Ricoh's RR530 is the cheapest 5-megapixel camera we've seen. The lack of rechargeable batteries adds to the price, but the soft case is a welcome inclusion. The design is a little bland, but everything we'd expect is in place, including a 3x optical zoom, 1.8" LCD screen and optical viewfinder.
The controls are fairly basic, with just four scene modes and no direct control over shutter speed and aperture. ISO, metering, exposure compensation and white balance options are included, along with more unusual ones such as saturation and sharpness. However, it's disappointing that only the flash mode, self-timer and zoom have dedicated physical controls. It would have made sense for the up and down buttons to control exposure compensation when they're not busy with menu navigation.
Outdoor photography was impressive. Colours looked natural and detail was sharp, although image noise was evident in darker parts of pictures. Exposures were generally well balanced but a strong backlight confused the camera, even when using spot metering. Indoors, photos were less impressive. The flash performed well at close range but even at two metres subjects began to look underexposed. Without the flash, pictures were generally dark and grainy, and the auto-focus often failed to lock on to the subject. Artificial light gave shots a nasty yellow tint, which didn't disappear completely when we switched to tungsten white balance mode.
At this price it's unfair to be too critical, and in many of our image tests the RR530 held its own against pricier cameras. However, spending £134 on Nikon's CoolPix 5600 will get you significantly better image quality.
System Specifications
5 megapixels (2,560x1,920 pixels), 3x optical zoom, 12MB internal memory, SD slot
Author: Ben Pitt
Computer Shopper Online