The new Ricoh GXR is a completely new idea about the interchangeability of lenses on a camera unit. Instead of just the lens, the GXR has the lens, image sensor and processing chips in one unit. When you change lenses, you also change the image sensor that comes with it.
Ricoh calls the GXR “the world’s first interchangeable unit camera system.” The camera unit itself does not have an image sensor; the camera body is essentially a block housing the LCD screen, card slot, control dials and the flash. The image sensor comes in a sealed unit that incorporates the lens, shutter, aperture and focusing mechanisms and the processing engine.
Available in December, two camera units will be released with the GXR. The A12 50mm F2.5 MACRO camera unit uses a 12.3 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor, while the S10 24-72 mm F2.5-4.4 VC camera unit features a 10 megapixel 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor.
They will be priced at £419/€459 for the body, £600/€670 for the 50mm camera unit (about US$1000 or PHP50,000), £330/€370 for the 24-72mm camera unit, £239/€269 for the external flashgun and £219/€249 for the electronic viewfinder.
[Sites: Ricoh GXR, DPReview.com]
Commented: November 17, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Nice, although this might be a bit costly because it won’t be possible to use 3rd party lenses but on the upside you don’t have to upgrade your camera anymore.