Michael,
I don't know whether that "pundit" comment in your review was referring to me, in regard to my comment above that I'm still convinced that chromatic aberration is mainly lens related. If you are, let me say two things:
1) I haven't called myself a pundit, I don't think of myself as a pundit, and I don't believe I've acted like one. I've simply been a participant in a discussion, sharing my experience and understanding, and seeking the truth of the matter.
2) Your second part of the review did make a convincing case that the CA was due to the imaging chip and not the lens, in the case of the 14n. So, let me rephrase my original comment this way: the chromatic aberration I've seen with wide angles with my 1Ds is similar (a little more exaggerated) to what I've come to expect to see on film with wide angle lenses.
Thank you for your review. Numerous aspects of the 14n (poor slow shutter speed performance, no mirror lock-up, less than 100% viewfinder coverage, questionable weather resistance, etc.) make this camera plainly inappropriate for my use. I doubt that it will be considered substantial competition to the 1Ds by many. This is unfortunate.
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Peter, first you mention the value of the ERI-JPEG, then a few sentences later, you say that this is camera is targeted for studio and portrait photographers, not available light photographers. (By the way, am I remembering incorrectly that Kodak was also originally marketing this as a landscape shooter?)
Those seem contradictory to me. Why would a studio photographer, using controlled lighting, ever be wildly missing his/her exposures, and therefore be needing the ERI-JPEG?
Frankly, I don't see much value in the ERI-JPEG, at all. I'm strictly an available light nature photographer, usually spotmetering and manually setting aperture and shutter speed, and I can't remember the last time that I've missed my exposure by a stop. (Autoexposure works darn well, too.) It's a very, very rare occurrence, if it ever happens at all. I'm guessing that the same is true for practically all the people who spend $5,000 or more on cameras.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding the value of the ERI-JPEG. Please feel welcome to elaborate.
--Mike