And they can only mimic the ME's simple lay-out if the lenses had an aperture ring, which the DA ltds don't have.
I don't see why there could not be a large control ring wrapped right around the lens mount, with aperture click-stops on it. It would just need to skim past the corners of the mirrorbox and the lens release. Then the lens goes right onto the front of that, keeping its K-mount registration. With an Auto position on the aperture control.
The shutter speed dial moves from the top plate onto the back dial, and that has a Auto position too, as well as B and X.
The front dial toggles between EV comp and ISO. There's an Auto option on the ISO scale.
So that's all current exposure modes covered. Of course, the user can switch the functions of the dials. Top plate readout is essential as well as in the viewfinder.
Ricoh need to be creative here, but
without copying specifics just for the sake of it
. What's important is the same stripped-down approach that those cameras had, with primacy given to the tactile and kinaesthetic way the camera is used.
Of course, cameras like the MX were built down to a budget as well as to mechanical constraints that are very different to the current design challenge. But that was not a question of how many features they could bolt on - rather: of what features they could be sure to integrate robustly, and usefully, that would quickly become transparent to the user.
And IMO that's the spirit that any new Limited body should aim for. A pastiche, however charming, will completely miss the point.
