epson r-d1 owner - seeking repair advice

[jonwaltermoceyhanton]

hello friends

i own an original epson r-d1 purchased in 2004
its actually one of the first 2000 ever made
serial number 001875

it has been rock solid for many many years
and ive captured so many cherished memories using it
i love the camera

just recently the status gauge dials on the top of the camera where you can monitor battery level and shots remaining and control white balance and file type / resolution have all stopped worked spontaneously
they worked one minute then i changed batteries and they have all now stopped responding completely

i currently have the camera at steve's camera service center in culver city california

Steve's Camera Service Center | Camera Repair | Culver City

Leica Canon Nikon Sony Hasselblad Camera Lens Repair Service CLA Collimation Focus Repairs

www.stevecamera.com

unfortunately the shop is saying that they are not going to be able to get the status gauges working again as they believe it may be a circuit board failure

i am seeking any advice or recommendations from the epson r-d1 users here on this forum
has anyone here had these status gauge dials stop working??
and has anyone found a solution for how to resolve this issue??
does anyone know of a source for parts to repair these cameras??

thank you very much for any help or assistance
i really appreciate it

from
jon walter mocey-hanton

 

[Scrambler]

Hi @jonwaltermoceyhanton

I can't tell you the fix. But I'll tell you what I've heard, and why I bothered to listen.

The issue is, reportedly, a failure in the earth. I can't tell you if it's the circuit board or the wiring, but it sounds like you have had the connecting wires checked.

Why did I have my ear to the ground? I bought my R-D1 this way. I've never had the meters.

The good news is that the actual function of the camera isn't affected. You still adjust the camera the same way, the battery still lasts the same time, etc. True, you might need to count clicks, or deliberately overshoot the clicks to be sure the setting is at one extreme or the other. You don't know the battery reading until a warning light comes on (when viewing the screen). You don't know how many photos you can take until it's zero. But you can always cover yourself with a spare SD card, and battery, and swap them in early for critical times.

For me this was a cheap way through the R-D1 door, so I have never really looked into fixing it. I would expect someone in Japan to know how, or who. Perhaps one of the English-language portals to the Japanese camera market might direct you?

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Japan Camera Hunter used to be the international contact for Epson R-D1 repair in Japan. But as far as I know Epson has now completely stopped support of the R-D1.

Good luck though. I absolutely loved shooting with the R-D1.

 

[jijiji]

Did you sold your, I see a similiar one in ebay

 

[jonwaltermoceyhanton]

Did you sold your, I see a similiar one in ebay

i did not sell mine. still haven't found a fix for the gauges not working.

 

[jonwaltermoceyhanton]

Hi @jonwaltermoceyhanton

I can't tell you the fix. But I'll tell you what I've heard, and why I bothered to listen.

The issue is, reportedly, a failure in the earth. I can't tell you if it's the circuit board or the wiring, but it sounds like you have had the connecting wires checked.

Why did I have my ear to the ground? I bought my R-D1 this way. I've never had the meters.

The good news is that the actual function of the camera isn't affected. You still adjust the camera the same way, the battery still lasts the same time, etc. True, you might need to count clicks, or deliberately overshoot the clicks to be sure the setting is at one extreme or the other. You don't know the battery reading until a warning light comes on (when viewing the screen). You don't know how many photos you can take until it's zero. But you can always cover yourself with a spare SD card, and battery, and swap them in early for critical times.

For me this was a cheap way through the R-D1 door, so I have never really looked into fixing it. I would expect someone in Japan to know how, or who. Perhaps one of the English-language portals to the Japanese camera market might direct you?

thank you for the reply. still haven't found a solution to getting the gauges and dials working again atop my r-d1. i even visited multiple independent repair shops in japan during a recent trip and was told they also couldn't help get the gauges working again.

have you done any more research into getting yours fully functional again??

 

[Darthfeeble]

You stated that the problem occurred when you changed the battery, have you gone back to the battery you changed out? Cleaned all contacts of all your batteries and in the camera?? I would assume that Steve's checked all that but they are busy and sometimes busy shops miss things. Plan B is to get a second camera for parts. The Cameraquest website has a whole section about repairs to the R-D1, you might wander around there and see what you can find. If nothing else there's a good disassembly set of instructions.