Review: Ricoh R10 camera

In terms of looks, Ricoh's R10 camera follows on from earlier models in the R series.

It is particularly reminiscent of the recent R8, which sought to move towards a more flowing, curvy design compared with the more boxy R-series cameras that came before.

It has a metal body, which gives it a sturdy feel and, although it's by no means one of the smallest digital cameras, it's relatively slim at 26mm.

There's a large 3in screen on the rear of the camera, along with a row of buttons for navigating the menus. Those menus are clear and easy to use on the bright screen.

Instead of having lots of modes accessible by a wheel at the top, the wheel only switches between Easy, in which everything is automatic, and Scene, in which you can use the menus to select a scene (the menus give a bit of explanation of what each mode is for, such as night shots).

As with previous models the R10 has a 7x zoom lens, which gives it a good range while still being easily portable (so-called super-zoom cameras have longer zooms, but are a little bigger).

As is common on recent cameras the R10 has both face detection and vibration correction. It's a 10-megapixel camera and picture quality was generally impressive. Although we found the colours perhaps a little washed out that will be down to personal taste.

Generally, the R10 is easy to use and is capable of impressive pictures. The long zoom lens is a definite plus point, particularly as it doesn't greatly increase the size of the camera. True, this isn't exactly a pocket model (unless you have big pockets) but it offers a good balance between portability and features.

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