Thu, November 16th, 2006 by mr bill
It must be the holiday season because two new digital offerings have just been announced: the Nikon D40 -- for the low-end market -- and the Leica M8 digital rangefinder for all you high rollers out there.
The D40 sports a 6.1 megapixel sensor, weighs in at a tad over 16 oz. and can shoot up to 2.5 frames per second. It even comes with an animation for beginners who are unsure what an f-stop is. it includes an 18-55 f3.5/5.6 DX Zoom Nikkor lens. The price for the kit is $599.
The M8 is Leica's first digital rangefinder offering. It offers a 10.3 megapixel sensor with a magnification factor of 1.33. It takes most M-series lenses and boasts a sharp 2.5 inch display. The camera can be set for ISO equivalents ranging from 160 to 2500. It has all of the quality that you can expect from a Leica, including the high end price tag. The price tag is... gulp... $4750USD for the body only.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
We live in very fun times.
November 17th, 2006 at 11:22 am
The new Leica is such an interesting move from a company with such a prestigious heritage in photography. What I find really bold is that the camera is a continuation of their most famous range of film cameras. They could easily have made their first serious foray into digital as a parallel model but instead the M8 is the official successor to the M7 35mm rangefinder.
November 19th, 2006 at 9:41 am
Digital cameras are getting much better and cheaper. Just thought that you bought a really cool 4mp camera yesterday only to find out the next day an 8 mp with much more superior sells for the same amount.