Ricoh has announced its first ruggedized action camera, the WG-M1. Sporting a compact design, the camera looks like a miniature flashlight. Add in the robust orange body and the top mounted 1.5-inch LCD surrounded by a round watch like circle and the WG-M1 is one of the strangest (and coolest) looking action cameras around.
As you might expect with the WG-M1’s tank-ish build it’s designed to take some punishment. Users will be able to drop the WG-M1 from six-feet without having to worry about damage as well as taking the camera 32-feet underwater or into below freezing conditions in -10° Celsius. While adventure seekers are taking the camera underwater they can also switch the camera to a narrower 90-degree field of view mode.
The WG-M1 also sports a 14MP sensor coupled with an ultra-wide-angle 3mm f2 fixed focal length lens. The lens is effectively 17mm in terms of full-frame equivalence and it captures a 160-degree angle of view for still images. When capturing 1080p 30fps video, the camera will narrow this wide field of view to 135-degrees in order to add electronic shake reduction. The camera can also shoot 60fps video at 720p or 120fps slow motion at standard definition.
The action camera also includes integrated stereo microphone and built-in Wi-Fi to offload flies. Plus there’s a strip of adhesive on the WG-M1’s body letting users quickly mount the camera to a surface such as a wall or surfboard. The WG-M1 will be available in October for $299.95. Check past the break for more images and video of the WG-M1
