Say hello to the Ricoh HZ15 16MP 24-360mm compact superzoom

Ricoh will soon be rolling out its shiny new Ricoh HZ15, a 15x compact superzoom serving up a generous 24-360mm equivalent zoom range.

Back in October 2011, Ricoh bought up the long-serving Pentax brand, and this new camera certainly gives a few design nods in the direction of their Optio compact range.

Priving hasn’t been announced but it’s looking like it’s aimed at the casual snapper market to us, coming with a 16 megapixel CCD sensor, 720p HD video, 3″ LCD and sensor-shift ‘SR’ shake reduction.

Available from the end of September 2013, it’s been reported as a Europe only release.

Here’s the press release for your delectation:

RICOH IMAGING COMPANY LTD. is pleased to announce the launch of the RICOH HZ15 digital compact camera, featuring a compact, lightweight, easy-to-carry body; a high-magnification optical 15-times zoom lens; and a large 3.0-inch LCD monitor.

This new model has a host of outstanding features, including an optical 15-times zoom lens with 24mm ultra-wide-angle coverage, high-resolution image capture with 16 effective megapixels, a large, easy-to-view 3.0-inch LCD monitor, and a sophisticated SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism. In addition, meticulous attention has been paid to every design detail, from the high-grade, glossy black coating to the easy-to-hold grip, enhancing the HZ15’s functional operation and stylish appearance.

Major Features

1. Optical 15-times zoom lens with 24mm wide-angle coverage
   Within its compact, lightweight body, the HZ15 features a powerful optical 15-times zoom lens covering focal lengths from 24mm wide-angle to 360mm super-telephoto (in the 35mm format). Thanks to this extra-wide zoom range, the HZ15 can capture beautiful images in a wide range of subjects and scenes — from spectacular landscapes to fast-action sports events. It even offers macro photography at a minimum focusing distance of just three centimetres from the subject.
2. State-of-the-art shake reduction mechanism
   The HZ15 comes equipped with an innovative CCD-shift-type SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism to deliver sharp, blur-free images even under camera-shake-prone shooting conditions, such as when photographing in the telephoto range, in the dark with only incidental light, or for sunset scenes.
3. Exceptional image quality
   With 16 effective megapixels, the HZ15 captures well-defined, high-quality images with extra-fine resolution. It also records beautiful HD-quality movie clips (at 1280 x 720 pixels).
4. Stylish, easy-to-hold body design
   Every design detail of the HZ15, including the finish and texture of the camera body, has been optimised for comfort, quality and operability. These include a glossy black coating on the body, an easy-to-hold grip, and functionally laid-out control buttons and switches.
5. Large 3.0-inch LCD monitor
   The HZ15 features a 3.0-inch LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 dots. This large monitor provides a clear view of images and menus, so the photographer can quickly and efficiently check the captured images and menu settings.
6. 20 Scene modes for easy capture of specific subjects and scenes
   The HZ15 provides 20 distinctive Scene modes to automatically optimise all shooting settings for a given scene or subject. With a simple choice of the icon corresponding to the desired Scene mode, this handy feature allows the user to take beautiful images with minimal effort.
7. High-resolution, HD-quality movie recording with push-button start
   The HZ15 captures beautiful, HD-quality movie clips (1280 x 720 pixels, 16:9 proportions, approx. 30 frames per second).* Thanks to an independent movie recording button on the camera’s top panel, the user can instantly switch to the movie recording mode from any other shooting mode. The user can also take advantage of the sophisticated Movie SR (Shake Reduction) mode to minimise annoying camera shake during movie recording.
   * When the HZ15’s AV output terminal is used, movie clips are output as normal image-size data. If the user wishes to play back movie clips at HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels), the data must be transferred to a personal computer for playback.
8. Other features
   ・In-body recharging system, for simple, mobile-phone-style battery recharging
   ・Compatibility with Eye-Fi wireless LAN SD memory cards
   ・Image viewing, editing and filing software included: MediaImpression 3.6.1 LE (Windows version compatible with Windows 8) and MediaImpression 2.2 LE (Macintosh version compatible with Mac OS X 10.8)

   Design and Specifications are subject to change without notice.

   Pricing and availability:
   RRP: TBA

   Available from: end September 2013