Ricoh has introduced two new cameras to the market for tough, rugged compact field cameras and these latest models are genuinely impressive.
Extremely tough, compact cameras for easy photo and video capture in the field are becoming ever more popular thanks partly to the rise of social media adventure videos.
They’ve been responsible for the surging popularity of action cameras like the legendary GoPro Hero series and many others.
But suppose you want something better suited for versatile field photography without worrying about the extremes of weather and nature. In that case, Ricoh’s G900 II and G900SE II might be much closer to what’s necessary.
With that need in mind, the brand behind these two shooters has stepped up to the plate with their new products.
The two new heavy-duty “industrial” cameras are packed with robust specs and tremendously strong designs that make them ready for nearly any hard environment. Ricoh has built them to handle dust, water, moisture, heavy shocks and even chemical exposure.
Both cameras also come equipped with 20-megapixel BSI sensors for capturing genuinely high-quality photos.
Ricoh’s G900 II and G900SE II cameras aren’t just being called “industrial” devices for the sake of marketing spin by the manufacturer. They’re actually built for serious use by people working in construction, mining, industrial manufacturing, disaster relief and field healthcare situations.
Their intended users also obviously include NGO workers in the field, police agents and plausibly, military personnel.
Obviously, with the kinds of build specs entailed by these kinds of field users, these cameras are also perfect for outdoor adventurers who want quality photo performance combined with unusually robust resilience.
For these kinds of needs, something like a Sony Alpha camera just isn’t going to cut it, or be worth risking considering its price.
This is where the new Ricoh cameras come into play: They include specs for solid photographic performance and combine them with a level of ruggedness that goes well beyond what most compact or other mirrorless cameras offer.
Essentially, they’re the kinds of devices you might take on a rafting trip down some roaring jungle river, or on a caving journey slathered in mud and crud.
Starting with their photographic performance, the Ricoh G900 II and G900SE II both include a backside-illuminated (BSI), 20-megapixel CMOS image sensor that outputs extremely sharp, clear high-resolution images with strong dynamic range and extremely fine light sensitivity. These sensors offer a light sensitivity of up to 25,600 according to Ricoh.
Both cameras also come with multiple scene modes (a total of 18), built-in flash, a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000, and several different drive modes Including one-shot, self-timer, continuous shooting, burst, and manual continuous shooting modes.
Their Autofocus specs also aren’t too bad, offering a contrast detection system, tracking AF, single-shot AF, Continuous AF and Face Detection as well.
The compact lenses on the cameras deliver a 5x optical zoom and a 28-140mm focal range.
On the other hand, both cameras can shoot only in JPEG formats with no RAW option, which is a slight downside.
The two cameras also offer up to 6.5GB of internal memory and support additional storage via SD/SDHC/SDXC card.
In terms of their physical build specs, the G900 II and G900SE II are particularly impressive. Ricoh truly has built them to endure a lot.
Both cameras are waterproof right out of the box down to a depth of 65.6 feet or 20 meters for up to two hours of use and also resist being splashed by corrosive chemicals (alluding to their potential use in industrial, manufacturing and medical settings).
The cameras also feature a protective reinforced glass element over their lenses and other robust protections to key parts of their functional design.
Additionally, they’re fully dustproof, capable of withstanding drops of nearly 7 feet and can endure temperatures of down to -10 °C (14° Fahrenheit). They can also handle crushing by a weight as high as 100 kilograms or 220 lbs.
Considering all the specs that the G900 II and G900SE II share, you might be wondering what the difference between them is. It’s mainly in their connectivity specs.
The SE model of the two offers support for Bluetooth and wireless LAND connections while being compatible with NFC cards.
This makes it a more agile device for wireless, high-speed data transmission to a wider range of other devices and “security-enhanced Enterprise WiFi systems” during field use according to Ricoh.
On a final, digital security note, both cameras also feature a password-protected camera lock function that lets their owners keep them protected against intruders and thieves during high-security uses.
The G900 SE II offers further security features that include system data management security functions while being used with the internal intranet of a facility.
Ricoh has even given the two cameras a Memo function that lets users send photos from the cameras with text and audio messages attached.
This same Memo function can also be used to tag specific photos with notes for easy search via the G900 II and G900SE II’s LCD screens.
Ricoh’s G900 II and G900SE II are also usable as webcams while attached to a computer and even come with six LED lights in a ring around their lens housing for illuminating small objects during shooting and recording.
Ricoh is releasing the G900 II and G900SE II compact cameras in late August and September respectively. The G900 II will retail for $799.95 and G900SE II (with additional connectivity and data security features) will go for $899.95.
