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Ricoh Announces 10 Megapixels CX5 SuperZoom Compact with Hybrid AF

2011-01-26 12:24
Average Camera Review Rating [4 reviews]
Ricoh today announces the 10 Megapixels CX5 digital camera model which comes with its wide-angle, high magnification 10.7x optical zoom (28-300 mm) lens with a higher autofocus speed due to the use of Ricoh's new hybrid AF system.

The CX5's AF focusing times are decreased to as low as 0.2 second for both wide-angle 28 mm and telephoto 300 mm, up to half as short compared to the CX4. Using super-resolution technology, the CX5 also allows recording of images with improved resolution using the Super-resolution setting. It also enables telephoto shooting at up to 600 mm equivalent with minimal degradation in image quality. The CX5 is available from the end of February in three colors: Black, Silver, and Pink. Check out the following press announcement in more details:


Show full Press Release

Ricoh Introduces the New CX5

Offering High-speed Focus with a Hybrid AF System
Compact digital camera with 10.7x optical zoom (28-300 mm)

RICOH COMPANY, LTD. (helmed by president and CEO Shiro Kondo) will be releasing its newly developed CX5 digital camera model with its wide-angle, high magnification 10.7x optical zoom (28-300 mm) lens, which has a higher autofocus speed due to the use of Ricoh's new hybrid AF system.

With the new CX5 model, AF focusing times are decreased to as low as 0.2 sec. for both wide-angle 28 mm and telephoto 300 mm, up to half as short compared to the CX4, using Ricoh's unique new hybrid AF system. This ensures that you reliably capture the image you were waiting for, never to miss another good shot again.

Using super-resolution technology, the CX5 also allows (1) recording of images with improved resolution using the "Super-resolution" setting and (2) telephoto shooting at up to 600 mm equivalent with minimal degradation in image quality using "Super-resolution Zoom."

Furthermore, in addition to the new Cooking, Fireworks, and Continuous Golf Swing scene modes, the CX5 has improved features that make shooting photographs even more fun through the use of super-resolution zoom during Zoom Macro mode shooting and other functions. The CX5 is an even more enhanced compact digital camera that was designed based on the concept of it being "a tool that you will find yourself wanting to use every day."

Available in three colours: Black, Silver, and Pink.

1. High-speed autofocus using the unique hybrid AF system developed by Ricoh
  • Equipped with Ricoh's unique new hybrid AF system in combination with a passive AF sensor that continuously measures the distance between the camera and subject using an area sensor together with Contrast AF (a system in which the imaging elements search for the peak location for contrast on the subject and focus on that location). 
  • Enables AF focusing times to be shortened to as low as 0.2 sec. for both wide-angle 28 mm and telephoto 300 mm, up to half as short compared to the CX4 model. Ensures that you capture the image you were waiting for over the entire zoom range so that you never miss another good shot again.

2. Improved image resolution through use of super-resolution technology
  • Enables amazing photographs with high resolution to be produced using the CX5's new super-resolution technology, which discerns outlines, details, and gradations in the image automatically and processes the image based on the optimal settings for each. The level of super-resolution can be set to OFF, Weak, or Strong.

3. Super-resolution zoom equivalent to up to 600 mm in addition to the 10.7x 28-300 mm optical zoom
  • Allows a wide-angle, high-magnification 10.7x

Ricoh CX5 Sample Photos on Flickr



Ricoh CX5 Camera Reviews Roundup


PhotoReview Australia: "From a subjective viewpoint, the CX5's overall performance was almost indistinguishable from the CX4's, although its autofocusing system was slightly faster and more accurate. However, it tended to hunt when shooting close-ups of moving subjects, although it locked on quite quickly in low light levels as long as the subject was within the range of the AF-Assist light. Unfortunately, focusing accuracy declined a..." - May 12 2011 More »
GearGuide: "Image quality from the CX5's 10MP backlit CMOS sensor is generally quite good. Between ISO 100 and 400 the CX5 really shines, with a bit more detail than the typical compact, nice contrast, and just enough saturation to make captures look pleasing, but not overdone. Reach past ISO 400, and noise, and thus noise reduction, becomes a real issue, but no worse than any other small sensor compact. Chromatic aberrations a..." - May 12 2011 More »
ePhotoZine: "The Ricoh CX5 produces images that have bright saturated colour, especially when the sun is shining brightly. Noise is low at the lower ISO settings ISO100 and ISO200, however at ISO400 noise becomes noticeable particularly in bright outdoor shots where you don't expect to see noise. After this, as you increase the ISO setting, image detail and edges starts to degrade and increasingly colour is lost particularly wit..." - Mar 15 2011 More »
Photography BLOG: "Improved auto-focus speed and slightly lower price aside, there's very little reason to choose the CX5 over the 6-month-old CX4. More seriously, Ricoh's travel-zoom camera is now starting to really lag behind the better-featured competition. The 0.2 second AF speed is undoubtedly the CX5's main attraction, although we were never particularly concerned about the performance of the CX4. The hybrid system makes th..." - Feb 05 2011 More »

Ricoh CX5 Reviews Roundup [Total 4 Reviews] »



Ricoh CX5 Camera Recent User Reviews

repeated repairs!, A. Sanborn - Dec 03 2012
Bought the CX5 in September of 2011. It malfunctioned in the spring of 2012. (When I turned the camera off, the lens kept retracting and extending and retracting and extending. The only way to "turn the camera off" was to take the battery out.) Ricoh repaired it under warranty for no cost. On December 1, 2012, the camera had EXACTLY the same malfunction. I...


Good for outdoor photos., CLB - Apr 12 2012
Im not the greatest when it comes to taking photos, so I was looking for a point & shot camera with good quality pictures! I found the Ricoh CX5 takes good photos outdoors with not much effort but for indoor photos especially in low lighting you would have to play around with the setting to get it right. This camera was a little more technical then I had hoped for. I...


Look at the Silver Model, Chris Reich "Business Physicist and Astronomer" - Dec 19 2011
I posted my review under the Silver model if you're looking for more input. I also posted some sample images. This camera has some unique features. #1 is the ability to shoot intervals. Very few cameras have that feature---I know of only a couple. This allows you to set the camera to take an image every 5 seconds-5 minutes-or 1 hour---etc. You set the time. This is so cool. You can g...


Ricoh CX5 pocket camera, Eric Horner "photo nut" - Nov 13 2011
I titled this review "pocket camera" because it is way beyond "point-and-shoot." The CX5 is chock full of features that would normally be found in a much more expensive SLR, and more. Exposure bracketing, for example, although this seems to be limited to +/- 1/2 a stop (unless I didn't find the right place in the menus yet!) The list of features is bo...


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