In my experience Ricoh has never really been one for a lot of media coverage. You just don't hear all that much about them. If not for an early JPG magazine story I wouldn't even know about the company today. Regardless, Ricoh is getting ready to release an all new kind of point and shoot camera directed towards professional photographers. This is the Ricoh GXR.
Whats so different about the GXR is that its an interchangeable UNIT camera. There is a standard camera body in addition to separate lens units that can slide in and out of the body. Thats cool, but whats more cool is that in each interchangeable unit there is a completely different sensor. This means that sensors can be paired with specific lenses so that the best possible image quality can be obtained. In addition, the way the units are designed eliminates any dust from adhering to the sensor because the sensor is not exposed to open air when switching units as in an SLR when changing lenses. The GXR's low light capabilities are pretty impressive as well.
Currently there are only two lens/sensor units available: the GR LENS A12 50mm macro, and the S10 24-72mm. I'm sure more will soon follow after everything is said and done.
You can DPreview's hands on review here.
Frankly, I'm very excited about this camera. I think this could easily be the future of point and shoots. The amount of versatility brought forth by this new design is very impressive. A very capable, very powerful camera that can easily be put in a pocket in a bag is something very useful. I could see a lot of people and professionals choosing the GXR as their "take everywhere" camera. There's also something to be said about the amount of peripherals available for the GXR. Ricoh has already put forth a wide angle adapter, a telephoto adapter, a special lenscap, a shoe-mounted viewfinder, and a flashgun specifically for this camera.
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