RICOH GXR + LENS MOUNT A12

The mount unit is accompanied by a lens checker to determine if an RF lens can be physically fitted.

We found determining sharp focus using only the external monitor screen reasonably trouble-free, but fitting the optional EVF would make things very much easier and is worth considering alongside the mount unit.

Ricoh has tested its GXR component coupling to destruction… except that it couldn’t break it. After two years in circulation there have been no reports of failures to date.

The mount unit’s CMOS-type shutter has a total resolution of 12.9 megapixels and a sensitivity range equivalent to ISO 200 to 3200 (although there is an ‘ISO Lo’ setting of ISO 100).

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RICOHGXR + LENS MOUNT A12

means the capabilities of the more desirable ultra-wide RF lenses aren’t so compromised. For example, the glorious Voigtländer 12mm f5.6 Ultra Wide-Heliar is still an 18mm wide-angle on the GXR (and its companion optical viewfinder is used in exactly the same way as it is on a Bessa R2/R3-series 35mm camera). And the 35mm f1.4 Nokton Classic shown in the illustrations here becomes a 52.5mm f1.4, which is very nice too.

Importantly, the sensor in the mount unit has been optimised for use with 35mm rangefinder lenses, specifically in the design of the microlenses and the absence of an anti-aliasing (AA) or low-pass filter. The latter not only enhances detailing, but allows for the individual ‘character’ of a film lens to be preserved in the captured image. The microlens arrangement is designed to minimise brightness fall-off – specifically with retrofocus optical designs – but there’s also in-camera correction for colour shading (red or blue), distortion (both barrel and pincushion, at three levels each) and peripheral illumination. In this respect, then, the mount unit allows the Ricoh GXR to be the only CSC actually optimised for using RF lenses. A checking device is provided to firstly determine whether a lens can actually be fitted rather than finding out the hard way. When the checker is slid onto the lens’s mount there should be no gaps between it and the back of the lens, nor should the rear element protrude from the body of the device.

Ricoh’s published list of suitable lenses only includes Leica models and the as-rare-as-hens-teeth 28mm f2.8 and 21mm f3.5 wide-angles it built with the M-mount (and derived from the GR-series high-end 35mm compacts). Of course, there’s a swag of Voigtländer RF lenses from Cosina which are more likely to be popular options on the GXR, given their combination of affordability and performance.

FOcUSiNGThe GXR Mount A12 also incorpo-rates a focal plane shutter which has a speed range of 180-1/4000 second plus both ‘B’ and ‘T’ settings for the exposures longer than the three minutes. As with the lens units, it has a dedicated proces-sor for analog-to-digital conversion and associated processes (such as noise reduction) plus the TTL meter-ing, exposure control modes and white balance measurements.

A key aspect of the appeal of the Micro Four Thirds format

cameras to enthusiasts has been the ability to fit a variety of 35mm era and D-SLRs lenses via mount adapters. Particularly popular is the practice of fitting the compact M-bayonet mount lenses – from Leica, Voigtländer and Zeiss – which nicely match the size of cameras such as Olympus’s E-P1/P2/P3 series and Panasonic’s G1/G2/G3 models. With a Leica M9 beyond a great many budgets, this route is a very cost- effective way to use much-loved RF lenses with digital capture.

Being able to fit the so-called ‘legacy’ lenses is seen as an important aspect of a compact system camera, and the availability of mount adapters from third-party manufacturers has been openly encouraged. The ‘conventional’ mirrorless digital camera designs make the use of mount adaptors – and, in particular, 35mm rangefinder lenses – fairly easy because of their flange back distance (which, of course, means they’re just like a 35mm RF camera). Ricoh’s unique lens-and-sensor modules for its GXR system meant there could be no access to legacy lenses... or could there? Ricoh realised pretty early on that this was going to be an issue, but such is the inherent flexibility of the GXR concept that the solution has been comparatively straightforward... simply design a lens mount module. As we’ve noted in our previous reviews of GXR lens modules (Ricoh actually calls them ‘camera units’), there isn’t really any future direction or development that the system can’t accommodate via new modules or camera bodies based on its 68-pin databus connector. Theoretically, it’s even possible to have a 35mm-sized sensor, but for the GXR Mount A12 Ricoh is sticking with a version of the ‘APS-C’ format imager that’s previously been used in the 28mm and 50mm (equivalent) prime lens units. As with both these components, the ‘A12’ designation stands for ‘APS-C’ and 12 megapixels, but instead of mating its CMOS sensor with a lens, the GXR Mount has an M-bayonet fitting.

cLASSicAL GLASSConsequently, a vast array of M-mount rangefinder lenses are now compatible with the GXR body and, unlike with the MFT cameras, the focal length magnification factor is only 1.5x, not 2.0x (or, to be absolutely precise, 1.97x). This

“Importantly, the sensor in the mount unit has been optimised for use with 35mm range-finder lenses, specifically in the design of the microlenses and the absence of an anti-aliasing (AA) or low-pass filter.”

MOUNTiNG EXciTEMENTRicoh’s innovative GXR compact system camera gains the all-important access to ‘legacy’ film lenses via a new M-mount module which incorporates its own ‘APS-C’ format sensor.

Report by Paul Burrows.

Focusing is, of course, manual, but the GXR provides a number of assistance devices, namely ‘focus peaking’ displays in either colour or monochrome and a magnified screen image at either 4x or 8x. The latter can be configured to show an enlarged centre section of monitor screen (which can then be moved around) or set to fill the entire screen. The ‘peaking’ displays indicate sharpest focus by highlighting the areas of maximum contrast in white, and work pretty effectively, especially in monochrome. Nevertheless, the need to always focus manually means there’s a strong case for purchasing the optional VF-2 electronic viewfinder, since in bright conditions it’s very hard to discern what’s sharp and what’s not.

Both the focus assist functions also highlight elements of the GXR’s control idiosyncrasies. For example, ‘Focus Assist’ is turned on in the main shooting menu, but the mode then has to be selected in the set-up menu. Hello? And the image magnification is turned on by pressing and holding in the ‘Menu/OK’ button, which is in the centre of the four-way navigator (which means there are four keys that can be accidentally activated), but then moving the zone around

Now we know why Ricoh styled the GXR so much like a rangefinder camera… it really looks the part when an RF lens is fitted via the new GXR Mount A12.

RICOH GXR + LENS MOUNT A12

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requires the use of a separate adjuster for left/right and the navigator’s plus/minus quadrants from up/down. It’s cumbersome, fiddly and counter-intuitive, but there are some options for control customisation here which may help make setting these functions a little more straightforward.

EXPOSUREIn terms of exposure control, the only modes available with these non-auto lenses are aperture-priority auto and manual, but the GXR will still deliver a result if left set to the program mode because it simply adjusts the shutter speed to the set aperture (and ISO). Likewise,if auto ISO adjustment is engaged, the camera will automatically change the sensitivity to obtain a correct exposure in the shutter- priority auto mode too.

In the ‘legitimate’ modes, the big attraction is that live view provides a visual indication of exposure adjustments. In the manual mode there’s also a +/-2.0 EV scale to guide the setting of apertures and shutter speeds in terms of under/overexposure. Up to +/-4.0 EV of compensation is available in the aperture-priority auto mode (and, by default, the program mode). So is auto exposure bracketing, with adjustments of up to +/-2.0 EV and variable sequencing of three frames. White balance and colour mode bracketing is also available (more about the latter shortly). The native sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 200 to 3200. with an additional ‘ISO Lo’ setting which is equivalent to ISO 100 (but apparently is ISO 125 with the electronic shutter).

The GXR’s built-in flash is fully concealed in the top plate when not in use and is popped up via a button on the rear panel behind it. Among the available flash modes is second curtain sync and manual output control all the way down to 1/64. Flash exposure compensation can be set over a range of +/-2.0 EV.

The GXR camera body provides access to a small number of subject programs and these are still available with the mount unit in terms of the processing for saturation, sharpness and contrast, but the exposure is dictated by the set aperture, so some are of limited worth – the sports mode, for example. More importantly, this is where Ricoh hides the GXR’s in-camera effects which comprise Soft Focus, High Contrast B&W, Miniaturise, Cross Process and Toy Camera. Also here is an ‘Electronic Shutter’ mode which gives a speed range of 1-1/8000 second and is adjustable around the selected aperture (with exposure compensation available too). These exposure times are controlled at the sensor.

LiGhT ANd cOLOURThere’s a choice of three metering methods – 256-zone multi-pattern, centre-weighted average and spot – and the usual selection of GXR white balance controls which includes Ricoh’s multi-point measurement. This works along the same lines as multi-point metering, using 864 segments across the frame with each measured separately for its colour temperature, so the colour balance is subsequently adjusted selectively across the image rather than just averaged. Manual colour tempera-ture control is available, but across a simple colour temperature scale rather than in actual values.

The GXR has a basic choice of five colour modes – which Ricoh calls ‘Image Settings’ – and these are labelled Vivid, Standard, Natural, Black & White and B&W (TE), which provides a choice of five toning colours (including sepia). The three colour modes don’t have any adjustable parameters, but two user-definable ‘Image Settings’ are available which allow for the adjustment of saturation, contrast and sharpness with sub-menus for hue and vividness, allowing for the fine-tuning of individual

Ricoh’s GXR is a camera with a fair few idiosyncrasies, but most are forgivable in the light of the way it works with the M-mount unit. The solidly-built magnesium alloy body and mount housing complements the weight of a metal-barrelled RF lens very nicely, and the black Voigtländer 35mm f1.4 used for our testing looked just right too. The resulting combination felt very nicely balanced in the hand, but as mentioned earlier, having the optional EVF is really essential to complete the experience as well as help with manual focusing. The GXR is no Leica, but it’s still an exceptionally well-made and nicely-finished camera which feels right at home behind quality glassware.

However, the big deal here is just how well the mount unit’s sensor complements the optical capabilities of these lenses. The image quality is truly exceptional – superb colour (especially in Vivid), remarkable resolution (helped to some extent by the lack of an AA filter), a very good dynamic range (surprisingly so) and very little noise at the lower ISO settings. And that’s just the JPEGs. Noise levels are minimal up to ISO 800 and not unduly problematic at ISO 1600, but some graininess is evident in areas of continuous tone. It really is very impressive, although some credit must go to the inherently superior of optical performance of a good all-glass RF prime lens free of any zoom-related compromises.

ThE VERdicTIt’s hard not to see sales of the Ricoh GXR suddenly start to rise thanks to the arrival of the Mount A12, because it really does work so well with good RF glass. Ricoh’s tweaking of the sensor delivers real dividends in terms of the image quality; at times, it’s hard to believe that there are only 12.3 megapixels at work. Of course, this ensures reasonably-sized pixels, but imagine what might be possible if Ricoh eventually gets its hands on Sony’s new 24.7 MP ‘APS-C’ imager!

There’s a physical compatibility too, with the chunky GXR doing a passable impersonation of an RF camera even if it isn’t really all that close to one. Nevertheless, the electronic focusing aids work well and the overall feel is definitely more classic than modern. However, it’s the price – even with the optional EVF thrown in – that makes the Ricoh route the most attractive one for using RF lenses with digital capture.

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“A vast array of M-mount rangefind-er lenses are now compatible with the GXR body and, unlike with the MFT cameras, the focal length magnifica-tion factor is only 1.5x, not 2.0x.”

Type: Fully automatic non-reflex digital camera with 68-pin databus connector for fitting lens and lens mount modules plus accessory units.Lens Mount: Leica M-bayonet. Focusing: Manual. Minimum focusing distance depends on fitted lens.Metering: 256-segment multi-zone, centre-weighted average, spot and TTL flash. Metering range is EV 1.2 to 13.2 at f2.5 and ISO 100.Exposure Modes: Aperture- priority auto and manual.Shutter: Electronic focal plane, vertical travel, metal blades, 180-1/4000 second plus ‘B’ and ‘T’. Flash sync up to 1/180 second. Exposure compensation up to +/-4.0 EV in 1/3 or ½ or stop increments. Electronic (i.e. sensor) shutter has a speed range of 1-1/8000 second.Viewfinder: No optical view- finder. Viewfinding via LCD monitor screen which has scale/grid, real-time histogram and info displays plus a zoom function. Optional eyelevel EVF plugs into dedicated connection.Flash: Built-in flash with GN 6.8 power (ISO 100/metres), 24mm (35mm equivalent) angle-of- output and TTL exposure control. Auto, red-eye, slow sync, second curtain sync, exposure compensation and manual modes (power adjustable down to 1/64). External flash units connect via hotshoe.Additional Features: AE/AF lock, auto exposure bracketing, auto aperture shift, dual-mode self-timer (5 to 10 second delays, 1 to 10 frames), intervalometer, depth-of-field preview, auto power-off.

DIGITAL SECTIONSensor: 15.7x23.6 mm CMOS, 12.9 million pixels total (12.3 MP effec-tive). Sensitivity equivalent to ISO 200-3200, expandable to ISO 100.Focal Length Magnification: 1.5x.Formats/Resolution: Two JPEG compression settings on six resolution settings, RAW+JPEG output (RAW capture in the Adobe DNG format). 4:3 aspect ratio – 3776x2832, 3072x2304, 2592x1944, 2048x1536, 1280x960 and 640x480 pixels. 3:2 aspect ratio – 4288x2848 and 3456x2304 pixels. 1:1 – 2848x2848 and 2304x2304 pixels. 16:9 – 4288x2416 and 3456x1944 pixels. 24-bit RGB

colour for JPEGs, 36-bit RGB colour for RAW files.

Video Recording: AVI Motion JPEG format at 1280x720 pixels, 24 fps and 16:9 aspect ratio. Also at 640x480 and 320x240 pixels. WAVE format mono sound. Movie clips limited to a maximum file size of 4.0 GB (equivalent to around 12 minutes in HD mode). Recording Media: SD/SDHC memory cards plus 86 MB of internal memory.Continuous Still Shooting: Up to 15 frames at up to 3.0 fps (JPEG/large/fine) or four RAW files.White Balance: TTL measure-ment via image sensor. Auto, auto with multi-point measure-ment, four presets, one custom preset, compensation (amber- to-blue, green-to-magenta), manual (via CT scale) and auto bracketing.Interfaces: USB 2.0, AV output (NTSC/PAL) and HDMI mini.Additional Digital Features: 7.62 cm LCD monitor (920,000 pixels), electronic level indicator, ‘Direct’ screen for status displays and changing settings, three custom-ised camera set-ups, sRGB and Adobe RGB colour spaces, five ‘Image Setting’ modes (Vivid, Standard, Natural, B&W and Sepia/Red/Green/Blue/Purple), two custom ‘Image Settings’, adjustable picture parameters (saturation, contrast, sharpness, and selected hue and vividness), in-camera special effects (selected via the Scene mode setting), noise reduction (Weak, Strong, Max, Off and Auto), high ISO noise reduc-tion (with adjustable threshold), simultaneous B&W/colour/sepia capture, lens correction (distor-tion, vignetting and colour shad-ing), intervalometer, grid display, 20/81 thumbnail displays, playback zoom (up to 16x), playback editing (Resize, Trim, Level Compensation – auto or manual, White Balance Compensation, Skew Correction), DPOF support, PictBridge support. Power: One 3.6 volt/1700 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack (DB-90 type). Dimensions (WxHxD): body + A12 mount unit = 120.0x70.2x45.7 mm. Weight: body + A12 mount unit = 370 grams (with battery pack and memory card).Price: *Mount A12 unit alone, $799. GXR Mount A12 Kit with camera body, $1199.Distributor: Tasco Sales Australia Pty Ltd, telephone (02) 9938 3244 or visit www.ricohcameras.com.au

colours and colour ranges. These are available for orange, greens, blues, reds and magenta, and all over plus/minus four steps. The colour mode bracketing can be set to either two or three frames (again in different menus), simultaneously capturing colour and B&W images plus, if selected, a sepia image as well. The colour image is captured in whichever ‘Image Setting’ mode is already selected.

All this adds some nice digital-era capabilities to film-era lenses.

WORkiNG TOGEThERThe GXR allows for images to be captured as JPEGs in six sizes at an aspect ratio of 4:3 and in various choices of size at 3:2, 16:9 and 1:1. There are two compression levels – fine and normal – and RAW capture is in the Adobe DNG format, but only as RAW+JPEG recording. Data is recorded onto SD/SDHC memory cards, but the GXR has yet to be upgraded to provide support for SDXC.

Continuous shooting is at up to 3.0 fps for a burst of 15 JPEGs sized at 4288x2848 pixels (i.e. 3:2 aspect ratio), but there’s a high speed mode which allows for 24 fps, but with the resolution reduced to one megapixel for a burst of 30 frames.

Given the GXR’s vintage (comparatively speaking), video remains something of an after-thought, with clips recorded at 1280x720 pixels and 24 fps (progressive) in the AVI Motion JPEG format, with mono sound and no provision for connecting a stereo microphone. The video functionality is basic, but then this probably isn’t a high priority for buyers of the GXR specifically for the M-mount unit.

Image quality is exceptional, especially in terms of the resolving power, which delivers extremely sharp-looking images and very high levels of detailing. The colour reproduction and dynamic range are excellent too. These test images were taken with the Voigtländer 35mm f1.4 Nokton Classic lens. The mount unit’s sensor is more than capable of doing justice to good RF glass.

Lens modules and the new mount unit couple to the GXR body via a 68-ping databus connection. This provides exceptional flexibility in terms of any future developments in digital camera design.

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