Hello From An Old Member and Question

[Rick Waldroup]

Hello, my name is Rick Waldroup. I was last active here about a 1 1/2 years ago. At that time, I was selling all of my film rangefinders to finance the complete move to digital.

Well, I am seriously thinking about getting back into rangefinders, of some form or another, and I thought I would drop in and say hello.

I looked about a bit, and I recognize some old names- Frank S, Rich, and a few others.

It is very nice to be back- I always enjoyed this place.

Now, my question- and if this needs to be moved or whatever, by the mods, please do so.

I am looking for info about the long awaited Sigma DP1 digital rangefinder camera. I keep hearing different stories. Does anyone know if the camera is out yet, when it will be out, or if Sigma even has plans of releasing it.

Thanks, Rick.

 

[erikhaugsby]

Press release from PMA:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0703/07030807sigmadp1.asp

The camera isn't exactly a rangefinder as much as it is a fixed-lens digital compact. The sensor is APS-sized, though, which could be a good thing.

 

[rover]

Hi Rick, welcome back.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

Thanks Rover. Boy, the site has changed. It has expanded by quite a bit. I think it looks better too.

Erik- since that press release by Sigma, the camera is basically a no-show. Now, if you go to Sigma's home page, it is not even listed on their cameras section as it was before. There have been all kinds of rumors- that they were re-designing the lens to make it faster, that there were problems with the sensor, etc....

Now I hear that maybe by the end of August, the camera should be available. But who really knows. I've also heard that it will be one expensive P&S.

I came very close to getting the Ricoh GRD, but held off until the Sigma came out. I am sure there are quite a few on here that have experience with the Ricoh so maybe they can give me some insight. By the way, the camera I am wanting will be used exclusively to produce photos for me to convert to B&W.

Thanks once again, everyone.

 

[Bike Tourist]

Hi Rick —

I've done pretty much the same as you and find myself with a nice 5D digital system, but no RF or film camera at all. I, too, was seriously considering the Ricoh GRD with a viewfinder as a close approximation of a rangefinder with digital output but finally decided there were some negative aspects for me.

I saw the announcement of the Sigma but I was not too enthusiastic about an f4 maximum aperture.

The M8 and RD-1 are beyond my reach and they, too, have their issues.

It does seem that with the saturation of first the P&S market and now the SLR market that somewhere some manufacturer might go for a niche of RF-hungry photographers that might provide some steady sales. Cosina doesn't seem interested.

So, I guess we'll wait some more.