Over the past few days, We have reviewed the CX1 for its major features and functions as a secondary camera to a serious compact. The credentials of any point-and-shooter to qualify it as such are:
» pricing (cheaper enough to save the serious compact in rougher conditions like when raining or hiking at night with gear around)
» the lens' range of focal length (preferably 24 to 200mm; anything beyond 200mm is okay if the differences in price and optical quality are slight)
» the degree of manual controls
Responsiveness and portability of the camera are assumed and therefore left out from the above criteria.
I have been using the CX1 for around two months. The shutter count is 600. There is not one shot failed in focusing or exposure, save for the suspected issue I mentioned about the lens retraction at 135mm after determining the focus. But whether this is a bug issue or simply a coincidence is to be explored further. At least the problem is more noticeable for insufficiently lit subjects only.
Now it is time to round up my verdicts.
The Good
Manual Controls: The CX1 is of the pedigree of Ricoh's higher grade cameras in terms of functionality, which is of course offered at a reduced fashion. Take for example, the white balance correction can only be done via in-camera post-processing instead of application to the image at the time of shooting. That's fair to me. The customisable Fn, quick menu and MY settings are not ornamental but really work. The elbowroom to tune the EV, flash output, slower shutter speed and minimum aperture is good news for serious compact users, who are mainly control freaks like me.
Lens: The 28mm widest focal length is without little barrel distortion. The longest zoom at 200mm offers sharp (but cannot be said crisp – well this is a P&S after all) optical quality in images as we saw yesterday. I haven't noticed any flare issue. Anything beyond 200mm is not usually necessary under most shooting occasions. And I bet that the users will find composition awkward with a longer zoom lens except for special works, say, photographing birds. I would be wise about money and probably get the CX1 instead of the CX2 or a camera of other brands with a similar longer lens.
Ergonomics: The quick menu and the customisable functions add to the smooth ADJ jog stick to give a fairly pleasant user's experience. The camera may feel a wee bit oversized for a lady's hand (but depending on how big or small the hand is) but just right for most men. The built is solid. The CX1 can require the thumb and the index finger only to operate. It is a responsive beast in terms of start-up and focusing.
Image Quality: Good enough up to ISO400. As we saw in the bushwalking post, the CX1's images fare quite well even up to ISO1600. The multi-segmented white balance is a gem of the camera, successful in reducing whiteout areas in the images. The DR function is very useful for pushing up the EV coverage for the more contrasty scenes, making the final images look better overall.
Others: There are other functions I haven't tested, mainly, the array of continuous shooting and focusing modes. The skew correction mode and the test mode are inherited from the GRDs and GXs, which have been proved useful. The electronic level is what you will wish for in every camera. The 920k LCD display is in the class of Sony's A850, about which Ricoh is really generous. The display is coated with a anti-grease paint, which really save it dirty finger prints even after almost two months by now.
The Grief
There is not really much I complain about the CX1. Two tedious points.
First, the arrangement of modes on the Mode Dial should be improved, which is Auto, MY1, MY2, Video, Scene, Easy (Fire-and-Forget shooting), Continuous, DR (,back to Auto).
Since the digital macro and skew correction options are inside the Scene mode, which are more commonly used than the DR mode, the Scene mode should be swapped with the DR. In this way, the users can be spared repeated turning of the dial from one end (Auto) to another (Scene). After all, those who use the Easy mode is less likely to bother about turning the dial to use other modes. And the DR mode is used for specific scenes and on a tripod. It is usually selected before powering up the camera. Therefore, the chance of users turning from other modes to the DR mode is minimal.
Second, the tripod mount is integrated with the door to the battery/ card slot. When dismounting a tripod, the door will be accidently opened. It happens all the time.
Another minor point is that the CX1 retains the mechanical characteristic of Ricoh's camera: a more audible noise of the camera's mechanical operations. It is not loud enough to be a nuisance. But just in case you're new to Ricoh, now you know.
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