The Epson R-D1 was the first digital rangefinder camera, long before Leica developed the M8. It was based on a Voigtländer Bessa body, supported Leica M-mount lenses and featured fully manual operation — it even had a manual “film advance” lever that was used to re-cock the shutter after taking a shot! In 2004, it had outstanding image quality, sporting a 6 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with a very usable highest ISO setting of 1600. Some say it had one of the best viewfinders in rangefinder history. After being replaced by the R-D1s and R-D1x models, which were both only minor updates to the original design, the camera was eventually discontinued, to the disappointment of many.

The Epson R-D1. Picture courtesy of Epson.

In a recent interview with the british ‘Amateur Photographer’, though, Rob Clark, executive director of Epson’s European Marketing Division, stated that Epson could “re-enter the digital camera arena if it felt such a product was ‘commercially viable’. (…) ‘Whether we come out with another version of the R-D1 is a possibility'”. Furthermore, Epson has been and is still continuing to develop and produce “elements that would be used in digital cameras”, and that over the course of the next twelve months, they were going to release one hundred new products. AP also note that “Clark indicated that Epson is now playing a waiting game – keeping a close eye on the growing market for compact system cameras.”

Could it be that a legend might actually come to life again?