[CarlG]

Nice colours.

[lithedreamer]

If they ever release a version with A or S or M modes, I'd certainly consider it. My wife is looking for a 'go-everywhere' camera after her Fuji disappeared.

[gaweidert]

Lets not overlook the importance of these types of products. A couple of years ago I bought a WG2. I wanted something small but rugged to take with me on a Big Horn sheep hunt. Over the last couple of years I have found I have taken far more pictures with this camera than my K-10. (which I plan on upgrading from). I realize the limitations of the WG series in comparison to even my K-10, however the convenience of having it with me, and not worrying about the elements makes up of some of them.

Additionally now that I work in heavy construction I frequently need to be able to take pictures on the jobsite. I have found the rugged nature of these cameras to be a great benefit. ( 100 feet in the air in a manlift with 20 MPH winds the tether is comforting). For me as well the digital microscope feature has been very handy. (capturing numbers on flanges at awkward positions and poor lighting).

In fact I have probably recommended a WG series camera to more people than a K series body. living in Colorado, and working construction, a robust, reliable camera can be more of a useful tool than a superior but bulkier body.

Ask yourself this, "will more people who think they want to get into photography buy Pentax because of the K mount systems, or because they have seen and used their less expensive point and shoots and been impressed with them" ?

While I have a few wishes that I hope Pentax fulfills, I will not complain when they roll out new products, but will wait until I find the one I want. Until then my K-10 still proves to be sufficient for my needs.

Shuie,

You hit the nail right on the head with your comments. There are several uses for cameras that have nothing to do with making great works of art. Images convey information and these cameras are great for that. They are handy, take up very little room, weigh next to nothing and can capture images under a wide range of circumstances.

[ogunturkay]

Here are the official specsheets:

RICOH WG-30

RICOH WG-30w

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Last edited by ogunturkay; 10-11-2014 at 01:24 PM.

[Uluru]

Shuie,

You hit the nail right on the head with your comments. There are several uses for cameras that have nothing to do with making great works of art. Images convey information and these cameras are great for that. They are handy, take up very little room, weigh next to nothing and can capture images under a wide range of circumstances.

It is true.
But it is also true that apart from these uber small sensor rugged compacts that practically go unchanged for years, there is no other compact camera in the company's range worth mentioning. I presume the last GR was a hit above the usual low-bottom-end line this company is used to supply for.
Or, the GR was the only real compact camera innovation worth mentioning in the last 4 years of both companies. In the meantime, all other manufacturers have total changed the landscape and expectations of that market.

[monochrome]

It is true.
But it is also true that apart from these uber small sensor rugged compacts that practically go unchanged for years, there is no other compact camera in the company's range worth mentioning. I presume the last GR was a hit above the usual low-bottom-end line this company is used to supply for.
Or, the GR was the only real compact camera innovation worth mentioning in the last 4 years of both companies. In the meantime, all other manufacturers have total changed the landscape and expectations of that market.

One thing at a time. The market will still be there tomorrow and so will Ricoh.

[ElJamoquio]

WG-30 is not on my radar. I note the WiFi only in the context of this camera possibly serving as a test bed for the technology, which might surface in the -Sx series some day. GPS might show up unexpectedly in something else - then start appearing in mid-range and up dSLR's. My bet is tethering (remote control) will be cabled for flagships and eventually Wi-Fi with browser for mid-range. I imagine we'll eventually see the O-FC1 was a quick and dirty (and inexpensive) bridge while Ricoh developed its own tech in-house.


We should always remember that not only must Ricoh catch up with it's product competitors, it must catch up with a target that is still moving forward. Sometimes the best way to do that is just work on whatever the entire market will deliver in three years, deliver it in two years, and accept you are behind for a while

The only way I would purchase one is if I could replace my GPS unit with one.

Personally I can't believe they'd take out GPS in an 'adventure-proof' camera. This is one of the last bastions of the P&S market, and Ricoh is one of the leaders, but they just don't cater as well as they should.

[JPT]

It is true.
But it is also true that apart from these uber small sensor rugged compacts that practically go unchanged for years, there is no other compact camera in the company's range worth mentioning. I presume the last GR was a hit above the usual low-bottom-end line this company is used to supply for.
Or, the GR was the only real compact camera innovation worth mentioning in the last 4 years of both companies. In the meantime, all other manufacturers have total changed the landscape and expectations of that market.

I think this kind of camera is simply updated when the contractor that makes them decides to update the stock design. I don't think it has a lot to do with Ricoh (or Pentax before that).

I completely agree with your point about Ricoh's compacts. Sure, the GR has done well, but that's just one camera in years. What has happened to their history of making photographer-friendly compacts? Sorry to link to the other site, but this page makes it depressingly clear how the Ricoh line-up has been slashed since the Pentax acquisition.
Ricoh Cameras: Digital Photography Review
In fairness, Ricoh did just release the G800, but DPR hasn't added it yet.

I hope we see something interesting soon. Ricoh does have a history of announcing GRs and GXRs in Oct-Nov.

[rburgoss]

FEATURES | GALAXY S4 zoom

Guys, don't fall into the belief that the competiton for compact p&s cameras is other cameras of the same "niche", but rather the main competition comes from SMARTPHONES. This devices long ago surpassed their basic need which was "telephone" to become a comunication device with the capability of taking pictures and videos, and instant sharing via social networking, cloud storage or mms apps like whatsupp.

It is cameras like the WG series the type of image capturing devices that will survive the always increasing image quality capacity of newer smartphones, and its by offering features not available with phones like better image quality, underwater usability, ruggedness, extreme temp operation, optical zooms and now, establishing a conectivity protocol with useful features with your existing smartphone.

Ever since the appearance of the Optio WP about 10 years ago, I've had ( and still have) the WP, WPi, WP30 and WG-II. I do know they will never match or even approach the IQ of even my *istD, but they have been the most useful cameras for traveling and for shooting under contition no one would even dare ta carry along a DSLR, nor attempt to take pictures under such conditions.

At the swiming pool, at the lake, river rafting, ocean cruises during a storm, heavy rain, 4wheeling in mud, sailboat, surfing... you name it. Those are all conditions the not even a new WR body like the K3 with any of the WR lenses, will survive, even less take pictures except doint it from " away" from the beach, the river bank or other protected spot, BUT NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACTION, which is perfectly possible with any of the WP /WG series from Pentax (now Ricoh).

It won't be long until smartphones offer about the the ruggedness, waterproofing and IQ as today's WG cameras. By then this cameras or other with similar features, will survive the market as long as they keep upgrading features and improving specs that the future smartphones do not.

Comunications protocols and technology is improving every day. What today takes 1 minute to transmit or receive by data phone ( G3-G4), in two years will be done in 5 seconds. Who knows, probably the ultimate feature to add to a camera like the WG30, is a fully operational an fully featured smartphone.... Wait, someone is doing that "from the other side of the fence". Look at this smartphone / cameras at the link beggining this post (available since about two years ago).

WG-II, one of amout 4 dozen underwater pics of my grandchildren, with the piece of mind of NOT worrying about my gear getting wet, stolen.....

[Uluru]

I think this kind of camera is simply updated when the contractor that makes them decides to update the stock design. I don't think it has a lot to do with Ricoh (or Pentax before that).
I completely agree with your point about Ricoh's compacts. Sure, the GR has done well, but that's just one camera in years. What has happened to their history of making photographer-friendly compacts? .. In fairness, Ricoh did just release the G800, but DPR hasn't added it yet.
I hope we see something interesting soon. Ricoh does have a history of announcing GRs and GXRs in Oct-Nov.

G800 was announced before Photokina and is one of those tough, uber small sensor industrial-type cameras, for use in construction, mining, dangerous environments etc. It fits the rugged compact philosophy that company pursues. But for the more optically sophisticated compact cameras, I hope they did not sacrifice everything for the sake of Q system? Q, no matter how cute, is not as compact with a lens on, nor as sophisticated nor optically brilliant as the last GR is.

I mean, Nikon has almost blew them out of water with the Coolpix A. And Nikon was not even serious about it. We already know Panasonic / Leica did not sleep at all, and together with Sony and Canon they have practically redefined the idea of a future compact zoom, large sensor compact camera. But anyway ...

[TomE]

I have a WG-1 and a W30, the WG-1 is far more rugged, but the W30 takes far sharper photos for some reason at the same ISO. Interesting that the 7.1Mp camera seems to take better photos than the 14Mp camera, but that is why I rarely take the WG-1 with me in hostile weather.

[rburgoss]

I have a WG-1 and a W30, the WG-1 is far more rugged, but the W30 takes far sharper photos for some reason at the same ISO. Interesting that the 7.1Mp camera seems to take better photos than the 14Mp camera, but that is why I rarely take the WG-1 with me in hostile weather.

You are not alone on this one. In my case, I fing the IQ of the WP at 5 mpix, far superior in detail, noise level and DR than the pics coming from the WGII at 14 mpix. Both of them have same size sensor (1/2.33") and I know in both cases, pixel count is by software interpolation. That is probably why the WGII being 8 yrs younger, gives worse results. Pentax simply blew up the pixel count through software interpolation, beyond reasonable pixel density effectiveness.

Tomorrow I will shoot some test pics with both for comparison. I'll post results in this same thread.

[Uluru]

You are not alone on this one. In my case, I fing the IQ of the WP at 5 mpix, far superior in detail, noise level and DR than the pics coming from the WGII at 14 mpix. Both of them have same size sensor (1/2.33") and I know in both cases, pixel count is by software interpolation. That is probably why the WGII being 8 yrs younger, gives worse results. Pentax simply blew up the pixel count through software interpolation, beyond reasonable pixel density effectiveness.

Tomorrow I will shoot some test pics with both for comparison. I'll post results in this same thread.

This is perhaps the same reason why 10 years old Minolta A1 with its humble 5MP beats my original 12 MP Pentax Q in clarity at below ISO 400.
Q simply cannot compare — humble A1 delivers superior images. I am willing to bet that 4-6 MP is ideal for tiny sensors and everything above introduces more compromises than needed.

[LensBeginner]

The design of ruggedized cameras by Ricoh/Pentax is by far the most sexy...
No gps is surely a letdown...
When I go trekking however I always log a track with my smartphone, so it's enough for me to sync the clocks at the beginning and then use gpicsync or somesuch.
This could, however, be limiting when you don't have a ruggedized phone, e.g. in a snorkeling trip.