i think its AWESOME

it is mind boggling concept. I still don't know why Ricoh opt to do this. It will drive up the sensor+lens price, Every time you buy the new cartridge (lens+sensor) it is like buying a new camera.

Considering the cost, why don't you buy a new camera or lens instead?

Typical case of Japanese pride and stubbornness. Where is the advantage over say, a LX3? It's bigger and more expensive. Also the lens systems are pricey and will become quickly technically outdated. Why didn't Ricoh join the MFT-platform and restrict themselves to building their own superior MFT-camerabodies? Maybe because they weren't allowed to by Oly and Pana? Still, this system oozes the traditional Ricoh advantages; superior build and handling, that I like a lot and still miss in my LX3. Looking forward to seeing the samples from this system.

They certainly get full points for thinking outside the box, but...

I can't think of any components from my 2006 digital cameras which I'd still like to keep around, except lenses. Not sensors, not screens, not raw processing times. Which makes me think this is a less sensible division than the traditional lens + body of M4/3 etc. At least in terms of getting to keep some bits longer than others.

And in terms of buying a whole system for use right now, I'm also a little puzzled by what on earth you gain over (say) an LX3 in one pocket and a GF1 in the other.

Samples are impressive: http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/gxr/sampleimage.html. Whether it's worth the investment is another matter. It's a tempting piece of kit if you want a small body with a big sensor + prime though. That's all I'd want for street photography. Looks like it will be cheaper than a Leica X1, although not by much.

I think it is a great idea! Remember, there are two companies that have a history of providing excellent sensors/optics in mediocre to poor camera bodies: Fuji and Sigma. If these two companies can be convinced in producing "units" for the Ricoh GXR body that would really be absolutely brilliant!

Looks like $1k minimum, $3k for everything available. Gaad!

I really don't know what to make of this. Yes, sensor dust is the bete' noire of digital cameras and it's a big (huge) problem with no easy answers.

On the other hand, the lens "units" on the Ricoh each contain just about all of the expensive parts of a camera (glass, sensor, shutter) while leaving the "body" only to hold the battery, the controls, and the processor board and LCD.

As another poster said, the only durable goods in the modern digital camera world are the lenses themselves. My 4/3rds and m4/3rds lenses have an expected useful lifetime of at least a decade -- I can't see something technologically obsoleting my PanLeica f1.4 25mm anytime soon. Glass is glass and the sucker cost $1000 anyways.

But the G1 BODY on which that lens goes has the lifetime of a hampster. Within a year, there will be a G2 or some other m4/3rds body with a sufficiently compelling improvement in sensor technology, processing power, features, etc. that I'll replace the G1 with it but keep on using my old lenses.

The Ricoh system will have none of that. No matter how good the lens optics are, they're married and welded to the bits of the camera that are most relentlessly subject to obsolescence -- particularly the sensor. Meanwhile the body too will be improved, meaning that your choices are to either buy new lenses on the same basic upgrade schedule as you would have for the body alone, or you don't. Which means missing the boat on the fastest-changing (improvement) part of digital camera technology.