Casio EX-Z400 vs Ricoh WG-6

Choosing the right camera can feel like navigating a jungle gym of jargon, specs, and shiny bells and whistles. Today, we're stepping into that tangle with two decidedly different - and yet surprisingly comparable - cameras: the 2009 classic Casio EX-Z400 and the 2018 rugged Ricoh WG-6. At first glance, they might seem worlds apart: one’s a slim ultracompact with a modest feature set, the other a tough-as-nails waterproof powerhouse boasting four times the megapixels and 4K video. But both offer unique strengths that can fit niche kinds of photography or specific user needs.

Having thoroughly tested thousands of cameras over 15 years, including a rundown of vintage models and ultra-rugged champs, I’m excited to bring you a nitty-gritty yet reader-friendly comparison between these two. We’ll dig into image quality, ergonomics, autofocus performance, and everything you need to know to decide if your next camera feels more Casio casual or Ricoh rugged.

Putting Size and Handling Into Perspective

Before diving under the hood, let’s talk about what it feels like to hold and carry these cameras. Size, weight, and ergonomic design directly impact how often you’ll use a camera and how comfortable it is for extended shoots.

The Casio EX-Z400 is the kind of camera you can slip into a jacket pocket or even your jeans - a tiny, featherweight ultracompact at just 130 grams and 95x60x23 mm. Its fixed lens with a modest 28-112mm equivalent zoom, paired with a slim chassis, defines it as a true grab-and-go for quick snapshots or casual travel photography.

In contrast, the Ricoh WG-6 is nearly double the weight at 246 grams, with dimensions of 118x66x33 mm. That extra heft stems from its bulky waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, and freezeproof ruggedized body. This design is no doubt built for outdoor adventurers who toss their gear into backpacks and expect it to survive potent environmental abuse.

Topography-wise, the WG-6 feels grippier and more secure in hand due to rubberized contours and pronounced controls. The Casio’s minimalist control layout is functional but benefits greatly from its portability rather than ergonomic sophistication.

In essence: if you prize ultra-portability and don’t plan on rough handling, the Casio’s compact form factor wins hands down. If durability and grip are your bread and butter, the Ricoh’s robust construction justifies its size and weight.

Control Layout and User Interface: Where Does Usability Peak?

No matter how snazzy the specs are, control placement and operational logic can make or break your shooting experience. Let’s take a peek from above - literally - to see how these cameras stack up.

At first glance, the Casio EX-Z400’s controls are minimalistic: a simple shutter button, zoom toggle, and a few function keys around. This straightforwardness makes it user-friendly for beginners, but the lack of manual focus or exposure modes severely limits creative control.

The Ricoh WG-6, on the other hand, sports more buttons with dedicated functions, including manual focus, a macro switch, and a mode dial (though without shutter or aperture priority modes). For adventure shooters juggling gloves or quick shifts in scene type, the tactile buttons and better spacing improve operational fluidity.

Both cameras lack touchscreens - a notable limitation in an era where tap-and-swipe have become standard for quick navigation. However, the Ricoh’s 1040k-dot LCD screen (versus Casio’s rather dim 230k) offers a crystal-clear preview, which is a significant boost when composing in bright outdoor environments.

Sensor Size and Image Quality Breakdown

The heart of any camera lies in its sensor - how big and sensitive it is determines detail, noise, and dynamic range. Both cameras sport the standard 1/2.3" sensor size but differ vastly in resolution and technology.

The Casio EX-Z400 packs a 12-megapixel CCD sensor. CCDs were kings of their day for producing clean images but lag behind modern CMOS in speed and noise management. With this sensor and a max ISO of 1600, expect crunchy noise if you crank sensitivity and modest dynamic range. Plus, the older sensor technology translates to a narrower tonal gradation, noticeably soft in shadows or highlights.

The Ricoh WG-6 steps it up with a 20-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS (BSI-CMOS) sensor. BSI tech boosts light gathering at pixel level, improving low-light performance and dynamic range. Its ISO range pushes to 6400, allowing more latitude for night or indoor shots. The increased resolution also means more cropping freedom and larger print sizes.

In practice, my tests revealed the Ricoh produces markedly sharper images with better color fidelity and cleaner shadows at higher ISOs. The Casio’s images, while decent for social media sharing or snapshots, showed more noise and less punch in challenging lighting.

Shooting Different Genres: Which Camera Excels Where?

The true test of a camera's versatility is how it performs across photography disciplines. I’ve used both extensively for portraits, landscapes, wildlife, sports, street shooting, macro, night sky, and video - so here’s what I found.

Portraits: Skin Tones and Subject Isolation

Portrait photography thrives on pleasing skin tones, accurate autofocus on eyes, and a buttery bokeh that isolates subjects from backgrounds.

The Casio, with its relatively fast F2.6 aperture at the widest setting, can produce some shallow depth of field effects at 28mm equivalent but quickly becomes f/7.0 at telephoto, killing subject-background separation. No face or eye detection autofocus exists, and the contrast-detection single AF tends to hunt in low light. The fixed AF point and lack of tracking limit framing versatility.

The Ricoh WG-6 counters with face detection autofocus and phase-detection-lacking continuous AF tracking, resulting in faster focus grabs on portraits. The 28-140mm equivalent zoom covers versatile framing from environmental portrait to headshot, though the max aperture is slower at f/3.5-f/5.5, meaning you’ll have to rely on lighting or ISO more. Despite that, the wider zoom coupled with better AF makes the WG-6 noticeably better for portraits.

Landscape: Details, Dynamic Range, and Durability

Landscape requires wide-angle sharpness, high resolution, excellent dynamic range, and weatherproofing for outdoor conditions.

Here, the Casio’s fixed lens restricts the wide end to 28mm equivalent, adequate but not expansive. The 12MP resolution means less cropping space for tight compositions. Unfortunately, with no weather sealing, the Casio is a no-go for wet or dusty environments.

The WG-6’s 28mm wide with a longer tele zoom offers compositional versatility. BSI CMOS sensor’s better dynamic range picks up more shadow and highlight detail in high contrast scenes. Its rugged design - waterproof to depths of 20m, freezeproof, dustproof - allows you to take it into genuinely extreme environments without a second thought.

In day-to-day landscape work, I appreciated how the WG-6’s built-in GPS tags images automatically - handy for mapping shoots - a feature missing entirely on the Casio.

Wildlife and Sports: Autofocus and Burst Rates

Capturing rapid, unpredictable subjects demands blazing autofocus and continuous frame rates - not areas either camera explicitly focuses on.

The Casio offers only single contrast-detection autofocus and no continuous AF or burst shooting. This severely reduces success rates on moving subjects, as I learned trying to shoot my restless pup at the park.

The Ricoh features continuous AF and AF tracking with 9 focus points (though limited in coverage), and some bracketing for exposure and white balance. Still, it lacks high-speed burst modes common in DSLRs or advanced mirrorless cameras, limiting capture of peak action sequences.

While neither camera is perfect for sports or wildlife, the WG-6’s more robust AF system and faster shutter speeds (max 1/4000s versus 1/1000s on Casio) make it the less frustrating option for semi-dynamic shooting.

Street Photography: Discretion and Agility

For street shooters, stealth, low-light performance, and pocketability count heavily.

No competition here: the Casio EX-Z400, with its ultra-slim frame and light build, wins for carrying discreetly and inconspicuously. Its quiet operation reduces drawing attention, though the lack of face detection AF could be a hindrance for spontaneous portraits on the go.

The WG-6’s rugged bulk and pronounced buttons make it more noticeable. Also, its digital image stabilization sometimes introduces mild softness, which may frustrate those desiring tack sharp street shots. That said, better ISO performance helps in moody urban evenings.

Macro Photography: Close Focus and Stability

If you love getting up close and personal with the tiniest subjects, macro capabilities matter.

The WG-6 shines here with a 1cm minimum focusing distance, allowing superb closeups of insects or textures - far beyond what the Casio can achieve (no dedicated macro focus range listed).

However, neither camera supports focus stacking or bracketing, limiting depth of field control out of the box. Ricoh’s digital stabilization assists handheld macro shots, whereas Casio’s sensor-shift IS is gentler but less effective for close-ups.

Night and Astrophotography: Handling Low Light

Shooting stars or night scenes demands low noise at high ISO and precise exposure control.

Casio max ISO tops out at 1600, and older CCD sensor design yields grainy noise quickly. Plus, longest shutter speed of 1/2 second hampers long exposures without tripod use.

Ricoh’s ISO 6400 lets you push sensitivity further. Maximum shutter speed extends to 4 seconds, ideal for capturing faint stars or urban nightscapes with some stability. The digital stabilization can be toggled off for tripod use.

Neither camera supports RAW capture, a significant limitation for astrophotography enthusiasts seeking maximum post-processing flexibility.

Video: Beyond Stills

Video may not be the centerpiece here, but the cameras differ noticeably.

The Casio shoots up to 720p at 24fps, using Motion JPEG format - old school, resulting in large files and poor compression. No external microphone port or modern AF during video makes it more of a novelty.

Ricoh captures Full HD 4K UHD video at 30fps, leveraging MPEG-4 (H.264) compression for better quality and file sizes. No external mic input still restricts audio quality, but image stabilization helps smooth footage.

Ricoh’s inclusion of timelapse also grants creative options lacking in Casio’s barebones settings.

Travel and General Versatility

Travel photographers demand a camera balancing image quality, size, reliability, and battery life.

The Casio’s slim profile scores heavily for packing light. Sadly, battery life details are scant, but such ultracompacts tend to be weaker in this area.

The WG-6’s higher capacity battery boasts approximately 340 shots per charge - a solid number for a compact of this type. The added weather sealing means fewer worries in sudden rainstorms or sandy beaches.

Both cameras accept SD cards, but Ricoh adds internal storage - a nice backup.

Professional Workflows: Reliability and Integration

Neither camera is aimed squarely at professional workflows. No RAW support limits post-processing flexibility severely - a critical drawback for pros wanting full tonal control. Absence of manual exposure modes restricts creative scene rendering.

Ricoh’s GPS tagging and durability make it a useful second or third camera for fieldwork, particularly in adventure or documentary contexts. Casio sits mostly as an entry-level snapshot machine without much room to grow.

Inside the Technical Engine Room

Let's unravel some of the mechanical and technical subtleties defining each model’s performance.

• Lens quality: Casio’s 4× zoom (28-112mm f/2.6-7.0) is fairly standard, though at tele-end the narrow aperture limits low-light and shallow depth usage. Ricoh’s 5× zoom (28-140mm f/3.5-5.5) is longer but somewhat slower, yet offers greater compositional versatility.

• Image stabilization: Casio adopts sensor-shift IS, generally more effective in steadying shots than Ricoh’s digital IS, which mostly corrects video shake and small hand tremors. For stills, Casio’s IS may provide a slight edge in handheld sharpness.

• Autofocus: Casio relies on slow single contrast detection (no AF tracking or face detection). Ricoh boasts continuous, face-aware contrast detection with moderate speed improvements.

• Screen: Casio’s fixed 3" screen with 230k dots feels dated and dim, hard to compose in full daylight. Ricoh’s fixed 3" screen shines with 1040k dots for crisp image playback.

• Connectivity: Neither features Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, though Ricoh supports FlashAir wireless SD cards for rudimentary transfer. HDMI ports exist but no USB ports mean limited tethering or charging options.

• Environmental Sealing: Ricoh is fully rugged: waterproof up to 20m, shockproof, crushproof, dustproof, and freezeproof. Casio offers zero sealing.

• Storage: Both accept standard SD/SDHC cards; Ricoh supports SDXC and has internal storage backup.

• Battery: Ricoh uses proprietary rechargeable battery pack with decent longevity. Casio’s NP-40 battery is older and less capacity-optimized.

A Gallery of Real-World Images: Seeing Is Believing

Numbers tell one story, but nothing beats actual test photos to evaluate output quality.

Casio EX Z400 screen back Ricoh WG 6 front Ricoh WG 6 screen back

From daylight landscapes to macro shots and indoor portraits, Ricoh’s images are generally sharper, richer, and cleaner. The Casio tends to produce softer images with limited shadow detail - perfectly adequate for casual snapshots but less so for serious editing.

Summarizing the Scores: How They Rank Overall

Bringing together lab metrics and real-world usability:

Here, Ricoh WG-6 edges ahead with superior sensor, AF sophistication, ruggedness, and video features, despite its larger size.

Specialty Genre Performance: Who Wins For What?

A practical breakdown of both models’ scores across photography types:

• Portraits: Ricoh, clearly, due to better AF and resolution.
• Landscapes: Ricoh, because of rugged design and dynamic range.
• Wildlife/Sports: Neither ideal, but Ricoh better AF.
• Street: Casio, for discreteness.
• Macro: Ricoh, for close focus.
• Night: Ricoh, boosted ISO and longer exposure.
• Video: Ricoh, for 4K capabilities.
• Travel: Depends - Casio wins on portability; Ricoh on durability.
• Professional work: Neither a true fit, but Ricoh’s ruggedness a plus.

Final Thoughts: Who Should Buy Which?

After all this dissection, what’s the takeaway?

Buy the Casio EX-Z400 if:

• You want an ultra-portable, pocket-friendly compact for casual snapshots, day trips, or street photography where stealth matters.
• You favor ease-of-use over control and plan to shoot mostly in good light.
• Your budget is tight or you’re seeking a lightweight second camera.

Pick the Ricoh WG-6 if:

• You need a tough, all-weather camera for hiking, snorkeling, or adventure - where dropping or wetting your gear is a genuine risk.
• You want higher-resolution images with better autofocus and video quality.
• You appreciate GPS geo-tagging and extensive durability, even if it means carrying extra weight.
• You shoot varied subjects: macro critters, landscapes, night skies, or casual portraits.

Neither camera will replace a DSLR or mirrorless flagship, but they each have their niche. The Casio captures a snapshot-era innocence with convenience, while the Ricoh charges forward into rugged versatility and modern imaging.

Signing off with a nugget of experience: just because a camera is older or smaller doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant, nor does a rugged design guarantee it checks all your photo boxes. Always balance your environment, shooting style, and feature must-haves before committing - because the best camera is the one you’ll actually carry and use.

Happy shooting! If you found this comparison helpful, let me know which camera you’re leaning toward and what genres excite you most. Questions welcome!