PMA 2010- AlphaMountWorld Show Coverage

February 2010, Carl Garrard (Last Updated 2-23 7:56 am PST)

Well, it's arrived everyone. PMA 2010 officially starts Sunday February 21, at 10am Pacific Time Zone. Press (that means AMW included as well) will get a sneak peak on Saturday, but most of the news should come starting early Sunday. We will be attending PMA and covering the Sony Alpha booth and other related booths as well. We will update our coverage here as soon as we can compile it all and get it uploaded. Most likely the 'big press' will give you all the hot stuff sooner than we can, but I intend on getting a bit different coverage (as well as any big news) up here. Hopefully we can offer some additional and unique coverage more specific to our cause here at AlphaMountWorld.

November 26, 2009 (Happy Thanksgiving U.S!)

Ricoh releases first function-enhancing firmware update for GR DIGITAL III

Tokyo, Japan – November 26 – Ricoh Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Shiro Kondo) announced today that it will release on December 1 the first function-enhancing firmware update for its GR DIGITAL III, a high image quality compact digital camera launched in August 2009.

Ricoh GXR Preview - The Interchangeable Lens Sensor Unit Camera System

November 2009, Carl Garrard (Update 11-12, Production Samples, 11-11-09, important links)

GXR Preview - Just when we thought that compact cameras were about as interesting as they can get, Ricohs' genius design team decides to wow the entire photographic industry and community by introducing the all new Ricoh GXR, yet another completely different and unique camera system. As implied, the Ricoh GXR is actually a camera system, it cannot be referred too as a 'camera' by all intents and purposes, because the heart of camera itself lies within interchangeable units sold separately (just think a DSLR lens that comes with its own sealed sensor and processing unit). Two interchangeable units (the A-12 and S-10) will be available by early December- a 1 1/7.5" sized sensor mated with a 24-72mm f/2.5-f/4.4 lens unit, and a APS-C 33mm mated to a (50mm 35mm equivalent) f/2.5 'macro' lens unit as well.

Ricoh Announces New CX2 Digital Compact Camera

August 2009, Carl Garrard

Today Ricoh announces a successor to the highly acclaimed CX1 Digital Camera, the CX2. In tradition with the previous R series and new CX line, Ricoh has wasted no time in coming up with an upgraded model with a few key changes and upgrades. Full of features for the beginning enthusiast photographer, the new CX2 expands further capabilities, features, comfort, and style to keep up with dedicated consumer demands.

Ricoh GR Digital III Announced/Brief Hands On Preview

July 2009, Carl Garrard (Updated 8-11-2009 First Shots!)

(Updated 8-05-2009 Price Announced)

Today Ricoh has introduced a new successor to the Ricoh GR Digital II, the GR Digital III. The GR III is the worlds only compact in development with a bright f/1.9 maximum aperture. I've recently spent some time with a pre-production GR Digital III, and I am happy to report in this preview that my first impressions were positive. The improvements in the design such as image quality, speed, features, and build quality (although subtle) are all impressive and a seemingly natural course for the highly regarded GR series. For those wanting a fully featured low light "prime lens" camera, I cannot think of a better solution or design currently on the market.

Ricoh CX1 Review - Goodbye Ricoh 'R' Series, Hello New Ricoh CX1

April 2009, Carl Garrard

The Ricoh CX1 is an interesting new compact camera with a high speed 9.29mp CMOS sensor that officially signals the end of the R series Ricoh lineup (the last being the R10). Ricoh enters a new era of compacts by introducing the all new CX1. Our review will detail a basic tour of this camera along with some highlights of the new technologies employed into this rather svelte and classy designed compact camera. The CX1 looks much like the R10 which it replaces but has key changes that I think make it a more comfortable and easier to use compact camera. If you are in the market for a new compact, the CX1 might be a good candidate to consider. Ricoh's CX1 is currently priced at $379.00 USD and offers quite an advanced camera for the price.

Ricoh announced a new compact camera which appears to be a replacement to the R10 announced about 6 months ago. Ricoh's new CX1 appears to be one of the first signs that image quality is now the major concern of some manufacturers over pure resolution only in affordable compact cameras. The CX1 has a new 9mp CMOS sensor and a new Smooth Imaging IV processor to help further reduce noise and improve image quality. The CX1 has another trick, expanded Dynamic Range. This is achieved by combining two images together into one internally in the camera to get one image using its double shot mode. See more details on the official press release below.

http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/press/release/nr_cx1.html