Ricoh Do not know if this good or bad news for the GXR

Do you have any idea how many Leica film shooters I know that sold all their Leica gear over the last two years because they couldn't afford to drop $7000 for an M9 body. Hopefully Leica can see the light of day when the mirrorless camera they release can use an M lens and not cost $3000 for the body alone.


That's just muddled thinking, IMO.

I happily use my M2, M7 and MP, and a II. I use them with Leica LTM, CV, Leica M and Zeiss glass. You don't need an M9 to produce an image with Leica glass. Leica learned their lesson years ago with the CL/CLE - a cheaper body cannibalised their sales. Similarly they see second-hand as the "gateway drug" to the current top of the range. Also consider Leica's experience in introducing the Summarit range of lenses - people ignore them and lust after - and buy - the Summiluxes instead at a considerable price premium.
 
So it's about impressing people or stroking one's ego over the act of photography.

Must feel great to pay $130 for a spare battery for your M9 just because it says Leica on it.

For a large percentage yes, just like a number of luxury goods, far and away more Leica M9s are owned by hobbyist than professionals
 
So it's about impressing people or stroking one's ego over the act of photography.

Must feel great to pay $130 for a spare battery for your M9 just because it says Leica on it.


I think that depends on the company one keeps - I certainly wouldn't want to hang around with the sort of people who would be impressed by my battery purchasing habits ;)
 
Do bear in mind that Leica has been a "Luxury brand" since the Luxus was produced in 1929 - 1930. They have always played that card but, just as people who never go deeper than the bathtub wear Rolexes, so there are photographers who feel they are measured by the size of their aperture. :rolleyes: People buy Leica for many reasons - because it is the best at what it dies, because it is different, because it has a history, because it has a cachet, because it is a good investment, or just because. Does it matter?
 
Sorry to interrupt gents. Leica is not now nor ever was a luxury brand. Leica is a very fine camera that bears an expensive price.
Just because something is expensive does not mean it is a luxury.
It just means its expensive. I've used Leica's well over 45 years, thru wars, peace movements, just good old fashioned life. I never thought of my cameras as a luxury.
In fact, I only thought about them as necessities.
Hmmm, I still do....
 
Sorry to interrupt gents. Leica is not now nor ever was a luxury brand. Leica is a very fine camera that bears an expensive price.
Just because something is expensive does not mean it is a luxury.
It just means its expensive. I've used Leica's well over 45 years, thru wars, peace movements, just good old fashioned life. I never thought of my cameras as a luxury.
In fact, I only thought about them as necessities.
Hmmm, I still do....

In the beginning that was more true than today, Leica made 35mm the new hot format, the 111a through IIIgs were the best of their time, the same argument could be made for the M3, and maybe the M4, but with the rise of the SLR in the professional ranks, Leica position and marketing changed, their SLRs were always a step behind, the M5 was mistake, from that point on way more Leicas were bought by people with the means as a luxury brand than by working pros. As a “young starting out professional” 30 some years ago I sold and managed a Pro store here in LA that is who we sold them to. Just look at all the collector models and finishes they marketed. I am not saying they do not produce great results, just that the result difference if any was no longer worth the cost difference to most working photographers.
 
I no longer have expectations for nor assumptions about the GXR system. I used to, but Ricoh will do what they do. I believe that I originally overestimated the system, thinking there would be a whole posse of units in various focal lengths. But that has not panned out and what we do have is basically Ricoh's classic focal lengths (short of the 21mm focal length). That may be all that we get. Who's to say.

The A16 Zoom arrived yesterday and I'm very impressed. I've long waited for it and it's nice to have an APS GXR zoom for times when it is handy to have on hand.

For lack of time to actually take the kind of pictures that I like to take I've been satisfying the urge to photograph by trying new gear. Some impressive stuff out there, and my Pentax DSLR has filled a real need, but I feel like I've become too far removed from the art of photography (I still study photobooks every night though). I'm working my way back to the art.

I think the GXR is a great system. Again and again, through new gear and old, I come to appreciate what I can tease out of the files. The color and texture really appeal to me on a consistent basis. For the most part I really like using the system. The cameras are light and compact and they deliver beautiful pictures. I still struggle with the EVF in bright light, but I manage. I would like to see a short tele A16, but that's about all I would need. I have a small set of M-mount lenses that I use every now and then, but I struggle with accurate focus at times. I'd like to see all APS units updated to the AA-filterless A16 units.

There's always more or better or faster... but the GXR gets the important things right. A lot of photographers from the old days talk fondly of certain brands or cameras. I don't feel that way about anything I've used except for my Ricoh cameras. They're not the best at any one thing, but they satisfy my soul.

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I don't wish to disagree with you gentlemen, but a luxury brand does not mean fragile, dysfunctional or more ornament than use. The Luxus was introduced in 1929 specifically to cater for the well-heeled amateur.

I quote from the 1931 catalogue:

"In compliance with widely expressed wishes. we make the Leica Camera with focal plane shutter also in the form of a De Luxe model. In this model all the metal parts are dull gilt, the body is covered with lizard skin (green, red, blue or brown) and the case is made of crocodile leather of a colour to match the camera body, the whole presenting the appearance shown in fig. 7. This case is fitted with handles and accommodates the camera together with one film-chamber (without range-finder)."

Now, I have a black 1929 Standard, that was upgraded in 1934 to II spec. It is a thing of beauty, but it is, to me at least, first and foremost a superlative tool for street photography. I have had it about 5 years now; I had it CLA'd when I first bought it and I am proud to have put my own mark on it by brassing it still further. It has been chuntering away now for over 80 years and I do not doubt that it will still work long after they have turned up the wick under my coffin.

Luxury brand, yes. Superlative tool, yes. The two are not mutually exclusive. "Buy cheap, buy twice".
 
It says that we will now find Ricoh cameras easier to obtain... but to be honest, I've never had trouble obtaining a Ricoh camera.

Now, if they were cheaper, then they'd be easier to obtain :D

I agree that if one is familiar with the Ricoh product here in the USA no problem buying one. But for the uninformed photo hobbyist, this will allow Ricoh to get their product seen by those who don't know about what they have to offer.
 
I'm kind of questing where they would sell them ? For Ricoh now I go to Adorama or B&H and they're kind of the only dealers that sell Pentax too. Actually there aren't that many camera dealers with store fronts around anymore and even electronic stores are receding.
 
For someone who really wants a Ricoh and KNOWS that, they're easy enough to find. But no casual camera shopper in the US is going to walk into a camera store and be presented with a Ricoh as one of the options to consider. They have to already know that's what they want and go find it, generally via the internet unless they happen to live in New York or maybe a couple of other places in the US. So if you know you want a Ricoh, you can get one, but that alone isn't ever going to improve Ricoh's sales. One assumes its different elsewhere in the world - I hear they're much more popular in Japan.

Its kind of funny, because I remember pushing Ricoh when I sold cameras for a while back in the mid-80s. They didn't make real high end gear, but their mid-level DSLRs and P&S cameras were better values than Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Minolta in those days and we made more money selling them. So we sold a LOT of them back then. And they almost never came back because of quality problems, which was not as true of Olympus or Minolta IIRC. I don't think many US camera shoppers will have a salesman pushing Ricoh today...

-Ray
 
Popflash has nice program where you can "try" before you buy for a week. Maybe a nice wy to advertise is to include this option in the mx with the other online retailers to get some attention.

However, as this thread's title relates, other than the new GRD and the newA16 module what new does Ricoh sell?
 
Popflash has nice program where you can "try" before you buy for a week. Maybe a nice wy to advertise is to include this option in the mx with the other online retailers to get some attention.

However, as this thread's title relates, other than the new GRD and the newA16 module what new does Ricoh sell?
The CX6; PX; G700 cameras
 
Both Pentax and Ricoh are under-rated on the market. But if you are asked about which camera you are carrying and say "Pentax" there is a glint of understanding in the eye. If you say "Ricoh" there is just that sweet smile of sympathy that comes from complete lack of knowledge. I presume Ricoh needed Pentax as a calling card to get it's products more widely accepted. This would leave Pentax to open doors and Ricoh to concentrate only on high-end technical product under it's own label. I personally think that Ricoh probably has always wanted to do this as a camera company anyway. More cheap Ricoh cameras? Don't be daft, buy Pentax.

Makes sense to me but what makes sense to Ricoh is what will happen.
 
This is good news if...

...it means Pentax will kill off the K-01 line and repackage it into a KAF module for the GXR. The K-01, which is about as big as the K-r yet has no VF, makes as much sense to me as a CSC system as the laughable Nikon J series.

I think Pentax Q - Kx - GXR - K30 - K5 - 645D would be a good spread of innovative cameras that no one else is quite delivering.
 
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