Ricoh Unveils the Rugged-Waterproof WG-7 Camera
Ricoh has announced the WG-7 waterproof compact camera that it touts as capable of continuously recording for two hours underwater at a depth of up to 20 meters. Ricoh also positions it as a webcam and it even comes equipped with a built-in ring light. Besides waterproof performance the tough body of this camera has a drop impact resistance from a height of 2.1 m, a cold resistance up to -10 ° C, and can sustain up to 100 kilograms of force.
Inside the 20-megapixel 1/2.3-inch sensor has a maximum ISO of 6400 and is equipped with what Ricoh calls super-resolution technology that it claims will result in clear, high-quality images with a better resolution by combining multiple images that are taken in quick succession and combining them in-camera to create an image with less blurring. It also features a handheld night view mode. That sensor is capable of capturing 4K video at up to 30 frames per second that can be stabilized with digital shake reduction.
The 3-inch, 1.04 million dot rear LCD has adjustable brightness and designed to allow monitoring in any weather condition. It also has an anti-reflective coating applied to reduce glare.
The variable 28-140mm lens (five-times zoom and focal length is a 35mm equivalent) is comprised of 11 elements in nine groups and is surrounded by six large variable ring lights that are designed for close-up photography. These are designed to allow for faster shutter speeds to reduce camera shake when photographing subjects that are close or at a very short distance away.
In addition, it has a new function that can be used as a high-quality Web camera by connecting to a PC, and it is very handy due to the built-in large-light variable ring light and the shortest 1 cm close-up shooting function, as well as the display of participating users during a Web conference. The camera is currently supported for Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, and Facebook Messenger.
The Ricoh WG-7 is available in black or red for 49,800 yen. It does not appear as though the camera will be available outside of Japan, but it may come to international markets at a later date.
More info on Ricoh’s website.
