Ricoh HZ15 Introduced With 16x Optical Zoom And Ultra-Wide Lens

Ricoh has announced the availability of a new compact digital camera, the Ricoh HZ15. With the new camera comes a high optical zoom rate and ultra-wide-angle lens, as well as a shake reduction mechanism it compares to a CCD-shift system. Although the pricing hasn't yet been revealed, Ricoh says the camera will be available sometime next month.

The ultra-wide-angle lens has a focal length range from 24mm to 360mm, allowing for optical zooming up to 15x, as well as a macro mode that can take images as close up as three centimeters. The sensor allows for 16-megapixel images, and stabilization comes from a "state of the art" shake reduction system said to be similar to a CCD shift setup.

Then there's the video recording functionality, with the resolution going up to 1280 x 720p at 30 frames per second / 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. There's a dedicated video recording button on the camera for rapid accessibility, and videos are stabilized using Movie Shake Reduction that handles shaking, such as what might result from a hand-held recording.

The LCD is large at 3-inches and features 230,000 dots. The design, meanwhile, is said to have been made for both comfort and ease of use, with glossy black making up the body and a textured grip being in place for handling. It isn't entirely clear whether the battery is user replaceable or not, with Ricoh saying it is an in-body system that offers "mobile phone style" charging.

As far as software goes, the HZ15 comes with 20 scene modes for still images. Finally, the camera is also compatible with Eye-Fi wireless SD cards for wireless image and video transfer.

SOURCE: Photography Blog