Ricoh GXR system details and photos officially released

A day after details were leaked to the web, an official announcement and photos of the new Ricoh GXR system have been released.

It's self-proclaimed as the "world's smallest and lightest digital camera," but its not the GXR's weight or size that's really attracting attention so far. It's the very unconventional camera body that doesn't have an image sensor that has the Internet talking. All of the real photography power belongs in a contingent of lenses, which Ricoh is calling "the interchangeable unit camera system." Thus, the photographer can switch lenses in and out and attach them to the camera via a slide-in mount system. Each lens, therefore, contains the image sensor, along with a shutter, aperture and processing engine.

CNET Asia asserts that as the front and back sides of the module are well-covered, there is little room for dust to crawl in. Dpreview had a sneak-peak review and special photos of the new camera, and they warns that with this new system, you're "basically buying a new 'camera' every time you buy the lens" since the camera body is just "a shell containing the screen, card slot, controls and flash." It's an innovative concept, but it using it seems time-consuming and cumbersome.

The GXR will be conveniently available right in the middle of holiday shopping season in December. It's not exactly a stocking stuffer, however, as prices start at $700 just for the camera body.

If you're interested in reading the entire press release, click here.