Wednesday, March 03, 2010

A new camera 'system' design from Ricoh: smart or dumb?

Ricoh announced the new GXR camera 'system', with a whole new concept of interchangable lens... the camera is actually a I/O interface, and the 'lens module' actually includes lens, focusing mechanics, and image sensor.

IMHO, this is a dumb design and this system is doomed. Immediately after I read the news, I came-up with a lot of problems for this idea:
- Cost: every lens module is another digital camera without the I/O. Don't think that will come cheap
- Choices of lens: Only Ricoh is making the lens module. How many choices do you think Ricoh will offer you?
- Reliability of the mount: The mount is slide-in type, with a lot of electronic connections for the LCD viewfinder, memory cards... etc. When dirt gets into the lens mount of a traditional DSLR, you may get a dust mark in your photos. But if dirt gets in the GXR module mount, you may get a card writing error.

Honestly, I can't see any point with this product. I am very happy with my Pentax and DA Limited lenses.

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