Ricoh announce Caplio R1V

4 January 2005 16:18 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Ricoh has launched the successor to the Caplio R1, the Caplio R1V. The new model is a 5 megapixel camera with a 28mm wide-angle lens offering 4.8x optical zoom all within a 25mm thick body.

Like previous models the R1V promises the world's fastest shutter response. It also promises a 1cm wide macro mode and a weight of just 150 grams.

It takes less than 0.8 seconds for the Caplio R1V to be ready to shoot photos after it is turned on. Moreover, the release time is almost instantaneous—as short as 0.05 to 0.1 seconds, calculated from the time the user presses the shutter button, and a miraculous 0.003 seconds or less from the time the focus is locked.

Ricoh are also hoping that a the cameras ability to either run off a rechargeable Lithium ion battery (not included) or AA size batteries will appeal to those looking to always have power. Not that you'll need to worry, on a full charge Ricoh are promising as many as 500 images from the rechargeable and 200 images from a set of AA batteries.

The Caplio R1V will be available in retail from February. However Ricoh are still to confirm a price.