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Ricoh Caplio RR660
Price: £129.99

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 09/10/2006
Featured in magazine:
Issue 144
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Ricoh
Tel: 020 8261 4000
Web Address: www.ricoh.co.uk


Now that most people carry a simple digital camera around in their pockets, built in to their mobile phones, the case for building cheap and cheerful digital cameras is becoming harder to make. However, most phones are still peaking at two megapixels – can Ricoh's value contender, with six megapixels and cut-down features, fulfil a need that camera phones aren't yet sophisticated enough to meet?

Features
With a capacity for taking 6-megapixel shots, the Caplio RR660 hasn't skimped on resolution. The rest of it is basic, however – you can swap between movie and still mode, and choose from a handful of automatic settings such as landscapes, portraits, bright light and sports shots, but there's barely any scope for getting in there and fiddling with the deeper settings. For many people this may be enough though – how many times have you manually altered the shutter speed or white balance settings on your current digital camera?

Performance
Like most digital cameras, the Ricoh takes decent enough shots outdoors in good light. Inside, we found it difficult to strike a balance between using the flash, which washes out pale subjects if you get too close, and turning the flash off, which left the shutter open too long and resulted in streaky blurring. The camera also feels somehow unresponsive. It isn't – we tested it by timing pictures with a stopwatch – but although the shutter opens and the snap is taken, the camera offers little feedback to let you know what's happened, which leaves you wondering whether you've taken a picture or not.

Ease of use
Because of the reduced number of features, the camera is very simple to operate – you can barely do anything more than point it and snap. However, the lack of feedback we mentioned above adds a layer of mystery to its operation, which makes initial operation feel clunky. It also makes it tricky for more experienced photographers to improve their results by altering the settings, which some people may find frustrating.

Value for money
In terms of megapixels, this is about as good as you're likely to get for this kind of price, but it isn't alone in its class. Because of the lack of features you might feel a little short changed, but if you're looking for something ultra simple, perhaps to buy for someone with absolutely no interest whatsoever in the workings of a camera, then it should suffice. Experienced snappers will certainly want more for their money, but they'll probably also have to pay for it.

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