Nintendo Research & Development 1
Nintendo Research and Development 1 (任天堂開発第一部) (R&D1) was Nintendo's oldest development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video games industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi. The developer has created several notable Nintendo series such as Metroid, Zelda, Tetris, Mario Bros., and Donkey Kong.
Nintendo R&D1 established a close relationship with hardware developer Intelligent Systems, and initially worked together on a couple of projects. There was previous misconception that Nintendo R&D1 members left to work at Intelligent Systems, but that is false. The development team has gradually been reduced with a couple of senior members retiring or joining other Nintendo affiliated companies like Creatures, most notably Hirokazu Tanaka and Hirofumi Matsuoka.
R&D1 developed the hugely successful Game Boy line, which was released in 1989. They developed some of the line's most popular games, such as Super Mario Land, and created the character of Wario.
Epson R-D1
The original R-D1, announced by Epson in March 2004 and discontinued in 2007, was the first digital rangefinder camera. It also was the first consumer digital mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera (MILC) camera. Subsequently, three modifications of the original R-D1 were produced - R-D1s, R-D1x, and R-D1xG.
R-D1
R-D1 was jointly developed by Seiko Epson and Cosina and manufactured by the latter, which also builds the current Voigtländer cameras. It uses Leica M-mount lenses or earlier Leica screw mount lenses with an adapter.
An unusual feature to note on the RD-1 is that it is a digital camera that has a mechanical shutter, despite not being a DSLR. The controls operate in the same way as film-based rangefinder cameras.
Data such as white balance, shutter speed, picture quality, and shots remaining are all displayed with servo driven indicators on a dial like a watch face (made by Epson's parent company Seiko). With the rear screen folded away, it is not obviously a digital camera.
Podcasts:
