Ricoh CS1 Has Funky Features, Nice Sensor

The folks at Wired are applauding the low 9-megapixel count in Ricoh’s new CX1 camera, and for good reason: It actually has some solid specs instead of the arguably meaningless pixel overload we saw in the last round of digicams. At the core is a CMOS sensor — the kind of technology usually reserved for DSLRs — bringing with it a couple of interesting features. The first is Dynamic Double Shot mode, which takes two photos with different exposures and combines them into one optomized image. The other is a 120 frames per second continuous shooting function, though that one is only availalbe in 640 x 480 resolution. Other perks include Multi-Target AF (which takes seven pictures in a row at different focal distances) and Multi-Pattern Auto White Balance. The CX1 will be in stores on March 13 for £300 in the U.K., but it’s not known how the price will change in the states. [DPreview via Wired]