Ricoh Imaging has announced the latest model in their WG line of compact cameras for outdoor use.

As one might expect from a rugged camera that’s built for adverse conditions, the Ricoh WG-50 will be waterproof to a depth of 14 metres (for up to 2 hours), shockproof against falls from 1.6 meters, can stand up to 100kg pressing down on it, and should work down to temperatures as low as -10ºC.  The back comes equipped with an outdoor-friendly 2.7″ LCD screen with an anti-reflective coating for when being used in bright sunlight, and boasts a handy quality-of-life Outdoor View Setting mode – which sets the optimal screen brightness level for a given lighting situation, for when the user isn’t in a situation where they can play with the settings too easily.

On the inside, the WG-50 is armed with a back-illuminated CMOS sensor paired with a ‘high-performance’ imaging engine which they say will deliver a images with an approximately 16.0 megapixel resolution at sensitivities up to ISO 6,400. This is backed up by some 3 different stabilising functions, to help its users snap sharp, clear, high-resolution images in tough situations. Video can be shot in qualities up to Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels).

Other handy features include Hand-held Night Snap mode, which automatically captures several images of the same night-time scene and combines them to reduce shaky details, white-balance optimisation in the Landscape shooting mode and six macro-lights on the lens barrel to assist with close-up shooting.

The lens itself is a five-times optical zoom with a focal length of 5-25mm (28-140mm in 35mm terms), with an Intelligent Zoom function that promises to extend the zoom range to approximately 36x without damaging image quality.

Underwater mode

Underwater and Underwater Movie shooting modes are programmed to optimise colour and contrast, based on the data of images actually captured under the water. These modes work by enhancing the shades of red which are lost in underwater photography, while effectively compensating for the loss of contrast caused by the diffusion of light in water. During Underwater mode, the Flash Off + Flash On option, allows the user to consecutively capture two images — with a single shutter release — one without flash and another with flash.

The Ricoh WG-50 will be available in late June this year in orange and black, priced £249.99.