Epson has announced that the R-D1 digital rangefinder camera which takes Leica-compatible lenses will ship next month.

The R-D1 features an EM mount that takes Leica M-mount compatible lenses and L-mount lenses with an adaptor. There are currently more than 200 such lenses on the market.

It retains the classic look and feel of traditional film-based rangefinder cameras, with a magnesium alloy exterior and die-cast aluminium body. The film advance lever actually re-cocks the mechanical shutter, and the camera is fitted with chronographic dials and needle indicators.

The R-D1 sports a 6.1-megapixel APS C-size CCD sensor with 1.53 magnification factor. It supports RAW and two JPEG image modes and PRINT Image Matching II for direct output from compatible printers.

The shutter speed range of the R-D1 is 1/2,000 to 1 second and the sensitivity range is ISO 200, 400, 800 and 1,600. Exposure control is aperture priority and manual with AE lock and +/-2EV exposure compensation. The single metering mode available is centre-weighted.

The R-D1 has a 2-inch LCD screen which can be flipped out and rotated. It has a resolution of 235,000 pixels and a 99.7 per cent field of view. There are five preset white balance settings and auto-white balance.

The camera stores images on Secure Digital flash media cards up to 1GB, and the camera runs on a single Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. The R-D1 will cost around £1,700 body only, and will ship in late November this year.

From DIGIT