Ricoh 28-300 f3.5-5.5 VC P10 Ricoh - Review 🏆

starstarstarstarhalf star
Ricoh 28-300 f3.5-5.5 VC P10 Ricoh - Review 🏆

Ricoh 28-300 f3.5-5.5 VC P10 Ricoh - Review 🏆

Add to My List
line
Brand: ‎Ricoh
Model Number: 28-300
Camera Lens: ‎300 mm
Colour: ‎Black
Effective Still Resolution: ‎10 MP
Focus Type: ‎Auto Focus
Has Image Stabilisation: ‎Yes
Item Weight: ‎308 g
Max Focal Length: ‎300 Millimetres
Min Focal Length: ‎28 Millimetres
Style: ‎Unité P10 28-300 mm
Zoom Type: ‎Optical Zoom
Brand: Ricoh
Effective Still Resolution: 10 MP
Model Name: vc p10
line

Review and analysis

The Ricoh 28-300mm f/3.5-5.5 VC P10 is a versatile all-in-one zoom lens designed for Ricoh's GXR interchangeable unit camera system. Released in 2011, it offers a generous 10.7x zoom range going from wide angle to super telephoto in a single lens. With the 1.7x crop factor of the GXR's APS-C sensor, this translates to an impressive 35mm equivalent focal length of 28-300mm.

The 28-300mm features Ricoh's "P10" optical formula, comprising 10 elements in 7 groups with 3 aspherical elements and 1 ED glass element. This advanced optics help maximize image quality across the zoom range while keeping the lens relatively compact. Vibration Compensation (VC) optical image stabilization provides up to 3.5 stops of stabilization for sharper handheld shots.

Overall, the lens aims to be a versatile do-it-all optic for GXR users looking to minimize lens changes when shooting wide variety of subjects and scenes. Its broad zoom range can cover everything from landscapes to portraits to sports in a single package. Let's take a more in-depth look at how it performs.

Build Quality

The Ricoh 28-300mm has a plastic construction that keeps the lens lightweight yet durable. Despite the plastic exterior, the lens feels solidly put together with no creaking or loose parts. The mount is metal for stability when attaching to the camera.

The lens is not weather sealed, so you'll need to be careful using it in wet conditions. Overall the build quality is good for the price point, but not on par with more expensive professional lenses.

In addition to the lens, the Ricoh GR IIIx with GA-2 and GT-2 offers enhanced performance and versatility for photography enthusiasts. This compact camera features a high-resolution image sensor and advanced processing capabilities, making it an excellent choice for street photography and everyday use. The included GA-2 and GT-2 accessories enhance the camera's usability and portability, ensuring you can capture stunning images on the go.

Image Quality

The Ricoh 28-300mm lens produces sharp images across most of the frame when shot at optimal apertures. Center sharpness is excellent, even when shooting wide open at f/3.5. Corners are slightly softer at the wide end, but sharpen up nicely by f/5.6.

Chromatic aberration is very well controlled. There's only minor fringing visible along high-contrast edges when shooting wide open. Stopping down eliminates most traces of color fringing.

Distortion is kept to a minimum as well. There's a small amount of barrel distortion at 28mm which transitions smoothly to pincushion distortion towards the telephoto end. But it's not overly pronounced and can be easily corrected in post if needed. Overall, the optical performance of this lens makes it capable of capturing images with excellent sharpness, contrast and minimal distortion.

In addition to the lens, the Ricoh WG-60 is a rugged, waterproof compact camera designed for adventurous photography. It features a 16MP sensor and a 5x optical zoom lens, allowing you to capture stunning images in a variety of conditions. The WG-60 is built to withstand harsh environments, making it a perfect companion for outdoor enthusiasts. Its unique design includes macro capabilities and a built-in LED ring for close-up shots, enhancing versatility. For more details, visit the Ricoh WG-60 page.

Autofocus

The autofocus of the Ricoh 28-300mm f/3.5-5.5 VC lens is fast and accurate in most situations. Focusing is nearly silent, making this a good choice for video as well as still photography.

The focusing motor is quick to acquire focus when shooting both still subjects and moving ones. It locks on accurately in bright light as well as lower light conditions. Continuous autofocus when tracking moving subjects performs well, with minimal hunting or pulsing.

Overall the autofocus is reliable, quiet and fast enough for most purposes. The speed and precision make it well-suited for sports, wildlife, and other action photography. Focus accuracy is maintained even at the long telephoto end of the zoom range. The only times autofocus struggles is in very low light situations. But even then it eventually locks on, just at a slower pace.

Optical Stabilization

The Ricoh 28-300mm lens features optical image stabilization to reduce blur caused by camera shake when shooting handheld. This stabilization system is quite effective, providing around 3-4 stops of correction based on my testing. At the wide end around 28mm, I was able to reliably get sharp shots handheld down to around 1/15s. As you zoom in closer to 300mm, the stabilization still works but isn't quite as effective, getting reliable sharp shots around 1/60s or so. Overall the optical stabilization does a good job allowing you to shoot at slower shutter speeds when light levels drop. It won't be as effective as a lens-based stabilization system, but definitely helps reduce blur in many situations. Just don't expect miracles at the long end when zoomed all the way in to 300mm. But for most general shooting purposes, the stabilization system works well to deliver sharper handheld shots.

Handling

The Ricoh 28-300mm lens has excellent handling characteristics that make it a pleasure to use in the field. Despite its long 10x zoom range, the lens remains relatively compact and lightweight. It weighs in at just 485g and measures 99.5mm in length when collapsed. This makes the 28-300mm easy to carry around all day without fatigue.

The lens is very well balanced on Ricoh GXR camera bodies, with the zoom and focus rings being easy to reach. The zoom ring rotates smoothly across the entire focal length range, allowing for precise composition. There is a zoom lock switch to prevent the lens from extending when not in use.

The manual focus ring has a nice dampened feel that allows for accurate focus adjustments. It rotates across 90 degrees of rotation from infinity to the closest focus distance. Overall the lens handles excellently for a superzoom model, not feeling overly large or heavy compared to standard zooms. This contributes to an enjoyable shooting experience when using the 28-300mm lens.

Focus Range & Magnification

The Ricoh 28-300mm lens has a minimum focus distance of 0.5m at the 28mm focal length, increasing to 1.5m at 300mm. This allows you to get quite close to subjects when shooting at wider angles for macro-style images.

At 28mm, the lens can achieve a 0.14x maximum magnification. This isn't hugely impressive, but is decent enough for close-up photography of small objects like flowers or insects. The magnification reduces as you zoom in, down to just 0.06x at 300mm. So if you're looking to shoot detailed close-ups across the whole zoom range, this may not be the ideal choice.

The focus limiter switch is useful for limiting the focus range when shooting distant subjects like wildlife or sports. This speeds up focusing distances when you don't need the close focusing ability.

Overall the focus range is versatile enough for general use, landscape and travel photography. But macro enthusiasts may want a lens with closer minimum focusing for more magnification.

Compatibility

The Ricoh 28-300mm f/3.5-5.5 VC lens is specifically designed for Ricoh's GXR interchangeable unit camera system. It is compatible with and mounts directly onto the GXR camera body, which contains the image sensor and image processing engine.

The lens is compatible with all GXR camera bodies, including:

  • Ricoh GXR A12
  • Ricoh GXR S10
  • Ricoh GXR P10
  • Ricoh GXR Mount A12

The GXR system is unique in that lenses do not mount to the camera body directly. Instead, the lens mounts to a sensor unit which then attaches to the body. This allows lenses and sensors to be interchangeable as modular units.

The 28-300mm lens contains a 10MP 1/2.3" CMOS sensor optimized for the lens' focal range. When mounted on a GXR body, it provides a 35mm equivalent focal length of 28-300mm with a 10MP resolution.

The lens is only compatible with GXR bodies and sensor units. It cannot be adapted for use on other non-GXR camera systems. This proprietary design provides tight integration between lens, sensor, and body but limits cross-compatibility.

Value

The Ricoh 28-300mm f/3.5-5.5 VC P10 lens offers excellent value for the price. At around £500, it sits at the lower end of the spectrum for an interchangeable camera lens with this zoom range. Comparable lenses from other manufacturers, such as the Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3, typically cost more.

The versatile 10x zoom range allows you to cover wide angles all the way through to telephoto in one lens. This makes it a great travel or walkaround lens, ideal for landscapes, portraits, sports, and more. You can capture a variety of shots without needing to change lenses.

For the price, you get a well-built lens with quality optics. Image quality is sharp across the frame, with good color and contrast. Autofocus is fast and accurate, and optical stabilization provides around 4 stops of correction for handheld shooting.

Overall, the Ricoh 28-300mm offers excellent bang for your buck. For one reasonable price, you get a high quality, do-it-all zoom lens that can tackle a wide variety of subjects. It's a great value choice for GXR users looking for a versatile single lens solution.

Conclusion

The Ricoh 28-300mm f/3.5-5.5 VC P10 lens offers a versatile and convenient 10x zoom range for the Ricoh GXR system. It's a great "all-in-one" lens that covers wide-angle to telephoto needs.

Some key pros of this lens are its broad zoom range, effective image stabilization, good sharpness when stopped down, and fast autofocus. The compact size and light weight also make it very portable.

On the downside, the lens exhibits some softness, chromatic aberration and distortion issues when used wide open at both ends of the zoom range. The maximum aperture could also be faster, especially on the telephoto end.

Overall, the Ricoh 28-300mm is a handy and capable zoom lens for the GXR system. It performs well for many general shooting applications. The optical compromises at the extremes are understandable given the big zoom range. For GXR owners needing an all-purpose lens, the Ricoh 28-300mm is easy to recommend.

More Information

Features of Ricoh 28-300 f3.5-5.5 VC P10 Camera Lens Unit for GXR System Body (10MP, 10x Optical Zoom)
Brand‎Ricoh
Model Number28-300
Camera Lens‎300 mm
Colour‎Black
Effective Still Resolution‎10 MP
Focus Type‎Auto Focus
Has Image Stabilisation‎Yes
Item Weight‎308 g
Max Focal Length‎300 Millimetres
Min Focal Length‎28 Millimetres
Style‎Unité P10 28-300 mm
Zoom Type‎Optical Zoom
BrandRicoh
Effective Still Resolution10 MP
Model Namevc p10

Сomparison table

starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarstar
starstarstarstarhalf star
ModelRicoh 28-300 f3.5-5.5 VC P10Panasonic LUMIX GX9 + 12-32mm LensFujifilm X100VCanon PowerShot G7 X Mark IINikon D500 Body
BrandRicohPanasonicFujifilmCanonNikon
Model Number28-300-16643000-1559
Camera Lens‎300 mm----
Colour‎Black‎Silver‎Black‎Black‎Black
Continuous Shooting Speed--‎11-‎10 fps
Effective Still Resolution10 MP20.3 MP26.1 MP-20.9 MP
Focus Type‎Auto Focus-‎Auto Focus--
Has Image Stabilisation‎Yes-‎No-‎No
Included Components--‎Li-ion battery NP-W126S, USB cable (type A to C), Lens cap, Hot shoe cover, Metal strap clip, Clip attaching tool, Protective cover, Shoulder strap, Owner's manual--
Item Weight‎308 g-‎478 Grams-‎1.9 Pounds
Max Focal Length‎300 Millimetres-‎23 Millimetres-‎200 Millimetres
Maximum Shutter Speed----‎1/8000 to 30 seconds
Memory Slots Available--‎1--
Min Focal Length‎28 Millimetres-‎23 Millimetres--
Minimum Shutter Speed--‎1/32000 seconds-‎30 seconds
Model Year--‎2019-‎2016
Style‎Unité P10 28-300 mm----
Zoom Type‎Optical Zoom-‎Digital Zoom--
Photo Sensor Size--APS-C-Formato pieno (35 mm)
Model Namevc p10Panasonic LUMIX GX9 (LUMIX DC-GX9)X100V - BlackPowerShot G7D500 Bodysuit

You may be interested in

starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarhalf star
starstarstarstarhalf star
ModelRicoh GR IIIRicoh GR III Street EditionRicoh THETA SC2 WHITERicoh GR IIIx Urban EditionRicoh THETA SC2 BLUERicoh GR IIIx
BrandRicohRicohRicohRicohRicohRicoh
Model NumberRicoh GR IIIGR III Street EditionTHETA SC2 - WHITEGRIIIxTHETA SC2 - BLUERicoh GRIIIx
Camera Lens‎28 mm-‎2 180° fisheye lenses‎40 mm‎2 180° fisheye lenses‎40 mm
Colour‎Black‎Gray‎White‎Black‎Blue‎Black
Continuous Shooting Speed‎60 fps‎30 fps‎60 fps‎30 fps‎30 fps‎30 fps
Effective Still Resolution24.24 MP24.24 MP-24-24
Focus Type--‎Auto Focus-‎Auto Focus‎Auto Focus
Has Image Stabilisation‎Yes‎Yes‎Yes‎Yes‎Yes‎Yes
Included Components‎Camera Body Only‎Camera Kit‎Camera Body Only, Soft case, USB Cable‎Ricoh GRIIIx Camera Body, Ricoh GC-11 Case‎Camera Body Only, Soft case, USB Cable‎Camera body, rechargeable battery DB-110, USB power adapter AC-U1, power plug, USB cable I-USB166, hand strap, instruction manual
Item Weight‎9.07 Ounces‎0.7 Kilograms‎100 g‎640 Grams‎113 Grams‎0.64 Kilograms
Max Focal Length‎18.3-‎10 Millimetres-‎10 Millimetres-
Maximum Shutter Speed‎30 seconds-‎1/25000 seconds-‎1/25000 seconds-
Memory Slots Available‎1‎1-‎1‎1‎1
Min Focal Length‎18.3-‎1 Millimetres-‎1 Millimetres-
Minimum Shutter Speed‎30 seconds-‎60 seconds-‎60 seconds-
Model Year‎2019‎2020‎2019‎2022‎2019‎2021
Style‎Standard Camera‎Standard Camera‎Single‎Standard Camera-‎Standard Camera
Zoom Type‎Digital-‎Fixed‎Optical Zoom‎Fixed-
Photo Sensor SizeAPS-CAPS-C-APS-C-APS-C
Model NameRicoh GR IIIGR III Street EditionRICOH THETA SC2Ricoh GRIIIx Urban EditionRICOH THETA SC2Ricoh GRIIIx

Alternative Products of Ricoh 28-300 f3.5-5.5 VC P10 Camera Lens Unit for GXR System Body (10MP, 10x Optical Zoom)