Ricoh RDC-i700 Digital Camera Review

The Ricoh i700 is one of the first of a new breed of cameras appearing that do far more than just take pictures. Several are available like the i700, that also shoot moving pictures, capture text and record sound, but the i700 goes a few stages further. There's a built-in notepad with a stylus that lets you record and send e-mail messages and a mode to upload pictures direct to your web site using FTP software.

Features like this are bound to make the design of the camera different to the typical compact camera styling that's adopted by most digital companies. And Ricoh have reintroduced a design that was used on their first digital cameras. This flat style makes the camera look more like an electronic organiser than a camera and some will find it uncomfortable, and unfamiliar to use. I have never been a fan of this shape, but Ricoh have added a few things to make it more acceptable. For one the shutter can be fired from a release on the top or on the front. If you hold the camera at waist level, using the LCD, it's really comfortable to use the front release. If you hold the camera at eye level you would probably use the top release.

The camera has front and top releases to fire the shutter

The i700 is powered by a special Ricoh DB-30 Lithium Ion 3.7V battery, which lasts for about 30 or so pictures using the LCD in each occasion to compose and review images. It can then be recharged. A battery and charger are included in the box.

The camera is turned on using a power button on the back. It takes about six seconds before you can take a photo, which means the only way you'll get a grab shot is if it's switched on a ready for action. When turned on you have the choice of viewing using the LCD or optical finder. The optical finder has no markings and is quite dim to look through. It also has dioptre adjustment which is fiddly to set, but can't easily be knocked off the spot once set up. The LCD is large and very practical. It can be seen easily in brighter conditions and swivels and rotates making it idea for shooting from low down in horizontal or vertical format. Cameras like the Nikon Coolpix and older Agfa designs can only be used easily in horizontal format from waist level.
The monitor can also be locked back into the camera reversed so it's facing outwards making it easier to use the stylus when writing e-mails etc.

Buttons under the fold out LCD are used to set modes and navigate through menus.

When it's opened out a series of buttons are revealed. These are used to set some of the modes and navigate through menus on the LCD. In most cases you use arrows to go up and down the menus and buttons to set and adjust modes.
A smaller LCD panel to the side of the screen shows battery condition, shooting mode and number of pictures remaining.
Below this are four buttons to select self-timer, picture resolution, flash mode and storage place.

To the side of the four mode buttons is a zoom rocker that takes the lens through the 3x optical 7.3-21.9mm (35-105mm 35mm equivalent) range and extends to the 3.2x digital zoom when active. This gives an extended telephoto setting of over 300mm which you would think is a very versatile combination. The trouble is with this, like most digital zooms, you can only use it on a 640 mode, so it's often just as well to crop in on a high resolution picture later. The result will be better, but you have to record a bigger file size. The advantage of using digital zoom is that you only record and store what you want.

The zoom lens is sharp and versatile, but it doesn't have a filter thread so filters have to be held over the front.

Because of its oversized body the camera controls are all spaciously laid out and large enough to adjust with ease. To take a photo you simply turn the mode dial to the green camera icon select the resolution using the PIC button and shoot. Exposure and focusing are automatically adjusted, but you do have many manual overrides that can be set up using the Menu button on the backplate.
From here you can select auto or manual focus, date imprinting mode, flash strength, ISO speed, exposure bracketing, red-eye reduction, Tiff mode, monochrome mode, interval time, soft focus, b-setting and add a signature.

The usual mode wheel, offering various shooting modes is below this along with the shutter release.