The Ricoh GXR is a compact

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...

first announced by Ricoh Company, Ltd,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

on November 10, 2009. Unlike conventional cameras which either have a fixed

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

and

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

or interchangeable lens and a fixed sensor, the GXR takes interchangeable units, each housing a lens, sensor and

image processing engine An image processor, also known as an image processing engine, image processing unit (IPU), or image signal processor (ISP), is a type of media processor or specialized digital signal processor (DSP) used for image processing, in digital cameras or ...

. This allows each unit to have these features optimised to one another and a specific task, whereas with conventional interchangeable lens cameras, each different lens must use the same sensor and engine. The sealed units also prevent dust from reaching the sensor, which can be a problem with other cameras where the sensor is exposed whilst a lens is being changed. A significant disadvantage of this system is the extra cost involved in having to buy a whole new sensor with every new lens. The body holds a built-in pop-up flash as well as a

hot shoe Canon EOS 350D Hot shoe Proprietary hot shoe used by Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D">Sony.html" ;"title="Minolta and older Sony">Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D) A hot shoe is a mounting poin ...

on top for an external flash unit. Alternatively, Ricoh's 'VF-2', an external electronic viewfinder, can be attached to the hot shoe which, offers 920,000 pixels and 100% field of view. The separate units slide onto the body via a stainless steel rail and lock into place. They can then be released by a lever on the camera's body. Both the body and lens unit use magnesium alloy exterior. Each lens unit has its own unique specifications relating to its sensor and optics, meaning that different lens units will change the features, behavior and performance of the camera body to varying degrees when attached.

Units

Camera units

;RICOH LENS P10 28-300mm F3.5-5.6 VC * 10.6

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

, 1/2.3" CMOS sensor * 28–300 mm (expressed as 35 mm equivalent) 3.5-5.6 VC lens * GR engine "Smooth Imaging Engine IV" * Manual and auto focus * Movie mode up to 1280 x 720 at 30 frames per second ; GR LENS A12 50mm F2.5 MACRO * 12.30 megapixel,

APS-C Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 31.15 mm field ...

sized (23.6×15.7 mm) CMOS sensor * 50 mm (expressed as 35 mm equivalent) GR lens * GR engine III * Manual and auto focus ; RICOH LENS S10 24-72mm F2.5-4.4 VC * 10 megapixel, 1/1.7" CCD Sensor * 24–72 mm (expressed as 35 mm equivalent) , 3× Ricoh zoom lens * Smooth Imaging engine IV ;GR LENS A12 28mm F2.5 * 12.30 megapixel,

sized (23.6×15.7 mm) CMOS sensor * 28 mm (expressed as 35 mm equivalent) GR lens * GR engine III * Manual and auto focus ;GR LENS A16 24-85mm F3.5-5.5 * 11 elements in 9 groups (3 aspherical lens elements with 6 surfaces) * 55mm filter thread * 16.20 megapixel,

sized (23.6×15.7 mm) CMOS sensor * Smooth Imaging engine IV * Manual and auto focus

Lens mount units

;GR MOUNT A12 *

Leica M mount The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories (e.g. Visoflex reflex viewing attachment) up to the current film L ...

* 12.30 megapixel,

sized (23.6×15.7 mm) CMOS sensor

References

External links

* * * (samples photos) * (review - full size samples) {{Ricoh Ricoh digital cameras Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras

Units

Camera units

Lens mount units

See also

References

External links