I had been hoping that the announcements at yesterday's Leica press conference would include a compact with a large sensor and good image quality for around $1k. The X1 will probably come close when it becomes available, but the estimated $2k is more than I am willing to pay for a fixed-lens camera.

So I took a further step on my way back to analog photography: I went to Casanova and bought a second-hand rangefinder. A beautiful Voigtländer Bessa-R with an Ultron 35 f/1.7.

It handles beautifully. I haven't taken any actual pictures with it, but I've been playing with it enough to know that I am going to like the rangefinder way of framing and focussing. The lens feels great: I was actually surprised by how much better the build of this lens is compared to my Nikkor 50 f/1.4.

The next step will be a good scanner and, maybe, dark-room equipment.