..okay, just read a review on this "new" (well, sort of) technology. And since we've been mentioning abt 4/3 camera, here's something interesting. Coming from a pretty well known brand, too. Will this be the DSLR technology of the future??..any inputs, positives/negatives from kwun, Cheung or red00ecstrat??.. http://www.dpreview.com/previews/RicohGXR/ http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/GXR/GXRA.HTM?r=61398992 Main distinction is (which is not really new, as Minolta tried it abt a decade ago): - The interchangeable lens unit camera (with sensor integrated into each lens). Not in the body, as is common with DSLR (dust might get into the sensor). Ricoh's answer to this problem is, to say the least, novel. Rather than selling a camera body with a fixed sensor, the GXR system uses interchangeable lens/sensor units - every lens comes in a sealed unit complete with sensor, shutter, aperture, processing engine (there's also one in the camera body) and the motors necessary to focus the lens (and drive the zoom mechanism if present). You are, essentially, buying a new 'camera' every time you buy the lens: the GXR body is little more than a shell containing the screen, card slot, controls and flash. This radical rethink of the 'interchangeable lens' has some important consequences: - Different lens units can have different sensor sizes and technologies (CCD or CMOS, for example) - By using a smaller (compact camera) sensor the GXR system can offer very small zooms - Lens units can be designed for specialist applications (video optimized lens and sensor for example) - The overall performance of the system is essentially defined by the lens unit, not the body - Each lens has its own shutter Each lens unit contains instructions and parameters specific to its own sensor and optics, meaning that different lens units will change slightly the features, behavior and performance of the camera body when attached. Some of the lens unit dependant attributes (that we currently know of or can deduce) include: Image processing parameters Noise reduction Menu options - lens units define what menus you see Distortion correction (and, presumably, other lens corrections) Shutter speed and aperture ranges Program mode parameters ('program lines') Specific features (manual focus ring, sensor-shift stabilization etc) Focus speed Continuous shooting speed Buffer (no of frames and speed) Movie capture capabilities (resolution and frame rate) Essentially, as mentioned elsewhere, with each lens unit you're getting a completely new camera with very different capabilities. Whether this is a good thing or not is going to depend on how well Ricoh does with its stated aim of using highly optimized lens/sensor combinations, and how much it is prepared to invest in producing a range of options that's compelling enough to tempt buyers away from more conventional systems such as Micro Four Thirds. Price-wise (definitely cheaper than the 4/3 cameras); I wonder if Mr. T would consider this camera over his fave & much hyped up 4/3??: - Camera body only costs in the $500-ish range. - As for lens, i read just for the 50mm (APS-C sensor), it'll cost in the $800-ish range.
talking about fixed ccd or cmos size. if there manufacturer does the 36X36mm or 24X24mm ccd/cmos, this will be the first and make huge money. since the image produce by lenses are round and not neccessary according to 135 film size back in old days. hasselblad style in dSLR. landscape? just crop top and bottom. portrait? just crop left and right. square photos? totally no problem. sorry, a bit or far off topic. what if nikon produce a FM2 body in digital? comes with 24X24mm ccd/cmos. i would say, it will kill Ricoh, Canon, Leica and others in no time....
Ricoh's idea is not bad. changing the lens and also the ccd/cmos size and technology in one shot. but in due time, its body will out of time. looking at our current technology heading, processor and software are improving yearly. maybe in 2-3 years, the ccd/cmos produced is not capable process by ricoh's current body. thus, it will be costly to dive into this system. where as other manufacturers maintain its lenses compatibility. lenses are expensive, more expensive than the camera body. never a system will pleased millions of photographer.
I'm with drifit here but I do not understand the economics of Ricoh's design. Lenses tend to evolve the least (at least during the SLR days) while the body keeps changing. A typical SLR user will grow his collection of lenses and its not uncommon to retain lenses across 3-4 generations of bodies. Building the sensor into the lens is counterintuitive (to me). That tags a lifespan to the lenses and runs against the idea of having too many lenses -- updating them will be painful to the wallet. Wallet aside, I wonder how a photographer will take to learning individual lens/sensor pairing. It's already complex enough with a single sensor/multiple lenses. Having different characteristics, especially ISO responses. Still it's interesting to see how this design pans out. Ricoh's defiance may be onto some truly unique offering.
It might not be a stunning success but I applaud the innovative bend of mind. Basically, it is a type of camera chassis to fit two sizes-a P&S and an APS-C. Now, can it be a better buy than say a combined Leica Lx3 plus a Lumix GF1? This is what it has placed itself at. Someone down the road can extend this concept by developing a universal camera chassis that can mount the complete range of sensor sizes/lenses, from P&S, M4/3, APS-C, FF, and MF. All they need is to design a modular DIY body chassis kit.
