Ricoh announces development of two more units for GXR camera system

 

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Posted on 24 Feb 2010 at 11:14

Remember that rather strange GXR interchangeable unit camera system unveiled by Ricoh late last year? Well, Ricoh has announced that it is developing another two camera units for the GXR body.

The GXR's camera units are strange because they integrate not only the lens, but the sensor and image processing engine into an interchangeable unit which fits onto the Ricoh GXR body. The company has announced that it is developing a 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 VC 10.7x optical zoom and a 28mm f/2.5 fixed focal length unit.

The P10 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 VC, which Ricoh says is its tentative name, uses a back-illuminated CMOS sensor and has a 120 fps high-speed continuous shooting mode. It will allow users to capture images in RAW, support multi-target auto-focus and "much more" said Ricoh's announcement.

The second of the new lenses is the A12 28mm f/2.5 which, Ricoh claims, "achieves high resolution and high imaging power." It uses a 23.6mm x 15.7mm APS-C CMOS sensor in combination with Ricoh's GR Engine III image processor. This "enables the camera unit to shoot high-quality images with smooth tone gradations as well as high definition and low noise," says Ricoh. It also includes a built-in manual focus ring for additional control.

Ricoh said it plans to start selling the P10 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 VC in the Summer, while we'll have to wait until 'Winter 2010' before the A12 28mm f/2.5 goes on sale. Prototypes of the P10 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 VC units will be shown at CP(+) Camera & Photo Imaging Show at Pacifico Yokohama, Japan from March 11 to March 14. Pricing hasn't been announced but, based on the price of the existing units, it's unlikely that they'll be cheap.

We're currently working on a review of the existing GXR body and units, which we will be publishing soon - stay tuned.

Author: Tim Smalley