Just went downtown here in Tokyo and bought the A16 module this evening. I was a little surprised to see the items abundantly available... there was none of the usual overcrowded waiting for a new product that usually happens here in Japan. I guess the GXR is being completely overshadowed by the new Sony Nex7, the Fujifilm X1-Pro, the Canon G1-X, the Nikon V1, the Pentax K-01 (seeing it in person is quite an eye-opener... the thing truly is a brick!!!) and the immensely anticipated (I'm going to get one) Olympus OM-D. Even though the A16 just came out today, I saw no one else looking at it, in Yodobashi, the most crowded and visited camera store in the world!
Anyway, I now have the lens unit here at home. I've only played around with it for a short while so don't really have a good idea of how it works, but first impressions... It is very light! Was actually surprised when I first picked it up. The balance works very well with the camera back and the roundness and heft fit perfectly in the hand. It's been a while since I've held a camera with my hand under the lens like I used to do with my SLR's, but it brought the familiar feeling back, and strangely had me automatically reaching for the EVF.
The material itself feels rougher than I would have imagined... maybe good for keeping a good grip on the large lens, but feels cheap, too. Still not sure how I feel about it. I find myself wanting that missing focus ring. At the front I attached the flip open lens cap accessory, thinking that it would be as useful as the smaller version of it is on the S10, but it is a rather inelegant and clunky solution. You can't use the lens hood with it, though you can fit a thin filter underneath. The sales clerk and I were joking about how quickly we both recognized the worthlessness of this lens cap solution and how Ricoh was very quickly going to get criticism for it.
Turning it on is about the same speed as the other lens modules. Focusing is about the same as the A12 28, and like the other modules is quick in bright light, but tends to resort to the familiar searching in less contrasty, dimmer light. The motor is very quiet though, and the shutter is almost silent. File write times are the same as before, even with a fast SD card.
I like the image quality so far, but haven't had a chance to get out and try it yet, so I don't know yet about the wide end distortion. I'm not as technically savvy as most of you here, so I won't be able to evaluate it too deeply on that end. For me this lens and the A12 50 for macro (and the P10 20-300 for digiscoping) are what I will probably mainly use for my mountain walking photography. I've needed a more versatile lens than what's been offered until now and I hope the A16 will fill in the gaps.
