Rumour: Nikon Digital Rangefinder (49MP)

Considering the abundance of rangefinder fans here as well as Nikon folks and digital folks, check this out:

http://gizmodo.com/5045897/nikon-41+megapixel-mx-format-sensor-for-digital-rangefinder

Yah, that would be a total mindf**k and would open a whole new market for Nikon where there is no competition (besides Leica with cropped sensor at $5000)

Medium-format digital rangefinder... I've always wanted a Mamiya 6 square-format medium format film rangefinder. Best thing is it isn't any bigger than a pro DSLR+Grip with usually smaller lenses.

Nikon has been re-making their classic rangefinders on special anniversaries. This year's Photokina will be the 60th anniversary of the unveiling of the original Nikon 1. Nikon promised something big and this would definitely be big!

That said, I have seen photographs from Japanese magazines floating around on the internet about a Nikon digital rangefinder with a Leica M-mount for a better part of a year. The medium format digital rangefinder rumours just sprang up recently. It would be cool if either (or both) were true. However, the most important thing in any system is the lenses. The MF digital rangefinder will certainly get a lot of attention but Nikon has to have come out with a suitable lens family to support it as a system. The last few rangefinders that Nikon released came with new 35mm or 50mm lenses but that's it. Besides the old lenses from the 50's and 60's the only options for Nikon RF buyers were lens offerings from Voigtlander and a special limited edition Zeiss 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar ZS. Although Nikon used the same mount as the Zeiss Ikon Contax rangefinders, the flange-to-film distance is different so, unfortunately, one cannot use older Contax lenses on the Nikon bodies.

Even if Nikon does release new lenses, will they be as good or better than the current offerings from Leica and Zeiss? My 50mm Summilux-ASPH seems sharper at f/1.4 than nearly all my other lenses at f/8!!! The Nikon 50mm f/1.4 that came out with the Millenium SP is especially good but just take a look at the entire M-line of Leica lenses, the ZM-line of Zeiss lenses and even look at the lower-priced but excellent Voigtlanders. The glass is just outstanding and any manufacturer, even one as big and powerful as Nikon, would have a difficult time matching the quality of these lenses. Perhaps that's a reason for moving up to a larger format is to compensate? Who knows? Perhaps we are starting to venture into a world of no formats?

Anyway, with a Leica M8, you can use hundreds of different lenses dating back to the 1920's from all sorts of manufactures. Many of these lenses are among the very best ever made for any camera in any format. And if you want the ultimate in photo and print quality from a 35mm format, you can use one those great lenses on a regular M-body (Leica M/CL, Zeiss ZM, Voigtlander Bessa T/R2/R3/R4, or Konica Hexar RF) along with an insanely high-resolution film like Adox CMS20.

I do have a feeling that Nikon is certainly going to make a big wave at Photokina. The last one, two years ago, arguably belonged to Leica with the introduction of the M8. In my photographic world, its hard to imagine something more exciting than a brand new Noctilux but I honestly think that Nikon is going to come through with their promise on their diamond anniversary.

Speaking of medium format rangefinders, I almost bought a Plaubel Makina 67 once. A very affordable and modern folder.

http://nikomat.org/priv/camera/mednikkor/makina/makina-e.html

It had a 80f2.8 Nikkor.

I'm a sucker for pre-war Voigtlander Bessa RF 6x9's. If I ever come across a really nice one with the 105mm Heliar lens, I probably won't be able to resist it. In my opinion, the Bessa RF and the post-war Bessa II's are among the nicest cameras that I've ever seen.

I thought about a Makina as well but read the bellows are pretty fragile.

So far so good with the Leica announcements. I'm still waiting for the 12 MP full-frame Leica CLD for $999

A regular Leica CL is better and cheaper. So is a Bessa! If there is an economy-minded and compact Leica RF, it will probably be based around the mini-4/3rds. It may be more than just a rebranded Panasonic - not in the guts but perhaps in the way it handles.

Leica is really small. 400-some employees in Germany and 500-some employees in Portugal. That's it. Canadian operations in Midland are no longer part of the camera business since the previous Noctilux went out of production recently. ELCAN (Ernst Leitz Canada) has actually been a separate entity for some time now. Leica simiply can't do everything that enthusiasts wishes for. Sometimes they do bring a 'dream' product to market an nobody buys into it. The R8/R9 SLRss that could take both film and (upgradable) digital backs is a prime example. Here's a revolutionary product - digital, the way that digital should be done. No worries about the camera going obsolete or becoming unrepairable after a few years. Yet, few even considered the R8/R9 camera over a Canon or Nikon.