Ricoh CX1

A decent digital camera can now be picked up for about £150. At twice that – and in a recession – the Ricoh CX1 comes in against stiff competition. There are good reasons for the weighty price tag, however.

In use, the CX1 captures the appeal of an old 35mm film camera. The button layout is balanced, almost instantly familiar and the camera is beautifully made and well proportioned. It’s light but sturdy and has an abundance of stylish retro charm, and it’s smooth and pleasurable to use. It’s not just a chic artefact, though – the pin-sharp 3in colour screen at the rear gives just a hint at the camera’s digital capabilities.

A nine-megapixel camera with 7x optical zoom (it is capable of going from 28mm to 200mm in film camera terms) and, as well as its versatility in this respect, the CX1 performed brilliantly in different lighting conditions and environments. The image processor that the Ricoh uses to handle light exposure settings and white balance helped to generate images that were consistently sharp and, perhaps more importantly, had a pleasing warmth about them.

The CX1 was easy to use and connected effortlessly with both our test PC and Mac computers. Simple enough for a beginner to use in minutes, this is a seriously impressive, versatile piece of kit and it has another party trick – it records video at 640x480 pixels, which, while it’s not high definition, was an impressive enough resolution to look good on a video-sharing website.

The CX1 takes SD memory cards, including the newer high-capacity SDHC format of card, though as with most cameras one is not supplied and so it’s necessary to factor that into the purchase price (they are available very cheaply online from any reputable retailer, or on the high street).

For a penny under £300, it would be nice to have an SD memory card included in the pack but this is a small gripe against what is otherwise a top-quality camera for someone thinking of turning a passing pleasure into a serious hobby.