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The Ricoh CX3 is the latest premium compact camera to offer a back-illuminated CMOS sensor. Cast your mind back a few months to the launch of the Sony HX1 and WX1 snappers and you may remember them getting “mad props” for their superb low light performance – well, that was down to Sony’s Exmor R back-illuminated sensor, and now Ricoh has stuffed something similar into its own camera. Does it deliver in the dimness? Find out in our full Ricoh CX3 review.
Yes, the Ricoh CX3’s 10-megapixel is back-illuminated, which makes it more sensitive to light than a regular camera sensor. That means it can snaffle up sharper shots when there isn’t much available light around and you don’t fancy using the flash. This, coupled with some pretty effective noise reduction tech, makes the CX3 one of the niftiest cameras around when it comes to low light results.
If you’re the sort that loves to roam the streets at night snapping away, or wants to take photos at gigs without attracting the ire of flash-hating security guards, you’ll appreciate the Ricoh CX3’s flashless results. You’ll also like the decent range of the zoom lens (10.7x optical zoom) and the built-in anti-shake tech to counter unsteady hands.
There are other nice touches too, including an electronic spirit level to aid framing and a built-in dynamic mode, which takes two exposures very quickly and merges them together to deliver a shot with detail in both shadows and bright areas – sort of like an integrated HDR mode, albeit one that doesn’t deliver the eye-popping degree of dynamism evident in real HDR. Also, take a shot at a wide angle and the camera will automatically adjust the picture to edit out any barrel distortion.
There’s also the ability to film 1280 x 720 movies, adding the Ricoh CX3 to the ever increasing list of compact cameras capable of capturing HD video.
All this goes into making the Ricoh CX3 an easy camera to use, as does the fantastically bright, clear and sharp 3-inch screen. One thing it does lack when compared to some of its rivals is the ability to shoot in RAW – the Canon G11, for instance, manages to feel more like a serious photographer’s camera than the CX3 despite its roughly similar price tag.
It’s also a bit of porker compared to some rivals. Like the G11, it’s just a little too large to sit comfortably in a trouser or inside jacket pocket. Other than that, the Ricoh CX3 is a mightily impressive compact camera with great performance and versatility.
