My Excellence: Ricoh PX Brief

Preview based on a pre-production PX running firmware 1.2

Ricoh's history of making waterproof cameras dates back to before it was a mainstream product segment. When only a couple of models were available, Ricoh regularly offered industrial-grade waterproofing and shock-proofing, with its products being certified to various military and national standards.

Now, of course, few manufacturers would feel its lineup were complete if it didn't include a moderately drop-proof, lightly submersible camera, so it's interesting to see Ricoh's response to this. The PX's specifications put it squarely in this everyday, do-everything compact category - with its waterproofing down to 3m (10ft) and impact resistance for drops up to 1.5m. Its 5x zoom lens, offering 28-140mm equivalent focal lengths, is also pretty standard for the class, as is its 2.7" 230,000 dot display.

What's not so familiar, in this class, is its understated appearance. While this particular example might be lime green, it doesn't shout about its resilient credentials. Instead it's an innocuous-looking, aluminium clad compact camera. The only real giveaway is that its lens doesn't extend when it's switched on. Instead it has a periscope-style lens with an image-stabilized sensor sitting at one end of it. The result is a camera that doesn't suddenly look out-of-place when you return from your adventurous holiday.