Ricoh announces a fourth interchangeable unit for its GXR camera system
A new GXR camera unit featuring a 28mm GR Lens and an APS-C size CMOS sensor

Ricoh has announced the release of GR LENS A12 28mm F2.5, a fourth camera unit for the GXR interchangeable unit system and its second to incorporate an APS-C size CMOS sensor. This new product was revealed at the photokina 2010 exhibition which commenced in Germany this week.

The GR LENS A12 28mm camera unit brings together a newly developed 28mm wide-angle fixed focal length GR lens, a 12 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor, and Ricoh’s proven GR Engine III image processing engine to offer photographers an irresistible combination - the superior image quality and advanced manual control of a SLR, with the size and handling of a compact.

Faster focussing speeds are a key strength of the new camera unit. In combination with the bright F2.5 lens, a new drive mode has increased auto focus (AF) speed even in dark scenes, while an innovative Pre-AF function enables the camera to adjust focus to match the movement of a subject. To further ensure the capture of fleeting shutter opportunities, the GR LENS A12 28mm camera unit utilises a ‘full press snap’ function whereby focus is automatically locked on subjects at a distance predetermined by the photographer, without the need for a half-press.

Designed to enable image creation that more accurately reflects the intent of the photographer, the new GR LENS camera unit offers program shift, aperture priority AE and shutter priority AE modes, as well as the ability to shoot in RAW. Providing further control, its manual focus ring allows for precise focus adjustments, even after automatic focussing.

Other key features and benefits of the GR LENS A12 28mm F2.5 camera unit:

·         The new 28mm equivalent GR lens has a 6-group, 9-element configuration. Incorporating two aspherical lenses, one special low-dispersion lens, and multiple high-refraction-ratio lenses, this extravagant lens configuration achieves strong resolution and imaging power to the edge of the frame.

·         The use of a configuration of nine rounded aperture blades enables the photographer to enjoy beautiful bokeh as well as precise aperture settings.

·         Multi-pattern auto white balance makes it possible to recreate natural as-seen colours even in people-photography scenes that were difficult to shoot with past auto white balance functions, such as scenes with both shadow and sunlight and scenes mixing flash and natural light (or fluorescent light, etc.).

·         ISO3200 facilitates shooting in low light conditions.

·         The noise reduction level can be specified as Off, Weak, Strong, Max, or Auto. By specifying Max, it is possible to do sophisticated variance-estimation type noise reduction processing in which the sensor image data's noise distribution is analysed and the optimum processing is done for each region.

·         Nine picture setting levels for easy creation of a diverse range of images

·         An electronic level utilising an acceleration sensor.

·         The DIRECT screen enabling current shooting settings to be displayed and changed. Settings can be easily checked at a glance.

·         1280 × 720 pixel HD movie mode.

The GR LENS A12 28mm F2.5 GXR camera unit will be available in Australia from mid-October 2010. Local pricing yet to be announced.

About the Ricoh GXR

The GXR is an interchangeable unit camera system in which lenses are changed by using a slide-in mount system to attach camera units to the body. In a world-first design, the lens, image sensor and image processing engine are integrated into the camera units so the body itself does not contain an image sensor.

Four interchangeable camera units are now available for the GXR:

1.      GR LENS A12 50mm F2.5 MACRO - announced November 2009

2.      RICOH LENS S10 24-72mm F2.5-4.4 VC - announced November 2009

3.      RICOH LENS P10 28-300 mm F3.5-5.6 VC - announced May 2010

4.      GR LENS A12 28mm F2.5 - announced September 2010

To fully utilise this system's unique ability to accommodate interchangeable units other than camera units, Ricoh is investigating possibilities for the development of a variety of devices.

For customer enquiries contact Ricoh’s Australian distributor, Tasco on or visit www.ricohcameras.com.au

*All of the focal lengths in this release are converted to the equivalent values for a 35mm film camera.

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