Ricoh has put rumours to rest by formally announcing the WG-50 waterproof compact camera. Up until today, a handful of leaked press shots of the model had been floating around the internet, but there was no word on any specs.

Now, the company has confirmed the model, as well as exactly what it will be packing when it arrives towards the end of next month.

And what that is appears to be pretty much the same as the existing WG-40, a camera announced back in 2015 but only intended for the Japanese market. The spec sheet shows it to be essentially be a rebadged WG-40 with some very minor changes, the main difference being that it's available to a wider audience.

The WG-50 combines a back-illuminated 16MP sensor, one that operates up to ISO 6400, with a lens that offers a focal range equivalent to 28-140mm in 35mm terms. As on previous models, this optic has six macro LED lights around it for close-up illumination, and also to indicate when a face has been detected in the Self Portrait Assist mode.

Like the WG-40, the new model maintains its protection underwater to a depth of 14m, with Ricoh claiming that it will continue to operate for up to two hours in such conditions. It’s also shockproof from a height of 1. 6m, freeze-proof down to -10oC and crushproof against up to 100kgf.

The camera appears to use the same 2. 7in LCD with 230k dots as the WG-40, and this is primed with an Anti-Reflective Coating to help keep it visible in all manner of conditions.

Other features include Full HD video recording and an interval timer, together with a 1cm minimum focusing mode for macro shooting.

So what exactly is different? Well, there’s the Outdoor View function that originated on Pentax-branded models to help the user quickly boost the rear display’s brightness. The Mermaid and Mermaid Movie shooting modes have also been re-named as Underwater and Underwater Movie respectively. And that appears to be it.

The WG-50 will ship with a macro stand as standard, although it will follow previous models in being compatible with a range of additional accessories

The news comes just a week after Olympus confirmed the TG-5 Tough camera, the first camera in the line the sport 4K video recording.

The WG-50 will be available at the end of June in black and orange finishes.

2017-5-25 03:00