Edu,
of course the Ricoh solution is completly silly not allowing lens mount. If so, that would have been another story.
As it is, this Ricoh is nothing more than another gadget, although very competent.
But the point is that they show that this technology is available right now, and can be properly implement in a better design.
Rob,
I come from another generation where I grew-up with film and came back to photography with digital. I love digital but certainly not spending my all life in post-production, or accumulating softwares, and learning each year the last printing profiles or whatever new fashionable tech. That just drive me nuts and I simply avoid it.
My position is sharp clear about that: prints are for printers, PP are for techs and designers. This means that I always prefer to trust somebody's knowledge (delegate) and concentrate on my task. This is true with film or digital in my approach. Others will love to take care of the all process and will think that they can not delegate. That's fine.
Just supervise the work, decide everything but listening to the printer opinion-experience or any person involved in the chain. Time saving, better results and peace of mind (and work for others).
No doubt that if I grow up in photography I'll have "50" assistants for any kind of task because it's just the way I am and I want to work.
I'm not interested a second in color profiles, computer sofwares and even camera specs. Technicaly speaking, I'm just interested in the handling and design. Point. I'm totally useless in technical aspects out of the shooting, I do not even know most of the tech posts here about color profiles or whatever exotic technology.
That's why I tend to "minimalist" cameras in the style of the Contax 645. Hate loosing time with multi-task tech. Just feel like a cat in the water.
Now I'm doing my PP myself but I reach a point where I won't, in a way or another. In fact I simply hate all the circus that has come with digital, as I hated the darkroom. (it's not that I hate it literally, I simply feel that it is someone else's task, not mine). Oh, and I also hate the medium sensor's files.
Got a guy in the country who's doing large prints with special paper and a lab here for huge sizes and I can ask them whatever I need to know etc...
No hassle. Professionals, you pay them for that.
The only real thing where I'm interested in is the viewfinder, composing and pressing the button. Visualising the artwork and finally give to others the production tasks.
So yes, The contax 645, or the H 500 are pretty much in my philosophy, as the single great shot.
When I started again with digital, I was shooting like crazy, very excited about the unlimited options, the sofwares etc...Now I just hate that path.
I shoot less and less, I've erased 90% of all my pics, made room in my hard drives and I'm looking to work more and more with MF LF because of the different approach, lets say more contemplative.
Even in my street attempts, I'm trying to shoot less and see more.
When I'm back in the studio, I don't have to handle with 500 shots of the day and when I just made 10 or 20 I just feel happy.
Passed from C1 to LR because of C1 unstability, in fact I hate these things. I almost do not use these software any more, I just devellop the raws directly in Photoshop. Don't even shoot jpegs any more. As CBarett says here: Less is more.
Cheers.