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The interchangeable unit camera system is born:
World's smallest and lightest!*
First of all, please take a look at the
"Interchangeable unit camera system GXR" special site on the
Internet. This site should give you an intuitive feel for the kind
of camera that the GXR is. Appearing first is the camera exterior
with no lens. Sliding in to unite with the body are units consisting
primarily of a lens. For a moment you may question what your eyes
showing you here, but, yes, the result of each combination is one
complete camera.
*World's smallest and lightest:
Internal flash, interchangeable lens digital cameras with lens
attached. As of November 10, 2009, Ricoh research.
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| "By changing camera units,
you can quickly obtain the optimum shooting capabilities."
(Akihiko Okamoto) |
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"The GXR is a new camera system
consisting of a body and camera units. Changing camera units makes
it possible to instantaneously handle a wide variety of shooting
condition so the photographer can enjoy the GXR's superb
expandability as a camera," said Akihiko Okamoto, Marketing Group
member in the Personal MultiMedia Products Company Planning
Office.
What is a camera unit?
With an SLR camera, the photographer changes
lenses in order to get the exact image desired. A wide-angle zoom is
best for landscapes and souvenir photos, a standard zoom lens is
generally appropriate for portraits, a telephoto zoom is good for
astronomical photography, a macro lens is necessary for close-ups of
insects and flowers, and so on. To get a wide viewing angle, to
emphasize distance, to blur the surroundings, and to achieve various
other effects, the photographer makes use of the special
characteristics of different lenses with different focal
lengths.
In the case of an SLR, the only thing changed is
the lens. With the GXR, however, you change the "camera unit," which
includes not only the lens but also a CCD*1 or
CMOS*2 image sensor*3 and an image processing
engine. The following two camera units are now available so you can
use the one that best fits the situation. In the future, Ricoh plans
to add a diverse variety of other units.
*1)CCD
Abbreviation for Charge
Coupled Device.
One type of image sensor, the CCD sensor is a
semiconductor device widely used in video and digital cameras. It is
particularly suitable when small size is required.
*2)CMOS
Abbreviation for
Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor.
This is another image
sensor that, like the CCD sensor, is used in digital cameras. It is
particularly suitable when high speed is required.
*3)Image sensor
The image sensor
converts light into an electrical signal. It fulfills the same
function as film in a film camera. There are a number of different
types, including CCD and CMOS. |
Stainless steel guide rails are, of course, used
for the slide mechanism in order to provide strength and smooth
sliding. Camera system mount reliability has been verified in
repeated high-stress attachment/removal testing.
So what led to the decision to develop the
interchangeable unit camera system? "We wanted to give camera users
a whole new way to enjoy photography. And to do this, we needed to
transcend the limitations of existing compact digital cameras and
radically expand their photographic range," Okamoto said.
"As a matter of fact, the concept itself first
appeared quite a number of years ago in response to user comments
such as this: 'SLR cameras can take good pictures, but because they
are so heavy and bulky, they end up being left at home. It would be
nice to be able to take photographs at close to SLR quality levels
using a compact-size camera.' Considering our Ricoh product
development concept of the Candid Photo (An image quickly captured
in that instant when the heart stirs), we really wanted to respond
to that user need, but we did not move forward at the time because
we were not sure how widely accepted such a camera would be. In
recent years, however, the increase in the number of people not
satisfied by digital compact cameras and the appearance of certain
technical innovations created an environment in which we felt we
could finally take on the challenge of developing a product like the
GXR."
*Lens focal lengths in the text are
all converted to 35 mm film camera
equivalents. |
![[Planning and Design] What is this new-concept, boundary-shattering interchangeable unit camera system called the GXR?](gxrinside/gxrplan1/cts_top_02.jpg)
