Discovered! New Rangefinder Camera design!!
Well, kinda.
My buddy BadDog and I are always playing “If I ran the Camera Companies” and discussing features that should be on a nice, portable “rangefinder” style camera (a la CartierBresson or Robert Doisneau).
I’m of the opinion that (at least for this moment in the economy) people are willing to spend big-bucks on digital cameras. How else could you explain all the fairly casual shooters shelling out $1,000 to $2,000 on digital SLRs?
A lot of these people buy the kit and never change a lens thereafter.
Also, there are a lot of Pros who’d like to have a smaller, more portable camera for street-photography, but with all of the performance and quality to match their DSLR.
Well, Canon and the “G-Line” (G4 thru G9) have had chance after chance to make this dream come true, and, as always, they come close, but no cigar.
So, what is it we’d like to see in a sub-$1,000 Rangefinder?
Here’s the list:
1. Shutter button with provision for mechanical or electronic release (not either/or but both).
2. External dial for exposure compensation.
3. Easy to view info screen.
4. Articulated rear 3″ live-view screen.
5. Optical parallax-compensating viewfinder (no EVF) .
6. ISO selection dial, 50-3200 ISO.
7. Flash-mode dial (including High-speed sync ).
8. Shooting mode dial (including additional user-preset manual modes).
9. Built-in user-selectable Neutral-density filter (0, 3, 6, 9)
10. Omni-directional IR flash trigger system (like the Nikon i-TTL).
11. Fixed 24mm-to-90mm 2.8f lens, selectable auto/manual focus.
12. Built-in port for reading and setting Custom White Balance.
13. Hot-shoe.
14. Manual zoom dial.
15. Compact-flash card slot.
16. Provision to take either a proprietary LiIon battery or 2-AA batteries.
17. WiFi / Bluetooth.
18. Depth-of-Field preview button.
19. Full APS-C sized sensor, approx. 10 mp resolution, switchable to Panoramic-format.
20. Shutter and autofocus response at least as quick as a DSLR.
21. Custom Settings Menus, Camera RAW + JPEG etc., etc…
Well, you get the idea. The most frustrating part is that all of these features are already out in the marketplace (and have been for quite a while), just not on one camera.
Why is that? My guess is that the camera companies don’t want to cannibalize their current sales. But why sell someone a point & shoot that doesn’t do everything the customer wants, so they’re forced to move all the way up to a DSLR that ends up being way more camera then they need?
That’s like giving a customer the choice between a car that will almost get them to work, or, a car that’ll take them around the world (with a price to match). Ridiculous.
Anyway, well see what shows up at PMA this weekend (900 more 3x zoom point & shoots), but I have a feeling, this camera won’t be there.
Responses and Conversations
Did you ever see the Simpsons episode where Homer designs a car?
Comment by David Edmondson on January 25th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Jimbo, this is Baddog, where can I buy this guy?
I can’t wait until our dream camera comes to life. I love the idea of a lens with 24-90mm f2.8 and most of all the other items you listed.
However you left off a critical element, we need to be able to shoot high ISO’s (800-1600) with little to no noise and no noise reduction artifacts. I would even settle for a lower mega pixel (6-8MP) sensor to get this capability.
Now the question is… How can we get the camera manufacturers to make this happen? Are you listen out there; Canon’s, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Samsung, Pentax, Fuji and especially Leica and Panasonic?
Comment by Lance Calvin on January 25th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Jim, when you get one will you give me your D200?
Comment by John on January 25th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Ha! yeah, you’re right David, with all the knobs and stuff, it doesn’t have the simplicity of design like, say, a Volkswagen Beetle would (some people need that simplicity), but this is more about content than aesthetics (although I still like the retro-rangefinder look).
As for the Simpsons, it reminds me of the Gospel according to German P.: “Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Bart Simpson.”
Mortgage-crisis anyone?…
Comment by JimmyD on January 25th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Hey BadDog!
You’re right! I assumed (but failed to mention) that high-ISO, noise-free (yet not overly processed) images were to be expected. Thanks for clarifying that!
I think, with approx. 10mp and a APS-C sensor-size, they could easily produce noise-free images like Nikon does with their higher mp D3 and D300s.
As for the manufacturers, Marketing needs to be put out to pasture. I’m not sure if the “Big 2″ would be willing to take the chance, and unfortunately, with the wildly overpriced example from Epson and the still non-existent Sigma (thanks, BadDog for reminding me of that one), I’m not sure if any of the other manufacturers will come out of the blue and surprise anyone.
Always great to hear from you!
Comment by JimmyD on January 25th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Tell you what, John, if you can get someone to build this, and give me a production-sample, I’ll give you, gratis, one of my D200s.
That, or when I make my first $million from this blog…. whichever comes first.
Comment by JimmyD on January 25th, 2008 at 10:24 am
[...] You can catch it here at Photography Blog. You can go nack and see our wish-list for a camera of this sort here. [...]
Comment by slightly out of focus - » See? I told you so...... on January 30th, 2008 at 11:38 am