Ricoh HZ15 – Review

Ricoh HZ15 is a compact digital camera from the camera body lightweight, easy to carry and made with great attention to detail. Among the technical, specifications stand 15x optical zoom with wide-angle lens equivalent to 24 mm, the large 3-inch LCD display, the mechanical image stabilizer with vibration reduction and the ability to create video clips in HD resolution. The camera also has a CCD sensor with 16 megapixels and 20 scene modes preset to suit any occasion.

Ricoh HZ15: Design

The Ricoh HZ15 is a compact camera designed very straightforward and simple, with discreetly assembled body but with a certain feeling of fragility, especially in some of the buttons. The form factor is easy to handle, thanks to a slight side handle. On the back has a classic 3-inch LCD display and a resolution of 230,000 dots. The size, finally, are 108.5 mm in width, 60 mm height and 31 mm in thickness, for a weight of 203 grams, including battery and card, and only 181 of the body.

Ricoh HZ15: Features and Functionality

The Ricoh HZ15 is a digital camera the size very compact and perfect for those who approach for the first time in the world of photography, thanks to its fully automatic settings. But if from the point of view of the specifications and functionality is not a particularly powerful, it is noted for being the first compact from which the brand Pentax disappears after the acquisition of the latter by Ricoh.

An analysis of the specific technical details, this camera is based on a CCD image sensor, 1/2, 3 inches in size and with a total resolution of 16.44 megapixels to 16 megapixels and effective. It also has 15x optical zoom. Digital zoom 6XE about Ricoh branded lens that has a focal length of 4.3 to 65 mm, equivalent to 24-360 mm in the traditional format 35 mm and a maximum aperture of f3.3-f5.9.

Regarding the features of Ricoh HZ15, the most important is the image stabilizer, mechanical, Shake Reduction, which compensates for movements of the machine returning sharp images even when flickering. Go, then, mentioned the ease of use of this machine, surely destined to users who are not very familiar with the field of photography and settings, and then you want to get good photos with minimal effort.

The camera has a large number of scene modes, to go to cover all situations, but also to provide the user with the special effects and funny distorted. There is also a panorama mode, which allows you to capture a single picture which will then be connected to each other forming just one panoramic photo.

The shutter speed is not very high, but it’s still a compact entry-level, and manages to capture one frame per second in normal mode. The camera also has a macro mode that allows you to get to 3 cm from the subject.

As for the photo quality, the Ricoh HZ15 allows you to take pictures in JPEG with a maximum resolution of 4,608 × 3,456 and video clips in MOV format, reach a maximum resolution of 1280×720 pixels, and HD. As for the rest of the specs, the camera has a sensitivity with values ​​ranging from 80 to 1,600 ISO, autofocus, integrated flash, the function of face detection, red-eye reduction and various functions for optimizing the picture.

As for saving your photos and videos, the CX2 is equipped with an internal memory decidedly sparse, only 8 MB, fortunately expandable via memory cards Secure Digital or SDHC card. There are, finally, the USB port for connecting to other devices, and the video output AV. The rechargeable battery lets you take up to 245 pictures per charge and record up to 215 minutes of footage. The package includes, finally, the battery, the AC / DC adapter, strap, USB cable and CD-ROM with the software.

Conclusion

The Ricoh HZ15 is a compact camera entry-level, value-priced and perfect for those who are fasting in photography, but is distinguished by being the first of the new era was born from the merger between Ricoh and Pentax. The camera is almost completely automatic and is primarily characterized by the high zoom and a wide-angle lens that starts at 24mm.

The rest of the specifications is the average of other compacts at the same level, and also the quality of pictures, and it’s nothing special. It is especially perfect for those who want a high zoom ratio and want to upload the pictures on the Web.