Ricoh R8

Sexy? Check. Small? Check. This snapper looks like a regulation compact, but what lurks beneath?

With its retro design the Ricoh offers a very generous 28mm wide-angle 7x optical zoom. Face detection's here and loads of other tweaks, but without shutter or aperture priority, doesn't offer full manual control.Ricoh's wisely avoided slapping on a touchscreen here, instead you get an exceptional high-res 2.7in screen, with bags of detail. Ricoh's adopted a joystick control, but the nodule shape make the whole experience much smoother.

Macro mode trounces others on the market, getting as close as 1cm. Pictures aren't quite as pleasing, they seem a little softer, although there's bags of detail - even in shadow areas. You can zoom in movie mode, although the staggered zoom makes for a jerky ride.

WE LOVE
Bright LCD
7x zoom
Simple controls
Design

WE HATE
Less manual control

WE SAY
If you can live without the features, the R8's a cracking, reasonably priced compact.