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Retro-Look Digital Rangefinder Camera Merges Tradition with Innovation |
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nique is a much overused word these days, but it aptly describes Epson’s R-D1, the first and (at the time of writing) only digital rangefinder camera in the world. The R-D1 is also the first digital camera to accept Leica L- and M-mount lenses and it incorporates the world’s first coincidence-type viewfinder with 1× magnification. In designing the R-D1, Epson went back to the future to come up with a product that marries the best of tradi- tional rangefinder design with the advan- tages of high-performance digital photog- raphy. The camera’s appealing retro-look is much more than cosmetic: It dictates the choice and omission of features and functions, while underscoring the prior- ity put on manual operations. What ap- pears to be a redundant film advance lever, for instance, is actually used to re- cock the shutter after taking a picture. Such novel thinking and attention to en- gineering detail is apparent throughout every aspect of the camera’s design
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