What's always been striking about the M-series Leicas is just how substantial they are. In photos, they looks quaint and compact, and you expected them to be small—the kind of comically dinky camera you'd see perched on the face of a German tourist in the 70s, clicking away at nothing. This is not that camera—the $7000 M9 is a monster. Granted it is a full-frame camera, so some heft can be forgiven, but once you've mounted a lens, this thing's not going to be much more totable than your average DSLR. True to form, the mechanisms are satisfyingly mechanical and hark back to the design's origins in film. It's as much a piece of art as it is a camera, which I suppose is part of the whole Leica appeal.

The X1 is in a similar situation: Its body is large for what it is—a compact camera—but so is its sensor. The end result is a moderately compact point-and-shoot that is bigger than all but the bulkiest fixed-lens compacts, but definitely smaller than any DSLR on the market. The pop-up flash, that little circle on the top left of the camera, is a nice design touch.

We'll have to trust that the 12-megapixel APS-C sensor and f2.8, 24mm lens combo returns results that could possibly warrant the camera's $2000 price, but the fact remains that this is a fixed-lens camera, meaning that you're stuck with what you see here. As great as the photos are or aren't, you still can't bolt a new zoom lens or sexy 50mm prime on it. Leica does call this a beginner's camera, so the simplicity could be seen as a plus. At that price, this beginner would probably opt for a killer DSLR with video recording capabilities, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, if you're a Leica freak with a wad of cash on hand, the M9 represents a great day for you: The day that your M-mount Leica lenses can be used as they were supposed to be, on a full-frame camera. Likewise, if you're a Leica freak with a wad of cash on hand and a spouse, friend or child you have yet to infect with your fervent enthusiasm for the brand, the X1 is probably going to pique your interest. The rest of us plebs? Well, we'll keep toiling in our frothing sea of Nikons and Canons, or worse. I'll say—I've never gotten so many looks of pity for carrying a Sony DSLR as I did at the press event today. No one looked down on me; they just looked...sad.

Oh, and here's a bonus shot of Seal with Leica's previously-announced medium format S2 DSLR, because, uh, he was here. Hey Seal!

DPReview has posted a selection of 14 clips (not embeddable), putting the sexy rangefinder-esque camera through its paces, in a selection of shooting conditions. They used a Panasonic 14-140mm lens on the Micro Four Thirds cam and shot most of the 720p footage in Aperture Priority mode.

First impressions are that the E-P1 could give some of the HD-shooting DSLRs a run for their money, especially once you put some better glass on it, since these were shot using the 14-140mm kit Lens from the Panasonic GH1. [DPReview]

In addition to wielding a 12.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor (the same 4/3 style as found in many mini-DSLRs) the retro-styled E-P1 "Digital Pen" has a three-inch LCD, in-body image stabilization, a dust reduction system and 19 automatic scene modes. It can also record HD video in 720p/30fps and includes a HDMI TV-out for direct playback.

There will be two Micro Four Thirds lenses available along with the camera for US release in July, a 17mm 1:2.8 Pancake and a 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6. Price-wise it comes in better than expected at $749 for body only, or $799 with the 14-42mm lens. My personal choice, though, would be the body with the 17mm for $899. [Akihabaranews]

According to 43rumors, the E-P1 will shoot 720p video, and retail for just under $1000:

SD storage
13MP RAW, JPEG, and RAW+JPEG modes
1280×720 video for 7 minutes at a time (presumably due to sensor heat)
640×480 video for 14 minutes
3" LCD with Liveview
ISO 200-6400
Shutter speed 60sec-1/4000sec

All we know for sure is, the styling is a bit more retro-sexy than expected, thankfully, and an official (Japanese) announcement is due tomorrow. [43Rumors, Akihabara]

The OnPar features a 3.5-inch screen and a reasonable thickness of .63 inches, making it just a tad stubbier than an iPhone. It stores up to 300 courses in its memory and operates without subscription fees. But beyond mere yardage to the pin, it seems that the OnPar's touchscreen is put to good use in that it allows you to track yardage to anywhere on the hole, like a water hazard or sand trap, with a simple touch of the screen.

The OnPar will be available next month. No word on price. [OnPar via Navigadget]

The 10.3 Megapixel CCD-camera has a new "extra quite, low-vibration metal blade focal plane shutter," a top shutter speed of 1/4000th of a second, a new largely automatic snapshot mode, and it's apparently the "first professional digital camera" to use scratch-resist sapphire glass on the LCD screen. It'll work with M-series lenses, and takes SDHC cards up to 32GB. There's no data on pricing (though it'll certainly cost a packet)It's a chunky $6,200, and there's word it's due in October. [LetsGoDigital and Slashgear]

Obviously, a new format means you'll need new glass. But, the tipster says that the rangefinder will be able to use DX and FX lenses with a mount adapter, giving you crop factor of 1.5 for the DX, 1 for the FX and 0.5 for MX lenses. When shooting with FX,you'll be able to rotate the sensor crop from landscape to portrait instead of having to turn the whole camera, and somehow you'll still get to shoot the full square resolution. And yes, this thing will have live view. Given Nikon's penchant to leak like the Titanic, we'll know more about this puppy soon, no doubt. [Nikon Rumors, Nikon Watch - Thanks Peter!]

Just like a professional caddy, it can also help you keep score and recommend golf clubs for you to use in specific situations. Plus, you can download all the information about each one of your shots to your PC. Just the right size for clipping on your belt or golf bag, it's $400.

Product page [via TechDigest]

So lets jump to the modern age of digital cameras. Digital SLR cameras are now the cat's pajamas of photography, they do pretty much everything you could ever imagine at really good quality. All of the old perks of the rangefinder cameras are now kind of dead, especially with the rangefinder camera being digital. This R-D1 is a six megapixel camera that has absolutely no autofocus, has center-weighted metering, and the aperture can be manual or automatic exposure. There are no extra perks of the modern digital camera, it just takes picture. Next point, this thing is around $3,500 dollars. That is near $2,000 more than the moderate level DSLR camera out right now. Maybe I am just too naive and frugal, but will the ube- photogs out there please prove me wrong and tell me why this digital rangefinder might be a good gadget and can do stuff that a DSLR can't.

Epson R-D1 Digital Rangefinder Camera [Trusted Reviews]

Prices and reviews for Epson R-D1 [CNET]