Introduction | A12-50 | S10 24-72 | P10 28-300 | A12-28 | M-Mount | A16 24-85 | Rumors | Conclusions

On this page, I provide an overview of the Ricoh GXR units (Ricoh speak), also called lensors or modules. There are four camera units and one expansion unit, that I will briefly describe below. Note that there is also a more detailed page for each of the units. In addition, I offer links to information provided by Ricoh and on this site. At the end, I will also provide some personal conclusions regarding the units.

 

Introduction

The Ricoh GXR is a mirrorless system camera that differs from all other system (or EVIL) cameras in that not lenses but camera units (or modules), that is, integrated lens-sensor units (also called "lensors") are being exchanged. The system currently consists of a body, four camera units, and one expansion units. The latter contains only a sensor and accepts Leica M-bayonet lenses.

Ricoh provides a number of arguments for the superiority of this concepts, but these have been questioned for a number of reasons. Here are some of the arguments that Ricoh provides:

Among the counter arguments are:

At the moment, many reviewers regard the GXR system as exotic...

When the Ricoh GXR was released in December 2009, two camera units were available: the A12-50 unit, and the S10 unit. The A12-50 features an APC-C size sensor, an equivalent focal length of 50 mm, and includes a macro function. The S10 is more or less a GX200 or GX100 with an equivalent focal length of 24-72 mm (pixel count is the same as for the GX100).

At the end of May 2010, a third camera unit was released, which is more or less a CX3ff with an equivalent focal length of 28-300 mm and the addition of the RAW format. In November 2010, the A12-28 camera unit was released, which offers a feature set similar to the A12-50, but does not have a macro mode.

For 2011, an M-mount expansion unit and a 24-28 APS-C zoom camera unit were - more or less - announced. The M-mount unit was released at the beginning of September 2011, the only new unit in 2011.

Ricoh showed a "secret" unit roadmap at Photokina 2010 that already hinted at the zoom module. They published an official unit roadmap in December 2011 that contains the zoom. It was officially announced at the beginning of February 2012 became available in Germany at the end of March 2012. Here is (for copyright reasons) only a simplified version of the map (with corrections regarding the conversion lenses):

Lens
Sensor
...
20mm
50mm
100mm
200mm
300mm
...
Conversion Lens
Camera
Unit 		GR lens APS-C CMOS  
A12 28 F2.5
A12 50 F2.5 Macro
          
Ricoh lens APS-C CMOS
       
1/1.7 CMOS
S10 24-72 F2.5-4.4 VC
     
DW-6 (0.79x, wide),
TC-1 (1.88x, tele)
1/2.3 CMOS
P10 28-300 F3.5-5.6 VC
    
Expansion Unit APS-C CMOS
GXR Mount A12 (M-mount)
 

Figure: Simplified and slightly corrected version of Ricoh's unit map published at the end of 2011 (original unit map at Ricoh)

In the following, I will list the available units and provide links to more information about them.

 

A12-50

The A12-50 camera unit contains an APS-C size sensor (CMOS, total pixels: approx. 12.9 million, effective pixels approx. 12.3 million) with a focal length of 33 mm that is equivalent to 50 mm. It corresponds to a standard lens for a (D)SLR and features a macro mode allowing magnifications up to 1:2 (closest distance is 7cm). It has a focus ring, which regrettably is not manual, but "by wire." There are also no depth of field indicators on the lens body, but depth-of-field information is provided in the viewfinder/on the LCD screen when focusing manually. Also note that A12 camera units do not incorporate a vibration correction (also called anti-shake correction).

A12 50 camera unit

Photo: GR Lens A12 50mm equiv. F2.5 MACRO

This camera unit allows to capture videos in HD 720p format.

Links

 

S10 24-72

The S10 camera unit is more or less a GX200/100 in a GXR format, featuring an equivalent focal length of 24-72 mm and a 1/1.7" CCD sensor (total pixels: approx. 10.4 million). As it has a small sensor, its image quality is not on par with the A12's. This has led many reviewers led to conclude that this unit is a "disappointment" because its image quality corresponds to that of a small sensor camera. However, if you do not expect DSLR quality from this unit and know what to expect, it is perfectly fine - it's just a bulkier GX200/100 with a better viewfinder...

The focal range of the S10 camera unit can be extended with two converters. with the DW-6 at the wide end (0.79x, 19mm equiv.), and with the TC-1 at the tele end (1.44x, 135mm equiv.). This extends the unit's zoom range from 3x (24-72mm) to 7x (19-135mm).

Please note that you also need the HA-3 lens hood to use the two converters.

There is a LC-2 lens cap for the S10 unit that can be kept on the lens while shooting. Note that it cannot be used with the HA-3 lens hood and the converters.

S10 camera unit

Photo: Ricoh Lens S10 24-72mm equiv. F2.5-4.4VC

Links

This camera unit allows to capture videos in VGA format at maximum.

 

P10 28-300

Long ago, I bought one of the first "super" zooms with a focal range of 28-200 mm for my analog Canon A1. In the new millennium, I switched from Nikon to the Minolta Dimage 7 series of bridge cameras having the same focal range. When I stepped up to DSLRs, I bought a Sigma 18-200 lens, featuring an equivalent focal range of 28-300 mm. Now, I own a P10 module with just the same focal range and a tiny 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor (total pixels: approx. 10.60 million pixels). Thus, in a certain sense, I have returned to where I had been before, and in another one not, because this is a small sensor module.

I also led my wife to use Ricoh cameras, starting with a focal range of 28-200 mm. In 2010, she stepped up from her CX1 to a CX4, which also has a focal range of 28-300 mm (this range was introduced with the CX3). Thus, with the P10 unit, I have a camera very similar in operation to my wife's one. There are, however, some important differences:

The LC-2 lens cap can be used on the P10 unit as well: it can be kept on the lens while shooting.

P10 camera unit

Photo: Ricoh Lens P10 28-300mm equiv. F3.5-5.6 VC

The P10 camera unit allows to capture videos in HD 720p format.

Links

 

A12-28

The A12-28 camera units contains an APS-C size sensor module (CMOS, total pixels: approx. 12.9 million, effective pixels approx. 12.3 million) with a focal length of 18.3 mm that is equivalent to 28 mm. It corresponds to a modest wide angle lens for a (D)SLR. It has a focus ring, which regrettably is not manual, but "by wire." There are also no depth of field indicators on the lens body, but depth-of-field information is provided in the viewfinder/on the LCD screen when focusing manually. Also note that A12 camera units do not incorporate a vibration correction (also called anti-shake correction).

A12 28 camera unit

Photo: GR Lens A12 28mm equiv. F2.5

This camera unit allows to capture videos in HD 720p format.

Links

 

M-Mount

The GXR M-mount expansion unit accepts manual lenses with the Leica M-bayonet. It has an adapted APS-C size sensor module (CMOS, total pixels: approx. 12.9 million, effective pixels approx. 12.3 million). Thus, the sensor is not quite identical to that of the other two A12 units. It is supplied with additional micro lenses to perform better with M-bayonet lenses. Moreover, the unit does not have an AA filter (or a only a very weak one - I have to clarify this...). Note that A12 camera units do not incorporate a vibration correction (also called anti-shake correction).

The unit was announced at the beginning of August 2011 and available from September 9, 2011, but only for a short time (the reasons for the shortage were debated...). In the meatime, it is available again.

Some features:

With the M-mount expansion unit, the GXR really becomes a "camera construction kit". There are: the GXR body, the electronic viewfinder EV-2, the M-mount unit, and the many, many M-bayonet lenses (plus other units that you may own)...

M mount expansion unit      M mount expansion unit

Photo: Ricoh A12 M-mount expansion unit

Ricoh publishes a list of approved lenses at the bottom of their M-mount unit page (Mounting Check Results for Each Lens). In addition, they supply a "check device" with the M-mount unit that you can use to check whether the rear part of a lens protrudes too far so that it might damage the sensor. There is also a list of (in)compatible lenses at Ricohforum that is continually updated and much more useful than Ricoh's own list.

    

Photos: The check device that Ricoh supplies with the M-mount expansion unit

This unit allows to capture videos in HD 720p format.

Links

 

A16 24-85

This camera unit came to the attention of GXR owners when Ricoh showed a "secret" unit roadmap at Photokina 2010 that already hinted at the zoom. In December 2011, Ricoh published an official unit map (see also above) that contains the zoom but gives away only limited information. Finally, at the beginning of February 2012, Ricoh officially announced the unit. It became available in late March in Germany (I received mine on March 23, 2012).

    

Photo: Ricoh Lens A16 24-85mm equiv. f3.5-5.5

The camera unit appeared a bit large on the photos, and indeed it is, particularly when zoomed to tele. It weighs 350g and does not feel heavy "thanks" to being built mostly from plasticm which is OK for me. Regrettably, it does neither have a focus nor a zoom ring. It also does not have a macro function, but allows to take photos from a minimum distance of 25cm, which makes it quite useful for closeups with tele. As with other A camera units, there is no vibration correction. The APS-C sensor offers 16.2 Megapixels and does not have an AA filter (like the M-mount expansion unit).

This camera unit allows to capture videos in HD 720p format.

Links

 

Rumors

The M-mount unit raised the interest in the Ricoh GXR again, but it was unavailable soon again. This led to speculations, one of them being that Sony no longer manufactures the 12 Megapixels sensor used in the A camera units and that Ricoh will announce new A16 camera units in 2012. These are said to feature the Sony 16 Megapixels sensor that is used in the Sony Nex5N. While many posters in the forums eagerly await the new, improved sensor, others expressed that are not that happy about their A12 units becoming obsolete soon, particularly the just recently acquired M-mount unit. This rumor is also fuel for those who criticized that sensors become more quickly obsolete than lenses...

 

Conclusions

Which unit should I buy? This is really a tough question, and you should also read my experiences with the units. First of all, your personal shooting habits and preferences should determine which unit you choose.

When the Ricoh GXR was initially released at the end of 2009, there were just two units available, the A12-50 and the S10. More professionally inclined people bought the A12-50, some others bought even both (like me). Probably, only a few people started with the S10 alone (maybe, Joel Stern, the ubiquitous dpreview poster, did so...).

This is what I answered to the question "S10 or P10?" in a forum to a former GX200 user:

After the P10 unit was released and the price for the body/P10 combo drastically reduced, this combo is probably the most universal and "economic" entry into the GXR system, even though nearly 500 EUR/$ may still seem steep for a small sensor camera. In the meantime, I have become somewhat spoilt by the superior quality and sharpness of the A12 units and find the images taken with the P10 module fuzzy. There are also definite differences in how the APS-C units render faces and other details compared with the small-sensor units (and the respective point-and-shoot cameras from Ricoh). Thus, the P10 units lost some of its appeal for me...

A New Camera - The GXR with M-Mount Expansion Unit

The M-mount expansion unit is being delivered since the 9th of September, 2011, however in low quantities only. I received mine in mid October. This unit defines the GXR in a completely new way, because with the body and this unit you can use it as a kind of Leica replacement with manual M-bayonet lenses, thus turning it into something like a "manual system camera" or even a kind of "small manual DSLR replacement". In this configuration, it comes close to what I had looked for when I sold my DSRL equipment and wanted to move to something smaller but with similar capabilities. There are, however, some gaps that need to be covered with other units: no macro, no "real" tele, no sports capabilities...

Other Combinations...

Interestingly, the still to come 24-85mm APC-C sensor zoom unit is not of an GR lens type, that is, it will have probably have lower image quality than the A12 units. On the other hand, it will be the first unit with a new Sony 16 Megapixels sensor. This unit moves the GXR into another direction as the M-mount unit: It will turn the GXR into a flexible camera for vacation, although it is still a little bit short at the tele end. Thus, when using it you need to take the P10 with you for tele and macro shots. This would comprise still a fairly lightweight package compared with the M-mount package...

A similar package could be made of the S10 and the P10, which would even be lighter (and with a DW-6 also have more range at the wide end). However, the difference in image quality is not that large so that one might consider using the P10 alone for the same purpose...

Sometimes, I take the A12-28 and A12-50 with me on walks, which I found to be a very versatile combination that includes macro. A P10 in the bag would add weight but also tele facilities and even more magnification for macro shots.

Finals Words...

All in all, the GXR units offer quite a few options for combining units to take with you. The most severe gap is in my opinion the lack of high-quality options in the tele range, but as I read in the forum, many users can do without a tele lens. Thus, maybe that there is already too much competition between units so that it is hard to decide, which one to use. Many GXR users seem to take with them just one fixed focal length lens on the camera and put another one into the pocket. This is what I also do often, mostly I take all my photos with just one focal length. It's restricting, but also demanding and fun.

 

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24.03.2012