Dpreview: Ricoh announces Leica M Mount GXR MOUNT A12

Ricoh seems to have done a lot of work to make the m-module work. Even if some of it is marketing hyperbole (microlenses...uh okay, maybe) the effort in creating usable live-view focus modes is admirable. I just placed a deposit with popflash. I've been using the GXR for the past two months and it's an extremely well-made, well thought-out camera. I think the lensor idea is questionable on paper or in theory, but darn, it works really well. The only thing I miss with the GXR is a really fast lens. That's about to be remedied.

I think the price is okay. It's Ricoh, it's Leica.

The crop factor is not a big deal for me as long as I can meet my basic needs. I've never been a photographer with a million lenses. I need a relatively fast wide (28mm). I need a fast fifty. I need a fast portrait. A fast 35...that would be nice, but not essential at this time.
 
Call me silly, but I have another idea. What about to use the M-Modul to create a really old fashion look in the pics. I´m so satisfied with sharpness and contrast of the A12-50mm that I don't think an modern, expansive Leica up to two 1 or 2 K€ lens will do much better?! would it be a way to use a very old lens to render old fashion pics? What old lenses came you in mind for that play?

Rainer
 
I think it's a great concept, I only wish it had a lower minimum ISO like 100 or even better, 50 so I would not have to use ND filters with ultra fast lenses, image stabilization and the ability to mount a 50 DR. I assume they made their lens tester so lenses like this one, which are not mountable on many M mount digitals including Leicas, would be excluded. It's one of my favorite M lenses and is mountable on my E-P2 with the Novoflex adapter, and even allows close focussing with the eyes, though they do look a little silly. It also has image stabalization in the body.
 
jsrockit said:
I cannot believe people are bitching about the price of this... some of you will not be happy until they make a m mount camera that is only $10.
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Some of us are ****ing poor but trying not to be depressed by it, and maybe maintain a simple "affordable" hobby or start something.

I pay real money for real things... Plastic and electronics fail in that category. If I buy a knife I buy one forged by a real human, if I buy an electronic chip made by a machine I will make note that in order to please business backing the mark up will be sit to make up for quantity regardless of making profit or not, in order to hit a goal.

Digital technology is nothing new, the R&D is not what it was ten years ago. Advancements come easier now than ever.
 
My GF-1 with a 4/3's sensor seems to be the equal of my APS sensored Nikon D300 and the equal of the M8 sensor at low ISO's and blows the M8 away at higher ISO's. I'm not so sure that sensor size is all that relevant anymore unless you get up to midsize cameras like the S2/ Hassy's, etc. So, whether the new compact Leica is APS or 4/3's, I'm sure it will be interesting. I agree that the Ricoh is too large and the manual lens coding seems like a pain in the A...
 
Field said:
I have been looking at mirrorless EVIL stuff for a few days now and thought I found the whole kitten-kabootle with the GXR until I read the price for this A12... Ridiculous. I can save a ton of money and get an on-par or near-par censor from Sony, and only have to spend $30 to mount my Elmar.
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If you thought you'd found the whole kitten-kabootle with the GXR, well there was probably something that set it apart from just the Sonys. You pay for that something. It's part of the kitten-kabootle proposition.

Same as with the human-made knife. A factory-made knife is cheaper, but the fact that it's human-made (or "real" as you call it) makes it worth the extra $$$ for you no matter if you think you're poor. (I think it's a luxury, your mileage may vary.) But if you don't want to pay the marginal cost, you gotta live without the marginal utility. Go and buy a Sony then. News at 11.

Also, looking at MSRPs of newly-introduced products is not really clever if you are short on money. Look at street prices a year or two down the road. Case in point, over here (Germany) I've seen used GXRs with no modules go for 150 EUR. If you need that camera right now, then "right now" is another piece of marginal utility that comes at its own marginal cost. But if you're short on money, the most useful skill in the photography world is being able to wait.
 
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