chip l.

Richard is right on most counts. There is a possibility that Nikon USA would do a repair

under warranty if you could prove that it was purchased overseas as part of your "normal"

life.

Since each Nikon distributer have their own costs, it seems reasonable that they would

not want to pay for repairs for "gray" market goods. International warranties are generally

offered under "goodwill". Meaning that they see no money in exchange for service.

Sort of like those that want their purchases tax free, but complain about roads or police.

You can't have it both ways. You have to pay at some point.

David you may have a point. I seem to remember that that world wide sales were supposed

to be in the 10K range. It may be a situation that there is greater demand than expected.

For myself I have the 10D from canon. It is a great camera, but no where of what I can

expect in performance compared to the Leica N series that I have,

I work for a photo dealer, and had a conversation with a few reps. It would be great to

have a 24x36 sensor. Yet the reality is that the APS-C sized sensor is more of a reality for

the next few years at least. Most tend to support the idea that APS-C sensors are the

future of digital photos. To get to 24x36 sensors we need an improvement of yield for the

sensors.

In the end, if the shot matters I use the Leica. If I am willing to take my chances I will use

my 10D.

Given the great depth of field with the P&S digitalis, using the manual focus function can

greatly reduce response time. Sort of what we RF users already do sometimes.

Del, I think you are right. If you take a look at the new Zeiss RF lenses, the WA's seem to

be retro-focus designs. Much like WA's for SLR's. That would be in keeping of their stated

desire to be ready for digital.

Same here. They realy need to show "ICE" in the the specs. the dust removal from the

scanner manufacturers without DIGITAL ICE are poor implementations.

In the end you have to look at your "personal" vsion. Fror some of us the 34-25 range

meets the needs. Others it might be the 28 or 35. And based on the comments here it

might be the 50mm.

not wanting to get into a pissing war between Pinto and Gandy, there are "two

distributors" both them share in that AFAIK.

All that I can say is that Rich has been much more positive than Gandy.

Matt,

Mike Johnson has a good article (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-oct

-04.shtml) that along with some other sites that have had interviews with manufacturer

executives, maybe not soon enough for some users.

Given the RD-1 and the vignetting software tools and reports of "softness" in the corners

by full-frame DSLR users - Olympus may have been right all along about "digital specific"

lens design.

Witness also that Nikon has not so far entered into the full-frame DSLR market. Instead

they have chosen to bring APS-C optimized lenses to meet the demand. Look at Olympus

and their E-1 lenses. Many feel that they are the pinnacle of digital lens design.

The question is one of CCD/CMOS manufacturers increasing yield to increase sensor size.

Or the same manufacturers increasing the quality of the smaller sized sensors to get more

yield out of the same sized silicon.

In many ways i think the same discussions were held when LF was taken on by MF. And

When MF was taken on by 35mm. 10 to 20 years from now we might look upon the 24x36

as being "oversized" for the needs.

Been reported here:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009dxr

If the price is right I might go with the base lens. I would want the 11-22 and the primes

that seem to promised for next year. This may become my digital Leica M.

What seems to be missing from Leica, Zeiss, or Cosina is a 24 or 25mm f/2 lens. If digital

is the future such a lens makes sense. Otherwise there are many of us I think that would

welcome such a lens.

I have heard that new rebates will be coming. I hope to publish them when they are

available. .

If the slower apertures (4-5.6) are livable; the new Tamron 11-18 maybe a good

compromise.

I have the Bessa T, and I use it with finders only foe the 15 and 21 focal lengths. For my

money at this time I would buy a R2 or R3 for use all popular focal lengths.

What I find amusing is that the Contax will be built with Cosina. The quality would be a

concern for me with the bodies in the long term verses the Leica.