astorm, I always though adding ImageMagick support would be a cinch, mainly because all the image processing is contained nicely in i.php, and you can just do a couple switches and use ImageMagick's functions instead of GD. I've always wanted to see if there's a speed difference, and the extra compatibility is good, so I imagine it will happen someday.
I probably won't add this filter beacuse of speed and personal preference differences, but once we get a good real plugin system, image filters could be added to customize your installation!

(that's a ways off though).