Ricoh GXR Interchangeable Unit Camera

Yesterday, Ricoh showed off their new (and bit different) interchangeable digital camera unit — the Ricoh GXR. The interchangeable lens unit also contains the sensor so you can basically switch sensor type/sizes anytime.

Unlike other popular dSLR we see nowadays where you screw in the lens and try to be careful not to get dust or dirt into the exposed compartment, the Ricoh GXR avoids that by putting the sensor and optics in one enclosure.

As such the specs of the whole system will depend on which lens unit you slide into the camera body. For example, if you use the Ricoh P10, you get a 10 megapixel (1/2.3″) CMOS image sensor and a 28-300mm 10.7x zoom lens.

The Ricoh GXR P10 combo offers 720p HD video recording, 5 frames per second burst shooting speed and offers 60fps and 120fps recording mode in full manual control.

If you use the Ricoh A12, you get a 50mm f / 2.5 Macro GR Lens with APS-C 12.3MP CMOS sensor. With the Ricoh S10, you get a 24-72mm f/2.5-4.4 VC with 10MP CCD sensor.

Here’s a diagram of the entire system with accessories:

Tried taking shots and the images are pretty good and works pretty well even on low light (comparable to the Exmor sensor of Sony).

Announced in November last year, the Ricoh GXR only arrived this month in the Philippines. They don don’t have an exact price yet but promised the camera kit will be in the Php25,000USD 426INR 36,115EUR 406CNY 3,103 range (GXR body is only Php15,000USD 256INR 21,669EUR 243CNY 1,862).

The approach is pretty interesting and GXR itself is priced pretty competitively considering you have the ability to change sensor/lens unit, much like most other dSLRs and hybrids out there.