Amid a summer of new releases, Ricoh has just announced another two cameras, its most heavy-duty industrial models to date.
Developed for use on harsh job sites in industries such as construction, manufacturing, medicine and disaster relief, the G900 II and G900SE II replace the original Ricoh G900.
Like the recent Pentax WG-8 and WG-1000, both cameras are waterproof down to 65ft / 20m for up to 2 hours of continuous operation. They are also dustproof, shockproof against falls of 6.8ft / 2.1m, resistant to temperatures as low as 14°F / -10°C, and crushproof to weights of up to 200lbs / 90.7kg.
The main difference between these two new models and the WG series is that they are resistant to certain chemicals.
Both the G900 II and the G900SE II have been designed to be "highly resistant" to such chemicals as ethanol, "or the sodium hypochlorite chlorine dioxide solutions used as fungicidal food additives." This makes them suitable for various roles in healthcare and manufacturing.
What distinguishes the models comes down to connectivity. While both include a GPS module that attaches GPS data to images, the SE model also supports Bluetooth and WiFi connections with added compatibility with NFC cards.
Ricoh says the SE is also suitable for use in high-security environments, such as institutions, local governments and the police.
The user can restrict the use of the camera's operations by locking some of the functions, including camera access, menu access, internal memory viewing, USB connection, SDWO card usage and WEB service access. It also has a dual password function, whereby two people can use the device and only have access to their side of it.
There don't appear to be any upgrades to the camera technology itself compared the original G900, as both cameras use the same 20MP 1/2.3" sensors and have 6.5GB of internal memory. The only change seems to be a slight reduction in weight, as the G900 IIs both weigh 242g (with battery and card) compared to the 252g of the G900.
The Ricoh G900 II will be available in late August for $799.95 (approximately £630.56 / AU$1,220.70), with the G900SE II following in September for $899.95 (£709.38 / Au$1,373.29).
Take a look at our guides to the best waterproof cameras, the best action cameras, and the best underwater housing for cameras and phones.
