Ricoh Announces G700: a Rough, Tough Camera for Wannabe CSIs

Ricoh G700

Ricoh recently presented the G700, a new and updated version of its waterproof camera. Although it's still very similar to the G600, the G700 has got a fair bit tougher, and is shock resistant to 2 m, waterproof to 5 m, and has been tried and tested to all kinds of standards (including US military standards).

The technology used in the G700 is very similar to the G600. You'll find a 28-140 mm periscopic lens and a casing with a very particular design, including strange-looking big buttons that have been carefully designed to make the camera easier to handle when wearing gloves. It does, however, seem to have got a little bulkier, announced at 41 mm thick, although this could also be due to the new CIPA standards for measuring cameras, which now take into account the grip handle.

The changes are mainly updates, with the sensor upped to 12 Megapixels, and the same excellent 3-inch display with 920,000 dots now able to automatically adjust its brightness in relation to the surrounding lighting conditions. There's also an electronic level and 720p HD video.

What's really changed in this model is its level of resistance, and the G700 is armed with plenty of official standards to prove it. It's shockproof to 2 metres (MIL-STD 810F standard), even while in operation, it can take photos at up to 5 metres underwater for up to two hours (class 8 JIS/IEC), and it's dust resistant (class 6 JIS/IEC) and cold resistant to -10 °C. Plus, the G700 is chemically resistant to ethanol and hypochlorous acid (found in disinfectants) and can therefore be used in sterile environments. This will certainly prove very useful to expert investigators (think Gill Grissom). Professional users will also be pleased to see guaranteed compatibility with SD WORM (Write Once Read Memory) memory cards, which can record data once and once only and don't allow any of the stored files to be changed or deleted (required for court-admissible evidence). You can even set the camera not to work with regular SD memory cards for extra security.

As far as general consumers are concerned, the G700's spec is nothing special and a Panasonic FT2 would very probably do a better job. However, users who regularly take pictures in hostile conditions will find Ricoh's certified standards very reassuring. We just think it's a shame the G700 is only compliant with the shock-resistance guidelines set out by the MIL-STD 810F standard, as this US military standard also covers several other domains.

The G700 is up for release in September and is likely to cost somewhere in the region of £400-£450 (TBC). That's certainly pricey for a camera that doesn't even have a stabilisation system!

Note that Ricoh has had the particularly bad idea of recycling a product name it's already used, as the Ricoh G700 was actually a printer many moons ago. It's not the first time we've seen manufacturers use the same or very similar product names: remember the confusion between the Panasonic Viera G10 and Lumix G10 or the Canon Ixus 300 and Ixus 300 HS? Couldn't Ricoh think of anything more original?

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