ranger said:
I've researched the two cameras that hold interest. The digilux 2 and the Epson RD-1 . Does anyone here own or have personal experience with either of these? (by the time I'm ready to go digital, who know's what will be available...and cheaper) But for right now, the Epson is way cheaper and looks kinda cool. I'm sure I'm gonna want rangefinder. Tired of SLR. thanks, rob
The Epson R-D 1 is way cheaper than the Leica Digilux 2? Are you sure you didn't type that backwards? The R-D 1 is upwards of $2,500 from authorized US dealers, and that doesn't include a lens. The Digilux is less than half that, depending on where you shop.
In any case, it doesn't make much sense to compare them, since they're completely different types of cameras. The R-D 1 has an optical range/viewfinder and takes interchangeable M-mount lenses. The Digilux 2 has a non-interchangeable zoom lens, does not have an optical rangefinder, and doesn't have an optical viewfinder -- instead, it has an LCD "electronic viewfinder." In other words, shooting with the R-D 1 is a lot like shooting with your Bessa, whereas shooting with the Digilux is not. It's really more of a posh point-and-shoot, albeit with a lot of manual controls.
Maybe what you're thinking of is the allegedly forthcoming Leica "Digital M," which (according to specs Leica has announced)
will be a true optical-rangefinder camera taking interchangeable lenses.
There's no point in sweating it now, though, because so far Leica hasn't yet released a prototype (all those "photos" you may have seen on line are actually PhotoShopped collages) and probably won't until the big German Photokina trade show in September.
And as you astutely point out, if it takes a while before you want to get into digital RF photography, there's no telling what will be available. I wouldn't count on it getting much cheaper than what an R-D 1 costs, though -- rangefinder cameras are "boutique" items that aren't produced in large enough quantities for economies of scale to kick in. I suspect that whatever digital RF cameras we see in the future, if any, will be developed in the direction of better specs at the same, or higher, price point -- rather than the current specs at lower price points.
