RD2, when ???

[LCT]

There is only one digital RF in the world so far.
A lot of photographers would have been happy to buy it if its quality were on par with its price IMHO.
Best,
LCT

 

[Nemo]

I don't think the problem is the rangefinder concept or the R-D1 design. The problem is the price. You cannot advertise a manual focus camera of 3000 dollars easily.

 

[Nemo]

What is IMHO?

 

[darkkavenger]

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion 😀

 

[Nemo]

Many Thanks.

 

[RML]

I don't think the problem is the rangefinder concept or the R-D1 design. The problem is the price. You cannot advertise a manual focus camera of 3000 dollars easily.

It's not just the price. See how many units were made and sold of the previous Bessas (L, T, R, R2). I doubt the total number runs over 50,000, and these were very much wanted and very succesful... for a modern, current rangefinder that is. They sold better than the current offerings from Leica.

 

[amateriat]

Is it just me who finds this interesting?

What I also find interesting in that quote is Epson's plans to exit the compact digicam market. It looks like a lot of the majors are jumping ship from that market segment on account of it being crazy-competitive with little if any profit to show for it. Olympus is seriously scaling back their digicam line, and we already know about Konica Minolta (and Contax before them). The digicam business is thriving if you're a retailer, but if you make the damn things, it's another story.

So, now, Olympus et al are concentrating on the more lucrative dSLR market. I see some trouble ahead, since I don't see this "high end" segment of the market growing past decade's end (and in Olympus' case, they're the proverbial low man on the totem pole versus C & N). I see a number of tech developments on the horizon that could well render "photography" as little more than just another digital media subset (I'm seeing more and more frame-grabs passing for press photos, and that's just with the relatively grubby DV tech being used right now). Add a few more MP to camera-phones and I think the "stand-alone" camera - using whatever media - will wind up on the endangered-species list. Not much fun to me.

- Barrett

 

[RML]

Add a few more MP to camera-phones and I think the "stand-alone" camera - using whatever media - will wind up on the endangered-species list. Not much fun to me.

While I understand your concerns and would also "lament" the disappearance of film and film cameras, I'm not one who'll cry much over it. What I would cry over is if the creative side of photography would ever go down the drain. Right now I already have that feeling with my Eos 300D. It's just not much fun shooting it because I don't get to make the creative decisions as much as I get to do with the R-D1 or any other manual film camera. Once all the manual stuff is gone I'll call it quits. Then the fun would be gone for me.

 

[aizan]

i'm all for camera phones becoming better and better. i'm waiting for bounce flash to become standard on them!

 

[ZorkiKat]

While I understand your concerns and would also "lament" the disappearance of film and film cameras, I'm not one who'll cry much over it. What I would cry over is if the creative side of photography would ever go down the drain. Right now I already have that feeling with my Eos 300D. It's just not much fun shooting it because I don't get to make the creative decisions as much as I get to do with the R-D1 or any other manual film camera. Once all the manual stuff is gone I'll call it quits. Then the fun would be gone for me.

I had shot more with RF than SLRs unless situations demanded the latter. Now situations demand the use digital instead of film. My first DSLR is a Fuji Finepix S2 pro. It was just like using an AF film SLR. It did the work, but with less fun. Had the same feeling I felt when I used AF film SLRs...perhaps that's why
the S2 felt like a work tool than anything else. 🙂

Then came the Canon 300D (and then later a 350D). It was these cameras which made me feel 'at home' again. I don't even have EOS lenses except for the one which came with the kit. I've adapted the cameras to take screwmount M42 lenses and replaced their focusing screens with split-image screens. I shoot with them on Manual or Aperture priority mode. With manual focusing, it feels as if I'ms shooting with an old Zenit again! 🙂 I've seen how the older M42 lenses do magic on the newer imaging medium- imagine a lens from 1952 do great things on a silicon chip from 2004! This modification gave me a feeling of 'involvement' again in the capture process.

This experience has created a desire to acquire a RF equivalent of the DSLR. I would want to use my LTM 39 lenses in the way that I use my M42 lenses. The screw mount SLR lenses I have were considered 'retired' a generation ago- they're back on digital. I'd like to do the same with my old rangefinder lenses.

It's been a fond hope that some independent camera/computer maker (theres lots of them in China and India) takes up the idea of creating a cheaper (US$1000 should sound reasonable) digital rangefinder. A lot of novelty digital cameras have been coming from independent manufacturers from China. Some them probably subcontract for the biggies. Something which goes along the lines of a FED-5 with digital innards should go quite fine. The FED factory in the Ukraine is still alive, but no longer making cameras....the camera making tools might still be there and they could collaborate with a computer maker and cash in on this... 😛

 

[RML]

I've seen how the older M42 lenses do magic on the newer imaging medium- imagine a lens from 1952 do great things on a silicon chip from 2004! This modification gave me a feeling of 'involvement' again in the capture process.

This is my experience as well. Those low(er)-contrast lenses of old work fabulously on digital cameras.

 

[Nemo]

Any R-D2 expected for the PMA show?

 

[aizan]

nope. maybe photokina?

 

[nrb]

I don't think the problem is the rangefinder concept or the R-D1 design. The problem is the price. You cannot advertise a manual focus camera of 3000 dollars easily.

It's the price and also the fact that our present 2/50 and 2/35 mm lenses suddenly become 75 and 52,5 mm. To allow for the use of a 2/35 one would need to buy a no vignetting 2/21 mm lens not more expensive than a used 35 Summicron...

 

[jlw]

It's the price and also the fact that our present 2/50 and 2/35 mm lenses suddenly become 75 and 52,5 mm. To allow for the use of a 2/35 one would need to buy a no vignetting 2/21 mm lens not more expensive than a used 35 Summicron...

As I've said before, this is only a "problem" if you're a wide angle shooter. I'm more of a tele shooter, and I actually LIKE the fact that my 50/1.5 Nokton becomes a compact, handy, moderately-priced medium tele with an f/1.5 maximum aperture.