Digital Camera Review: Ricoh GXR

LIMITED CHOICE: The Ricoh GXR only has two camera units to
choose from,the A12 macro lens (left) and S10 zoom lens (right).

The Ricoh GXR takes the road less travelled with its interchangeable camera unit approach but does it pass muster? Read on to find out.

RICOH's new GXR interchangeable camera unit system has generated lots of buzz since it was first announced last November.

The GXR is a unique offering in that the camera body comes without a camera sensor, lens or processing engine. Instead they are integrated into a single, optimised camera unit that you can slot into the body, using a slide-in mount system.

Switching camera units in and out of the system is easy using the handy slide mount. Since the image sensor is not exposed when switching lenses there’s little risk of dust or dirt getting inside it. Sweet.

USER FRIENDLY: The GXR’s slide-in mount system is very easy to use when
switching lenses and there’s no risk of dust entering each camera unit’s sensor.

The significance of this design is that each camera unit can have different types of sensors (CCD or CMOS) and possess different specialty lens such as macro lenses or video-optimised lenses for recording HD videos.

Essentially, each camera unit allows the GXR to function like a completely different camera.

Our review unit came with two lenses: A GR Lens A12 50mm f/2.5 macro (A12) and Ricoh Lens S10 24-72mm f/2.5-f/4.4 VC. At the time of writing, the A12 and S10 are only available lenses available for the GXR.

Admittedly, Ricoh’s GXR has an uphill battle against Micro Four Thirds format cameras developed by Panasonic and Olympus.

The body

First things first, the GXR is one of the most compact camera systems we’ve handled. Mounted with an S10 camera unit, the GXR is roughly the size of a compact camera — small enough to slip into your pocket and bring along wherever you go.

This makes it much smaller when compared against Micro Four Thirds cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix G1 and the Olympus E-P1.

The physical construction is very solid and durable for such a small camera. In the hand, the camera is very lightweight, despite being crafted from thick magnesium alloy.

It is comfortable to hold thanks to its nice rubber hand grip along the right-hand side.

The GXR’s controls are very well-placed and all are within easy reach. On the top is a single mode dial that gives you full access to the various manual modes: Program, Aperture & Shutter Priority and Full Manual control.

In addition, it has three custom modes that you can set for different scenes.

NEAT: On the back the GXR has a gorgeous 3in LCD screen
and a well laid out control scheme that’s highly customisable.

On the back you’ll find the GXR’s high-resolution 920,000-dot 3in LCD screen that’s terrific for framing your shots and reviewing them in playback mode.

Also along the back are a directional pad and various dials that are used for changing various camera settings.

The buttons are nicely spaced out to give you adequate room to move about without accidentally hitting anything by mistake.

The GXR’s menu interface is mostly geared towards advanced users with a myriad of shooting options for different camera settings from focus modes, metering to the white balance.

Admittedly, some beginners may be put off by the complex-looking interface.

Interestingly, the camera uses a dual-dial system with one at the back and another on top of the camera.

The dials come in handy when you are shooting in full manual mode when you need one dial for controlling the shutter speed and the other for aperture.

Aside from that, the ADJ lever (a dial below the power button) doubles as a useful navigation tool for in-camera menus and picture playback.

Apart from that, the camera comes with its own pop-up built-in flash unit that can nicely be tucked away when not in use.

Undeniably, the flash isn’t very powerful but it is good enough to illuminate close subjects. There’s also a hot shoe unit on top of the camera that allows users to mount an external flash or viewfinder to the GXR.

The S10 lens

Upon closer examination of the A12 and S10 camera units, it is evident that both are distinctly different.

The 10-megapixel CCD sensor S10 zoom lens behaves and functions similar to your average compact camera, complete with a collapsible lens for easy storage.

Ricoh GXR with S10 zoom lens

What I liked best about the S10 is its ability to capture great wide-angle shots at 24mm, taking in more of the scenery around it.

While the S10’s ability to capture wide-angle shots is very useful both indoors and out, it does suffer from minor barrel distortion.

The S10 is a pretty splendid shooter when shooting outdoor scenery; it had no problems handling scenes with high dynamic range and showed little signs of purple fringing around the edges of brightly lit objects.

It opens wide up to a maximum aperture of f/2.5 when shooting at the widest angle — this makes it better at taking pictures under low light conditions though you will still need a steady hand. It also comes with camera shake reduction to reduce motion blur.

Surprisingly, the S10 has a great macro mode function that takes great close-up shots, allowing you to get close to your subject with a minimum focusing distance of just 1cm.

While it’s good at capturing tiny, hard-to-see details, it still doesn’t come close to a real macro lens like the A12.

Disappointingly, the S10’s images aren’t quite up to par with the level of sharpness or clarity of a DSLR camera. This is likely due to the smaller sensor size, similar to those found in typical point-and-shoot cameras.

But to be fair, while the pictures aren’t razor sharp, they are still good given its sensor size.

The main drawback of the S10, however, is its weak ISO performance. Even at low ISO levels, there are high degrees of noise reduction going on.

At ISO 400, the loss of detail is unsettling. Unsurprisingly, noise becomes a significant issue with pictures taken at ISO 800 and above.

Enter the A12

Next up is Ricoh’s 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensor A12 camera unit, which is a dedicated 50mm macro lens unit that looks more like your standard DSLR lens.

The A12 does its job well, taking close-up macro shots of objects and getting all the remarkable details in them.

The manual focus ring comes in handy when you want more control over focusing.

However, the lack of manual focus assist, whereby the camera would magnify a small section scene, makes it difficult to accurately focus on a subject.

Ricoh GXR with A12 macro lens

In stark contrast with the S10, the A12 is worlds better in terms of image quality.

Judging from pictures we’ve taken, the A12’s image quality is undeniably sharp, detailed and richly coloured.

The A12 also doubles as a great portrait lens, producing excellent bokeh effects when shooting at wide-open apertures. Low light shots also don’t prove to be a problem for it.

The A12’s ISO performance is also significantly better than the S10.

Generally, images hold out considerably well even at ISO 800. In fact, there isn’t any serious image degradation in both noise and softness until you max out at ISO 3200.

Unfortunately, the A12’s autofocus speed leaves much to be desired. Taking shots in dimly-lit environments proved to be a quite challenge for it has trouble tracking and fixing focus on subjects — it sometimes takes up to five seconds to achieve a lock.

Not for videos

Like many other cameras, both of Ricoh’s camera units are able to record video. Interestingly, the S10 only records in standard definition (480p) VGA quality videos while the A12 is able to record 720p HD videos.

Needless to say, the S10’s videos paled in comparison with the A12’s HD video quality. The video quality is decent but it is unfortunate that the A12 operates on a fixed focal length so it can’t zoom in or out.

Another disappointment with the A12’s video recording is that you cannot manually focus videos with the focusing ring. Instead you need to pre-focus on something and start recording.

Other gripes with the GXR’s video recording is the underwhelming audio quality recorded in mono from the built-in microphone.

Conclusion

The Ricoh GXR is a bold and interesting concept that could potentially change the game for small form factor cameras.

To its credit, it has good handling and controls with easily customisable buttons and modes that pros can tailor to their needs.

The GXR’s slide mount system is quick and easy to use with relatively little fuss.

The S10 naturally comes as the first choice for users of the GXR but truth be told, it isn’t very remarkable.

It performs no better than a compact camera with mediocre quality ­images and has poor ISO performance.

Similarly, the A12 has its own set of problems with poor autofocus performance in low light situations and lack of manual focus assist to fully utilise its manual focus features.

Both camera units also have lacklustre video capture capabilities.

Overall, the Ricoh GXR is an interesting and versatile camera for professionals and enthusiasts camera alike.

It may have its drawbacks but the concept has lots of potential in the future as the range of camera units grow.

Pros: Small and lightweight; manual and custom settings for advanced users; S10 is good for wide-angle shots; A12 shoots great close-ups.

Cons: Poor video quality; S10 has poor ISO performance; A12 struggles in low light conditions; expensive.

Ricoh GXR
Interchangeable lens camera system
Lens: Ricoh Lens S10 24-72mm f/2.5-f/4.4 VC; GR Lens A12 50mm f/2.5 macro
Sensor: 10-megapixels, 1/1.7in type CCD (S10); and 12.3-megapixel, 23.6 x 15.7mm (APS-C size) CMOS (A12)
ISO range: 100 - 3200 (S10); 200- 3200 (A12)
Exposure modes: Auto, Program, Shutter priority, Aperture priority, manual, scene modes
Video capture: 640 x 480-pixels at 30fps (S10); 1,280 x 720-pixels at 24fps (A12) AVI format
Viewfinder: 3in LCD
Battery: DB-90 rechargeable battery
Storage: SD, SDHC, 86MB internal memory
Interface: USB 2.0
Other features: Camera shake reduction; built-in flash
Dimensions (W x H x D): 113.9 x 70.2 x 28.9mm
Weight: 226g