Now *this* is what engaging the customer meaningfully is about

I suppose the original point of this post on the Ricoh forum is that Sony is capable of really good customer relations, contrasted with Ricoh, which seems to have abandoned its customers entirely.   If that is the case, I completely agree.

As many of us have remarked ad nauseum, the problem with Ricoh is the total lack of new product information coming out of that company for a protracted period.  When we bought a "system" camera like the GXR, we reasonably expected that there will be regular additions and improvements--which is one of the benefits of buying into a system.  When the manufacturer unexpectedly stops developing new related products, stops improving the system, and stops even talking about its plans, then we customers naturally begin to wonder whether we have been deceived into buying into the system.

The issue is not, as some members of this Forum have asserted in defending Ricoh, that the GXR is still usable or a capable camera.  That is irrelevant.  The issue is, whether the GXR System is continuing to be developed or was suddenly, unexpectedly, and silently abandoned.  The situation is comparable to a hypothetical one in which Sony, the developer of the Nex camera, suddenly stopped making lenses and accessories and ceased improving the Nex body a relatively short time after the Nex first on the market, without any announcement or news.  I can just imagine the howls of protest--or maybe even the class action lawsuit in the U.S.

I agree that the Ricoh GXR is still more than serviceable---I still enjoy using  mine and it still is capable of producing lovely photos.  I could say the same about my decades old Leica M6, Rolleiflex, and Pentax LX.  I feel very let down by Ricoh for its lack of new GXR system product development and lack of communication about its future intentions.  If my system camera is an orphan, I am entitled at the very least to be told so I can begin the mourning process and move on.

If,  as one of you wrote, Ricoh listens to its customers and reads customer forums, then its total silence for so long is doubly strange.  The only conclusion one can logically reach (other than that Ricoh is ceasing business as a camera brand) is that Ricoh (as a camera company) has become so disorganized and perplexed about its own intentions, that it doesn't even know what it is going to do in the future, if anything.

In the context of the problems of the world, this is, of course, only a miniscule annoyance, a sort of itch actually, since I will soon remedy my desire for a more capable sensor and integrated viewfinder by looking at other camera companies' products.  I really enjoy, however, reading the interesting and mostly intellligent and inciteful banter among the stalwart veterans of this site, Tom, RRoute (don't know your first name), Mr. Stern, Godfrey, and many others from all over the world who take the time to good naturedly write often on this forum (and others I believe).  And I'm beginning to think of you as people I actually know and admire.  It's a lot of fun, if not always on the subject of a Ricoh equipment forum.  If only that I will miss reading your posts, I will really regret it if Ricoh does officially abandon the Ricoh brand camera business. I respond only occasionally, to let you know I am around.  Thank you all for your efforts

Best wishes,

Dennis