I have been using the 14n for 8 months now and am generally very pleased with the camera. Hogan's review IMO provides the most objective sumary of the strengths and weeknesses of the camera.
I have been using the 14n alongside a Fuji S2 for several months now. I agree with John's comments about Thom Hogan's review (I am not, incidentally, in any way criticising Michael's own review), and it is interesting to note that, after using the 14n for some time, and getting to know its strengths and weaknesses, Thom now I believe regards the 14n as his current favourite Nikon mount DSLR.
Whoever wrote those comments in the quoted email to Michael, apparently a studio shooter, must be doing something very wrong with his or her 14n. Stick to a reasonable ISO, and slightly overexpose, and you won't see a hint of noise with the 14n. What you will see is breathtaking detail and stunningly accurate colour.
So here is an alternative spoof email I might have sent to Michael about my experiences with the 14n ::
"Hi Michael,
I read your article on the 14n earlier, and Thom Hogan's review too. I have now had ample opprtunity properly to test the Camera both in the studio and in the field over several months.
I decided to buy the camera because I read that some of the problems we saw in small letters would be solved with upcoming new firmware, and I am pleased to say that those probelms - minor as they were - have largely been corrected. Moreover, the latest iteration of Photodesk is a great improvement, and as you know, the software is an important part of the overall usefullness of any DSLR.
Now we have the Kodak 14n with the newest firmware and we are very pleased with the results. Low noise at low ISO (below 160). Take a little care with exposure (expose to the right of the histogram, as you quite rightly advise with DSLRs generally) and such noise as there is is banished. This is an important point that those who only test the 14n briefly might so easily miss.
No way I would try to hand back the camera because it is so useful in everyday use
Pleased to say, but this camera is an exemplary peformer. albeit with some minor shortcomings (it's not ideal for shooting above ISO 160, for example, and I would use my S2 Pro for that) that can mostly be dealt with if you take a little time and trouble to experiment, something that some casual users appear not to do."
Generally, people are only motivated to write the kind of message actually sent to Michael if they have a gripe. Satisfied users tend to get on with using the equipment and are less inclined to write.
Quentin