Steve Huff is one of the very few “professional reviewers” that tested the Ricoh GXR: “So all in all, the Ricoh seems like a misunderstood camera. Those who own one LOVE it. Those who don’t dismiss it because it is different. Me, I like it and I am having a blast shooting with it. The camera really is for those who put quality photos first. For $1000 or so the body and 28mm would make a great starter set. Adding the 50 makes it much more versatile.“
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What’s the Moore’s Law constant for electronics? That is–how long do you have to wait before electronics performance doubles? About 18 months, maybe 2 years.
What’s that constant for optics? I think it’s dozens of years, isn’t it?
What’s the construction cost for optics? Lots.
What’s the construction cost for electronics? Virtually nothing.
That’s why it normally makes sense to have the optics separate from electronics. It seems very strange to have a 2-piece camera that separates into (1) a module with lots of electronics and (2) another module with both optics and lots of electronics. It means that you have to keep upgrading both.
Even though your optics are still good for another 30 years, they’re glued to electronics that make them artificially obsolete in 2 years.
The processor in the body will keep getting faster, the LCD will keep getting brighter, the body will keep being able to take more shots with a smaller battery. Yes, you have to upgrade it. And the sensor is a no-brainer.
Now it could be that integrating the sensor and the lens yields such a huge performance gain over an SLR that it’s worth it. But I have a hard time believing that. Can anyone convince me?