The Ryobi RP4200 Digital Camera is a semi-compact camera that comes with a convenient carry pouch that can be placed on a standard belt (though not a tool belt). It is quite rugged-looking and has a thin aluminum-styled plate on the rear which surrounds the buttons and LCD screen. There are also aluminum-styled protective plates around the buttons and on the top of the camera. The buttons are oversized and easily activated with gloved hands (we tested this out thoroughly, feeling that a jobsite camera should include this feature lest it demands special treatment). It’s part of the Ryobi Tek4 system of tools. The included 1GB SD card fits easily into the left side of the camera and the entire chamber is sealed with a rubber gasket affixed to the hinged door. This is also the location of the USB connection which can be used to read images from the camera, but cannot be used to charge the battery. Should you ever forget to load the SD card, the camera does include 64MB of internal memory – plenty of room for at least a dozen high-resolution photos.
Ryobi RP4200 Digital Camera Features
There is no viewfinder on the Ryobi RP4200 digital camera, so all pictures will need to rely on the LCD screen. It seemed that this was the likely reason the LCD is of a super-bright intensity with a somewhat oversaturated quality. Vertical off-axis viewing of the LCD screen is poor, so you’ll want to avoid over-the-head shots where you can’t see the LCD screen head-on. When we used this camera for outdoor shots, the results were good, though a tad overexposed. For indoor shots, we felt the flash did an above-average job of lighting the area and it was effective at much larger ranges than you find with most point-and-shoot products. The fact that this camera is waterproof at up to 1 meter means that you won’t have to baby it should you get caught in the rain – another great feature for real-estate agents or those taking jobsite photos year-round.
The menu system on the Ryobi digital camera is easy to use and, while not convenient for on-the-fly use, the camera can be configured for specific white balance and ISO modes. There is a VERY handy time lapse feature that can snap photos in 5 minute, 15 minute, or 1 hour increments. This is more than cool if you are documenting a project or build-out. A self-timer is also available and can be set to 2, 5, or 10-second delay. About the only thing we thought was odd was the nature of the shutter button. It is more or less recessed within a rubber surround. The idea is to prevent it from accidental use; however we felt that it was a tad too difficult to activate – even when you really wanted to take a picture. More than once we found ourselves attempting to crush it with a gloved hand in order to make it function. Taking everything into account, this is an overall excellent product for use by anyone who wants durability in a feature-rich package.
