The R-D1, announced by Epson in March 2004[1] and discontinued in 2007, was the first digital rangefinder camera. Manufactured by Cosina, which also builds the current Voigtländer and Zeiss Ikon (ZM) cameras, the R-D1 and its successor, the Epson R-D1s (mechanically identical but with a firmware upgrade), use Leica M-mount lenses or earlier Leica screw mount lenses with an adapter.
An unusual feature to note on the RD-1 is that it is a digital camera that has a mechanical shutter, despite not being a DSLR. The controls operate in the same way as film-based rangefinder cameras.
Data such as white balance, shutter speed, picture quality, and shots remaining are all displayed with servo driven indicators on a dial like a watch face (made by Epson's parent company Seiko). With the rear screen folded away, it is not obviously a digital camera.
The R-D1s's successor, the R-D1x and R-D1xG[2][3] was made available from April 9th 2009 in Japan only.
[edit] References
- ^ Epson Launches the World's First Rangefinder Digital Camera, TOKYO, Japan, March 11
- ^ R-D1x on the Epson website
- ^ "R-D1xG page on Epson web site". http://www.epson.jp/products/colorio/digitalcamera/rd1xg/. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
[edit] External links
|
|
|
| Leica camera bodies |
|
|
| Camera bodies by other manufacturers |
|
|
