jlw said:
If by "obsolete" you're referring to pixel count, be sure to evaluate actual results carefully before deciding.
I shoot (often simultaneously) with an R-D 1 and a 10-megapixel Nikon D80. In terms of image quality, side-by-side comparisons usually are either a wash, or favor the R-D 1 (for its less-aggressive-looking noise pattern.)
Granted, the support (or non-support) issue is a serious concern, at least for people who want to consider a digital camera a "lifetime investment."
good point, but no, it's not the pixel count. I've felt for a while that the race for megapixels has plateau-ed out. For my money, the optimum is around 10MP for casual use, and somewhere around 20MP for professional. There will always be a market for the big guns, but it's more to provide flexibility for post-prod than for raw quality.
My bottom line is 'can it do a double-page spread in a glossy without pixelation?'
Mags are printed at around 250 lines per inch, so 6MP just about makes it!
No, the obsolescence I was referring to is that the R-D1 won't be updated to keep up with, for instance, better batteries, faster cards, more reliable components, etc. It doesn't take long for a cutting edge technology to become a collector's item, once the design stagnates.
It's interesting - a lot of the early problems with the M8 have been the result of designing for lenses with a short back-focus. But that's it's stregnth too - there are some things that are just much better done optically with a short back-focus - wide angle lenses with low distortion being an obvious example. So I think the digital RF is still a viable competitive design.
For photogs looking for the 'Leica experience' - ie the unobtrusive, low light quality hand-held - well, it's not that small, but it certainly does the job! And you can learn to use it pretty much invisibly (well, at least you seem to be able to!
🙂 )
