5k+ actuations

tajart

tajart

ancien
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i bought my rd1 used, at a camera show, without a provenance.
the body was outwardly clean and in good appearance.
when i got home and started "learning it," i found a dead pixel and that it had some 4,000 actuations. i upgraded to rd1-s and remapped the pixels, did some focus tests and basically have been a happy shooter.
attaching a recent shot #5063, raw, elmarit 28 (v.4), 1/900 @f/5.6, post processing for resize and jpeg only.
tomj
 

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as i was composing this thread, i was curious about other's experience with number of actuations their rd1s, trouble free or otherwise.
all in all, a fun camera to use.
 
Leica0Series said:
How do you determine the actuations? By the cumulative exposure count? I thought that was a little iffy.
Click to expand...

I bought it new so file number was at 0000 and I just went over 9999, so I guess this means I shot 10'000 actuations.
Note that the file # restarts to 0000 so you might have duplicate if you do not add a prefix when you import it to lightroom for example.
 
This is good news. I picked up my R-D1 about a month ago or so. I have to say I'm a little nervous about handling it. I don't usually treat my gear with kid gloves, but I feel like I need to go easy on the R-D1. I love the camera though. It's going on it's first vacation this weekend to Montreal.
 
morgan said:
This is good news. I picked up my R-D1 about a month ago or so. I have to say I'm a little nervous about handling it. I don't usually treat my gear with kid gloves, but I feel like I need to go easy on the R-D1. I love the camera though. It's going on it's first vacation this weekend to Montreal.
Click to expand...

I used to be like you but I think the reputation of lack of reliability of the R-D1 is a bit overdone. There is one main issue that will happen at one point in time is the misalignment of finder, but you can fix it yourself and it happens on any rangefinder. Yet, it has not happened to me and I am now comfortable wearing it with a shoulder strap and no other protection than a half-case. Just plan several batteries for your trip (I use three) to Montreal. Enjoy.
 
I think I've definitely overpacked for my trip. I brought the R-D1, but also my R2A and my canon 30D (just in case I guess). I'm mostly worried about rangefinder alignment. My bessa-R is a tank, my R2A less so. The R-D1 is dead on right now, and I'd like to keep it that way 🙂

As an aside on toughness - while packing last night I dropped from desk level my canon 85/1.8 (my fave lens for that camera). I was almost sick until I tried it out and it was fine. Some of this gear is seriously built to last.
 
R-D1 body, upgraded to R-D1s. Around 7k actuations, one hot pixel mapping, two DIY finder adjustments. Rubber begins to get off now, but no other problems so far. But I'm far more careful with it than with the F3. I don't use a case and I don't have found a bag yet for the rest of the equipment...
 
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Yes, it is a bit risky but not unusual with RFs from what I heard from others. If the case is open it doesn't protect protect the lens and the top. If it is closed you have protection but probably you'll miss some shots. And I'm not sure if handling will be as convenient as it is naked. Maybe someday I'll buy a half-case but meanwhile I'll keep looking for a nice and small bag for the camera plus 2-3 lenses.
 
cases

cases

in general i don't use cases on my cameras. i just try to be careful and not let them bang around. i recently got a luigi half case that i have on my m body (umm, and it sure dresses it up)...but i put the luigi strap on my rd1 mainly because the leica rings don't fit.
so, in practice, i find wearing the camera on a neck strap lets me take more pictures. if its in the bag it takes additional time and effort and to get it out and ready to go.
everyone has their own method that works best, and ways of keeping the camera active and ready.
and someone once told me that the tannins in the older leather cases could lead to pitting, and mold, if the camera was just stored in the case; i assume that meant not being used much.
 
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The RD1 is fairly robust: mine fell 2-3 feet onto a tile floor... I was taking off my jacket, forgot I had an RD1 slung over my shoulder, probably because of the bulky DSLR I had in my right hand. I remembered when I heard the "thwack" of something hitting the ground hard. Camera was fine (no dings or dents), but RF was way off. The RF was easily adjusted... once I got home from my trip at least. (Normally I'd have a spare body as backup, but this trip I had a "spare" DSLR so I was fine).

That said, I did have a shutter mechanism failure at around 4000k actuations, and at the time when I was researching it I think there were some others that had theirs fail at around that time.
 
I personnally never use cases because I believe most good cameras are designed to (and in practice) work better in the hand without. With just the camera over your shoulder or better still in your hand with the strap around your wrist it is quicker to bring to your eye to shoot. If you don't take these sort of pictures of course its of less importance.

Clearly the risk of damage is greater, but with the R-D1 I think it is a bit tougher than we give it credit for. I'm at 8K + activations and like Jonas I have dropped mine, more than once. The last time the camera with 28mm Ultron was over my shoulder when walking home when I slipped on some mud. The camera 'flew' from my shoulder and bounced about 10 feet along a concrete path. I feared the worst, but no damage to the lens and the camera only had a small chip the the base, a bit more black paint missing and the rangefinder knocked badly out of alignment (mainly vertically). I was able to adjust this myself and was back in business.
 
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