Thinking madly about buying CX1

[pdrhan]

Dear members
Please guide me,i have now read a lots of review about the CX1 , some shows wonderfull pictures and some states that above ISO 80 it sucks due to noise...i´m formerly used Nikon D40 and now wants to have a smaller camera only for vacation taking pictures for P&S - i have in here read an review with some photos attached the camera had taken in Japan - and these pictures was outstanding....please guide me , will it be a good travelling companion?
For me it looks very nice....but is the noise really such a great issue in this camera?
rgds Peder/CPH-Denmark

 

[Marana]

I have a CX1, and yes, it does have some noise. But I find I prefer noise to blur, and so many cameras on the market today have so much blur. The biggest drawback I see to the CX1 is the noise reduction, which can't be turned off. It tends to smear your photos at higher iso, so I find this really isn't a low light camera. A flash or tripod is a must at parties or night photos, but during the day everything works great, and the macro mode works really well.

I wonder, Pavel, if Ricoh can be convinced to let the user turn off or on noise reduction for their CX1 cameras, like they do in their higher end ones? It would greatly increase the desirability of the camera, and should be able to be done via a simple firmware update?

 

[pdrhan]

Thanks for your reply - i have been looking around for a nice P&S and after looking at photos taken with CX1 , they look really good - i have an old Canon powershot A95 which also takes great photos - how is the CX1 compared to canon?

 

[Marana]

Well, I have an old Canon A540 that I love as well, it takes excellent pictures still to this day, five years after purchase. I've tried many of Canon's newer offerings, and haven't been pleased with a single one of them. Blurry low light performance, that's what bothers me. I would say that my old Canon and my newer CX1 run neck and neck for quality, but the CX1 has some features my Canon doesn't, like image stabilization, very little blur (noise instead,) 2 shot dynamic range mode, etc. The Canon has fully manual controls, though, and that's hard to beat. Aperture priority, Shutter priority, all the niceties they keep removing from their new lineups. If you would like to see some Canon images, look at my Ireland set on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marana/set ... 124252745/ Most of these were taken with my Canon A540.

Anyway, although it's really too early to produce scientific results, as I'm too groggy to do it, I tried anyway to show you direct comparison of same shots out of both cameras.

 

[pdrhan]

Thanks - looks nice , i´m really hooked in getting the CX1 , its very difficult to compare , i think...

 

[Marana]

Hmmm.... did you see my direct comparison photos? I see my reply to you, but the photos that were attached to my post no longer seem to be there. Did you see them?

 

[Marana]

Kitchen test shot.

Maybe I hit some sort of board limitation. I'll post my direct comparison images into two separate posts then. Here's the kitchen test shots - very similar.

 

[Marana]

Family room test shot

There was a greater difference in these shots. I had to increase exposure by +1 in the Canon to get it to expose similarly to the default exposure in the Ricoh.

 

[pdrhan]

Yes i have seen them - i think im convinced to buy the cx1 - it looks nice and photos seem ok to me , as i said - i will mainly use it for vacation shots and also some indoor for birthdays etc....

 

[lensman]

I have a CX1 [which I use alongside my GRD2] and I must say how pleased I am with performance of of this camera.

My son uses a Canon A620, and if I "compare" photos taken, the CX1 just has the edge in quality/colour.

Plus of course, the CX1 also has the DR mode, which really does work [as long as you use it on a static subject]

Hope this helps in your choice.

David

 

[pdrhan]

Yes compairing these 2 images from living room , the Ricoh shots are much more crispier and clear than the other one...i think i´m convinced to choose ricoh cx1....

 

[odklizec]

Hi Peder and welcome on board! While CX1 is nice camera in its class, I would suggest you to consider also CX2, which is much easier to hold because of better grip, it's a bit (noticeable) faster in all operations and the miniature mode is not only fun to use, but it's actually useful See my comments here...
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3391
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3393
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3534

BTW, considering previous CX/R releases, there is a big probability of soon appearance of CX3! If nothing else, you may expect CX1/CX2 price drop. I think it's good idea to postpone your purchase for few days/weeks?

 

[pdrhan]

Thanks for your reply - i have the chance of getting the cx1 second hand for approx 225 USD it is only 1/2 year old....

 

[Marana]

BUT, Popflash.photo has Ricoh CX1 kits BRAND NEW for $199 US - you can see them here:
http://www.popflash.com/index.php?p...arent=39&mid=0&search_in=all&search_str=&pg=2

 

[pdrhan]

Then i have to pay import tax also from these 199 USD , so i do not think its worth going for it....

 

[pdrhan]

Finally i got my CX1 today - WOW , just tried some closeup macro and some other pics , brilliant! Think i already fell in love with this little camera - and it was actually much smaller than imagined! GREAT!
It will follow me EVERYWHERE!

 

[CHICHORNIO]

I have the same set like Lensman (GRD2 & CX1), and I would say that I´m very happy with them too. GRD2 is for "more" serious shotting situations, CX1 for everyday use, but the quality of the second one is quite excellent if you keep your jpeg unprocessed in camera (no strong settings, no +/- EV, no forced white balance). I´ve made medium size prints from the CX1 after I´ve processed the picture in Silkypix, and they look superb. Good luck with the decision.

 

[pdrhan]

Thanks! I have read in an review that these settings should be very good:
contrast +2
sharpening -1
colordepth -1
is this correct?

 

[pdrhan]

Here´s a photo of my lovely whooly puppy dog Simba , a relaxing Lhasa Apso dog a saturday afternoon
- taken first day with my CX1...

and a quiet afternoon walk in Oerestad Copenhagen Denmark...

 

[Marana]

Very cute dog photo, good job.