Ricoh GRD AND GX100????

Different cameras, hard to compare :)
grd will definitely drop price, but may not a lot ...
since so many fans who are using film version of it ...
and the fast 2.4 lens is a big plus and the color is so natural.
Not a P&S like those canon and sony or casio ... if you know basic photography, it is a great tool.
GX100
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinion_text.asp?prodkey=ricoh_gx100&opinion=36044
Opinion
1. I was a fan of the film-GR series, and have used the GRD in the past, so the GX100 is not new territory to me;
2. The GX100 suits my needs perfectly, because it has a typical "normal" zoom (24-70 is very popular and useful in SLRs),
RAW (invaluable in small sensor digicams), image stabilizer, good controls, etc;
3. I still shoot slide film with my EOS camera (never had a DSLR), so I am not bothered by the so-called noise.
I still remember when Provia 400F slide film was heralded for its low-grain. So that is kind of my benchmark;
4. The lens is excellent (but see below).
Problems
1. For some reason, the aperture that you set in aperture priority mode, changes if you zoom.
And this is not because the lens has different minimum apertures for different focal lengths (it is f/2.4-f/4.4).
What I am saying is that if I set the lens at 24mm and f/8, and if then I zoom in to 70mm,
the aperture changes to, say, f/11 or something. Now, f/8 is well within the range of available apertures for 70mm
(they start at f/4.4 at this focal lenght). It's a bit of a nuisance and strange.
2. The lens is excellent, and I congratulate Ricoh for pushing the envelope,
when all other brands are still producing boring 35mm "wide-angles" in digicams.
However, pushing the envelope has its limits, and of course
there is visible barrel distortion at 24mm. But this is just how things are.
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GRD
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinion_text.asp?prodkey=ricoh_grdigital&opinion=34492
Opinion
This is one beautiful little camera for those that are willing to think about their photography.
If you were not an ehthusiast before buying one then you soon will be.
Colour fidelity is excellent too and 1600 ISO is not just a mark on the dial. It can be used and I find the grain acceptable.
Tweaks are also available to reduce the graininess of high-ISO colour images.
Part of the fun of using this camera is in mastering it - it is not a camera for those who just want the camera to do the work for them.
Snap focus is a boon and by all means set yourelf an old-fashioned challenge by turning off the lcd,
set snap-focus on and just frame across the top of the camera. (An ovf would be cheating!)
This is masochistic photography but the results are surprisingly good when you throw away the viewfinder crutches
and fire without sights. The snap mode means no focus lag and you can bang off images almost as fast as you can work the shutter.
I have no problems with image quality - the 8mp sensor is relatively large by tiny-camera standards.
Batteries seem to last forever. The lack of catch on the battery is a small oversight but it has not caught me out so far.
The camera seems built like a tank and feels very robust in the hand (unlike the R4).
Looks good, its unobtrusive, but has that high-quality aura that lifts it above the other p&s cameras in a crowd.
I have not used RAW much because of its slow recording time but it is a feature I must use more often.
Perhaps it is because the jpg files are so large and obviously unprocessed that there is hardly a need to follow that route.
Recommended for those who are or about to become enthusiasts -
those that are looking for a GP small camera had best save some money and look elsewhere.

Problems
Rubber grip started to peel off - but was easy fixed with cheap regularly available double sided tape.

No other problems.