RICOH’S GRII IS BACK… WHILE STOCKS LAST!

RiCoH HAS BEEN busy with Pentax products of late so we haven’t seen much under its own brand, but the good news for Australian fans is that the GRII highend digital compact is back. Australian distributor C.R. Kennedy & Co. has secured some stock of the popular compact, but we suggest that, if you really want one, you don’t wait too long.

The GRII is the last model in a long and illustrious line of Ricoh high-end compact cameras, both 35mm and digital, and it’s currently available at $779. It has a slimline magnesium alloy bodyshell that’s built around a 16.9 megapixels ‘APS-C’ format CMOS sensor which is mated with an all-glass 18.3mm f2.8 prime lens (equivalent to 28mm). The sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 100 to 3200 with extensions to ISO 25,600, and images can be captured as RAW files (in the Adobe DNG format) or as JPEGs in one of four sizes. There’s a choice of multi-zone, centre-weighted average and spot metering patterns and a full set of ‘PASM’ exposure control modes. The timed shutter speed range is 300 seconds (yes, five minutes) up to 1/4000 second (plus both ‘B’ and ‘T’ settings for longer exposures), and the built-in flash has a metric guide number of 5.4. The GR II is also compatible with various Pentax on-camera flash units which can be attached via its hotshoe to give TTL auto flash exposure control. Continuous shooting is at 4.0 fps for both RAW and JPEG capture with burst lengths of ten or 999 frames respectively. Autofocusing is via contrast-detection measurements with nine zones, auto tracking and face detection.

Other notable features include a selection of 17 special effects modes (including HDR Tone, Clarity, Vibrant and Bright), a built-in ND filter, a multiple exposure facility, a choice of auto bracketing function (exposure, effects, dynamic range, white balance and contrast), WiFi with NFC connectivity, and in-camera RAW-to-JPEG conversion.

For more information visit https://pentax.com.au