - 3 hours Watermark Function Position: Right, Center, Left, Bottom Right, Bottom Center, Bottom Left PC Interface RS232C / USB (Windows98 / 98SE / Me / 2000 / XP compliant) AV Interface Audio / Video Out Touch Pen Proprietary touch pen included GPS Geodetic Survey System TOKYO97 / WGS84 Expansion Slot 1 x CompactFlash Type-II slot and 1 x PCMCIA Type-II slot Compatible cards: Modem, Mobile Phone / PHS I/F, LAN, ISDN, ATA Input / Output Terminal 1 x USB / RS232C port and 1 x AV output terminal Battery Proprietary Lithium-Ion Battery Life‡ Image Capture: Approx. 50 minutes Image Playback: Approx. 60 minutes Communication: Approx. 60 minutes Battery Charge Time‡ Approx. 150 minutes External Power Source / Voltage 5V AC Adapter (optional) External Dimensions 157mm (W) x 93mm (D) x 33mm (H) excluding projections Weight Approx. 450g (excluding battery) Temperature Range 0°C ~ 40°C . † DCF is the JEIDA-standard abbreviation of "Design Rule for Camera File System" ‡ Battery Life and Charge Time based on Ricoh's standard measurement conditions. Actual values may vary. Source: Ricoh Japan Go to: Previous Item Current News Next Item Powered by Coranto