Tag Archives: rangefinder

The black and white rangefinder – Leica M-System

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Leica M

Leica M

Leica Camera AG has launched the world’s first digital camera designed exclusively for full-frame, 35mm black and white photography: the Leica M Monochrom.

The Leica M Monochrom is a pure black and white rangefinder camera, using a newly-designed 18 million pixel CCD . With this new sensor, there is no Bayer Pattern filter (colour filter array), which means it never separates the light into colours, and subsequently there is no need for complicated colour algorithms.

Other features at a glance:

* 100% sharper images thanks to the direct processing of RAW data with no interpolation
* Extremely low, fine-grain image noise up to ISO 10000
* Raw data histogram and configurable clipping display
* Includes Nik Silver Efex Pro™ 2 and Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom®
* Exclusive access to the Leica Monochrom Print Service in cooperation with Whitewall

It will be interesting to see how this Leica Monochrom Print Service is made available to Leica M users in Singapore.

So what the listed price?  US$8000!

Olympus PEN EP1

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I owned a few vintage Olympus rangefinder like the 35 EC and was pleasantly surprised when I read that Olympus is launching a rangefinder style digital camera – the Olympus PEN EP1.

Olympus PEN EP1
Olympus PEN EP1

What makes the EP1 different from the other digital cameras is that is interchangeable. From the photos from the Internet, it seems to have a stylish metal finish just like the good old film rangefinders. It  weighs only about 335 grams and has a 12 MB pixels sensor.

Hey but it doesn’t come with a optical viewfinder, you will have to shoot through the LCD.  Fortunately, you can add on an electronic viewfinder but will means you have to pay for it.  The 17mm pancake looks cool with the whole setup but it is only 34mm in focal length as there is a 2x magnification factor.

Estimated street price is S$1488 including the body and 17mm lens and $1298 for the body and 14-42mm lens. But if I  intend to get this cam for its vintage feel,I would definitely get it with the 17mm pancake lens.