Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Bought New Camera
In 2 weeks, I'll be on my way to Germany to catch the World Cup France vs Korea match in Leipzip. Woo-hoo ! This will be followed by 2 weeks of touring around Europe. We'll do Austria, Czech Republic, and of course Germany. Can't wait.
For this trip, I bought a new camera. My criteria were :
1. Digicam, at least 5MP.
2. Small.
3. Image stablelizer.
4. Zoom range of at least 28-135 ( 35mm equivalent ).
There are loads of cameras that satisfy criteria 1-3, but 4 was tough.
I searched high and low, and found the Ricoh R3 earlier this year. I found a second hand one for S$570. Not bad, but I realized that the R4 would soon be released, so I waited abit more. Last month, the R4 was released and became available. I bought one just a few days back. At $520, it was actually cheaper than the 2nd hand R3 a few months ago. The relentless match of technology : these gadgets just keep getting cheaper and cheaper.
The build-quality, like the R3, was a little cheezy. Not a solid little camera like the Canon or Panasonic cameras. The mode switch was a bit loose, which is deplorable in today's camera. But overall, it was quite sturdy and didn't have any other loose buttons or switches. The body is plastic, which makes it feel positively cheap compared to the metallic bodies of the Canons.
The lens, however, is a marvel. It retracts completely into the 2.5cm thick body when powered off. When switched on, this little device starts up within a second, and the lens springs out from behind its cover, and viola, a 28mm lens. Zoom in, and it grows to about 6cm long, and covers 200mm. Got that ? 200mm !!! This is one versatile camera ! In macro mode, the subject can be as near as 1cm ! Between the 200mm lens at the far end, and macro mode at the near end, this camera covers just about any subject a typical tourist is likely to encounter. Neato !!!
For this trip, I bought a new camera. My criteria were :
1. Digicam, at least 5MP.
2. Small.
3. Image stablelizer.
4. Zoom range of at least 28-135 ( 35mm equivalent ).
There are loads of cameras that satisfy criteria 1-3, but 4 was tough.
I searched high and low, and found the Ricoh R3 earlier this year. I found a second hand one for S$570. Not bad, but I realized that the R4 would soon be released, so I waited abit more. Last month, the R4 was released and became available. I bought one just a few days back. At $520, it was actually cheaper than the 2nd hand R3 a few months ago. The relentless match of technology : these gadgets just keep getting cheaper and cheaper.
The build-quality, like the R3, was a little cheezy. Not a solid little camera like the Canon or Panasonic cameras. The mode switch was a bit loose, which is deplorable in today's camera. But overall, it was quite sturdy and didn't have any other loose buttons or switches. The body is plastic, which makes it feel positively cheap compared to the metallic bodies of the Canons.The lens, however, is a marvel. It retracts completely into the 2.5cm thick body when powered off. When switched on, this little device starts up within a second, and the lens springs out from behind its cover, and viola, a 28mm lens. Zoom in, and it grows to about 6cm long, and covers 200mm. Got that ? 200mm !!! This is one versatile camera ! In macro mode, the subject can be as near as 1cm ! Between the 200mm lens at the far end, and macro mode at the near end, this camera covers just about any subject a typical tourist is likely to encounter. Neato !!!
