Ricoh GX100 Caplio ...... a little gem of a camera

I have had my eye on a second-hand Ricoh GX100 Calipo that was on sale at my local London Camera Exchange for a few weeks. Last Friday I took the plunge, went and had a hands on look and bought it.
Now this camera came out in 2007 and was around for about 18 months before Ricoh introduced the GX200 with some additional specs. Soon after launch it won several awards for its handling, but that was 5 years ago. The photographic world has moved on a a long way since then. So, how does it stack up today.
Ok, so lets get the negatives out of the way first, and there is one. The sensor is a tad noisey, even at ISO 80, at ISO 400.... hmmm its not brilliant especially by 2012 standards.
So why spend money on a 5 year old camera with a noisey sensor. Simple .... the lens. 24mm f/2.5 with 3x optical zoom and as a sweetener the camera came with a 19mm conversion lens, hood and adapter and a removable EVF viewfinder. Now thats a wickedly wide angle set-up for a compact camera, even by 2012 standards. In 2007 expect to send around £450 or more for this kit. Serious money, and more than an entry level DSLR was then. My G10 and G12 have 28mm f/2.8 5x zoom lenses. The Ricoh and converter lens is seriously wide in comparison.
Another big plus is the size of the camera. It has all the bells and whistle of most prosumer cameras, inc manual focus and exposure, yet its palm size, lightweight but feels robust. It is a little slow locking on to focus and exposure settings, but so is the G10.
Here's another plus. It shoots in RAW too, though the buffer is slow. (Well it was 2007 when this was launched)
Due to the rubbish weather we have had over the weekend, I have not ventured out much to test out the camera properly, but I have been pleasently surprised with the few pics I have taken as test shots. With its wide angle capabilities, even without the conversion lens, I can see this camera accompanying the Powershot twins on many a foray into street and city photography.
Oh and a note on digital noise. It has been said ........ "Better to have a noisy image than a blurred image!", and I couldnt agree more, 90% of the time, especially in B & W.
As far as full camera specs go, the Ricoh site has all the blurb, so I won't attempt to duplicate them here.
Playing around with the controls and setting after reading the extensive manual, I now have the camera set up for how I shoot. There's a control wheel and function button that can be customised with a range of options, plus there are 2 customizable settings on the mode dial. That's a lot now, and almost unheard of on a compact camera back in 2007. (Yes I did read the manual cover to cover!!!!).
That leads me nicely on to a real positive quirk that I think I have found. the lens adapter has a 43mm thread for filters. Unlike  other zoom lens cameras that I have, the GX100 lens retracts a bit to zoom, and extends to go wide. This ass about face action has a real benefit (I hope). My Cokin filter holder should sit nicely on the adapter allowing me to use the filters that I loved using on my Olympus OM1 film SLR without any vignetting that would be present with the wide angle setting on most cameras. I knew I would find a use for these again some day, especially the polorizer and grads. They are so much easier than Photoshopping. The adapter is on order so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will fit.
Anyway, I am praying for some better weather, a 43mm Cokin adapter and will up date once I get out and start taking a few more shots.
..... to be continued.