Are rangefinders really that "out"

[shadowfox]

Hey, I like film for what I can get out of it. But digital is eventually going to replace film. In a sense it already has. Consider how many digital camera models come out versus film models of cameras. That is as inevitable as MF replacing LF, and 35mm replacing MF (for the majority of people, especially snapshooters).

Have to disagree. The fact that there are no more new film cameras being produced does not mean that film will ceased to be used for photography.

There are tens of thousands of perfectly working film cameras circulating in the used market.

Only the demise of *all* film manufacturers in the world will cause digital to replace film totally. Let's make sure that this never happens.

 

[DRabbit]

I think it's difficult to really KNOW how "in or out" they are because of the price. There are so few people willing to spend big-bucks on a any camera, let alone something that requires a bit more skill to use. Yes, yes... I know all about the RD1, but it certainly wasn't widely available in the U.S. and I wouldn't exactly call it "cheap" either (was $3000 at release). However, the fact that interest remains on it all these years later despite it's 6mp sensor should tell you something.

I've said for a long time that there's just no way to really know how successful a more down-to-earth priced digital rangefinder would be until someone takes the risk and makes one. I think something made with vintage styling and some modern features could really tickle people's fancy if it came in at a more main-stream price. I think there'd have to be sacrifices to make it affordable (it wouldn't have that hand-built quality of a Leica), but I personally think it's doable.

I wish Bessa would take that risk.

An R4A-D at $1499-$1899? Why not? I'd buy one up in a second.

 

[rxmd]

This is one of these threads where it's clear in advance what people are going to say:

[X] Film vs digital
[X] small vs big cameras
[X] rangefinders vs SLRs
[X] rangefinder users like to talk about how "out" their cameras are, because that shows how "in" they are themselves for using this stuff (off-the-beaten-track, neglected-but-really-good, non-marketing-driven etc.)
...


I get the impression that the main reason for this kind of discussion is because people like to read stuff that they know and are familiar with. Am I wrong?

 

[sanmich]

One source of the exitement may be that the DSLR market already proposes very good solutions at decent prices, and the RF market is still not "there"?