The best we have from Ricoh is that they intend to keep making new cameras to the market.
Do we have that assurance? Specifically the Ricoh GXR and other like-minded cameras which show Ricoh's touch?
I've seen press releases announcing consumer cameras (like GRD and GXR) being folded in under the Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company (PRI, AKA Pentax). I've seen press releases announcing Pentax sales and marketing in the Americas (where I live) would take over
sales and marketing activities for Ricoh cameras like the GRD and GXR. I've not seen any fruits of that switch in responsibility, as the sales and marketing efforts surrounding Ricoh GRD and GXR cameras in the Americas appears to be about what it was before - none to nil.
I emphasized
sales and marketing activities in the paragraph before with the intention of pointing out that I've not seen any commitment from Ricoh or PRI AKA Pentax to continue
development and manufacturing of GRD and GXR cameras.
Sales and marketing are unimportant to me if development and manufacturing doesn't take place.
Last comment: I don't spend any time thinking about the demise or life of Ricoh GRD and GXR cameras other than what is required for me to type a response. Life goes on, I continue to use my GXR.
But... I'm not planning on buying any more GXR components at all until the situation is clear, and I do represent one small part of the potential market for GXR components and perhaps a larger part of that market who are similarly sitting on their hands, unsure if Ricoh GXR and other nice related products will continue to evolve, be made, and therefore have a decent support lifespan.
Instead, I think I'll buy a Sony RX1.