We’ve been banging on forever that camera makers would have to get creative once the megapixel game was up. And we were right. The latest camera to add some fancy new features is Ricoh’s CX1, a great looking slimline body with a CMOS sensor of "just" 9MP.
CMOS sensors are usually found in higher-end DSLRs, and the decision to keep the pixel count low shows a commitment to image quality over marketing numbers. The back of the camera gets a hi-res screen of 920,000 dots, similar again to those found in cameras like the Nikon D700.
The camera has a few of tricks up its sleeve. The first is a rather gimmicky fast shot mode, which can burn away at a ridiculous 120 frames per second. It is limited to a resolution of just 640×480, though, so it’s really just a fancy, low-res high-speed movie mode.
Much more interesting is Dynamic Range Double Shot Mode, a feature whose name wholly describes its function. The CX1 grabs two images, one after the other, both at different exposures. It then combines them in-camera to get a single picture with a huge dynamic range — 12EV (or 12 stops). This means you can get detail in both highlights and shadows in the same shot.
It gets even better. The CX1 will also quickly grab up to seven shots, each one focused in a different place. Later you can choose just what it was that you wanted to have sharp. And using Photoshop, you could even combine them and have everything in focus, Speed Racer style.
Last is the white balance. The camera can segment the picture and apply different white balance settings for each part. This is pretty incredible if it works. The alternative with mixed light-source shots is either some color casts or some intense Photoshop work afterward.
The price will be £300. A direct conversion gives $430, but we expect it’ll be cheaper in the US as these things always are. In stores from March 13th.
Press release [DP Review]
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