Well, this camera is hardly going to be news to people who are interested in it, I figure that anyone who would want one of these already knows it exists. I’ve been struggling lately with what to do with my (significant) investment in film cameras. One of the areas that causes me serious is how to reconcile my childish and irrational lust for a Lecia M5 M7-TTL. Yes, I’ve been after one of these (loosely) for a long, long time. [ Leica Rangefinder History ]
These days, it’s about the only thing that has been holding be abstractly to film, well, that and my 4×5 gear. There is still something incredibly satisfying about looking at a snappy 4×5 chrome (E-6) on a light table.
Turns out my reconciliation of going with bits over halide may have a happy ending. Unlikely partners, Epson and Cosina have teamed up to produce an M (and L) mount compatible digital rangefinder body that looks shockingly like it belongs in the M-family. The Epson R-D1.
Kudos to Epson and Cosina. I don’t know much about the camera yet, but I do know that the camera store up the street sells them. I might pop in and take a look or see if they have them in the rental program. For this kind of investment I would expect that try-before-you-buy is a must, not a should (as an IETF’er might say).
