? An R-D1 Book

[Ed Schwartzreic]

Is it presumptuous of me, or merely too early to suggest that this group jointly write a book, or at least an on-line publication on the R-D1? This group is by far the best informed of any group I have found on the web on the ins and outs of the R-D1, and several of us have already written on it for public consumption. I think of the books that, let's say, Jonathan Eastland has written on the Leica M's.

Perhaps I'm stepping on the toes of those of us who already have such plans, or maybe it would be impossible to find an arrangement to suit all our egos, but I am so enthralled with this camera that I want to spread the word, and help others.

Ed

 

[driggett]

Although I am not a writer I would love to contribute to this book. Please let me know how.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[jlw]

Seems to me that, if it's going to be done, Sean ought to get the right of first refusal -- he's done most of the heavy lifting so far.

 

[driggett]

If he already isn't working on the book. ;-)

 

[mtokue]

Count me in! I was thinking of the possibilities myself after the interest in the Japanese book. infact I had corresponded to the publishers of the japanese book to ask about an English version, They are interested in possibly producing some other camera books in English but were sceptical on the RD-1 as there is a rather "miniscule audience" apparently the RD-1 book was a small publication run of 20,000,
Anyway I would be interested in helping.
Mike

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

This was just an impulsive idea on my part, but I am gratified with the response. I agree that Sean needs to inform us, as we don't want to encroach on his potential plans.

Secondly, I don't have much idea how to deal with producing a final product. Everything I've published has been in an already-established journal; I have no idea either about on-line journalism.

My thoughts about the content were to build on what we have already expressed here. For example, with the help of DAG, I could discuss rangefinders in general, the R-D1's in particular, and how to adjust it. Others could write on framing issues, and general issues like use of the histogram, the parameters of RAW file manipulation, work flow Mac and PC, etc, etc.

Finally, I think Jorge ought to tell us if this is OK with him.

Thoughts?

Ed

 

[driggett]

Ed,
Here is a TOC I would like to see.

introduction to the r-d1
history of r-d1 development
Camera handling
How to shoot in various lighting conditions
lens and which are best for the r-d1
Do you need a flash and when you do which are the right fit.
Raw vs. jpeg.
Digital workflow.
Review of camera raw convertors.
Get the most of editing the pictures.
How to print the images
How to publish on a web site.
Accessories for the R-D1
Review of SD cards.
Future direction



This is just my thought please add or subtract.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[Sean Reid]

Hi Ed and all,

I'd love to work on a book about the R-D1 but I don't have the needed time available. In fact, I'm working 12 hours a day as it is on current businesses and projects. I do agree that the very best way to do this in print would be to either:

1. Do a greatly augmented version of the Japanese book.

or

2. Get the rights to similar illustrations (which are fascinating).

I think that doing this well would require a major investment in time and some investment in resources. Perhaps Ed and others can make the time needed for this and, if so, that would be great.

The on-line idea that might also serve the same purpose would be to create a web site devoted to the R-D1: article links, tips, user tests, etc..

I get on the lists as a break from work but I'm seriously over-extended in terms of work vs. time so while I would be happy to help with something like this as much as I can, I couldn't be a lead player right now.

I do love the idea and hope it goes forward. The next book I put time into is going to be a book of the subway portraits. But I'm very happy to be a resource for this project and I'll contribute what I can.

Best,

Sean

 

[Sean Reid]

Want to hear something funny...

Epson had a question from a customer that they weren't sure how to answer. They suggested he e-mail me.... <G>

Sean

 

[gns]

Sean,
Sounds like you should be on Epson's payroll as customer support.
From some of the posts here, you are probably also due some commisions on a few sales.

 

[Sean Reid]

That would be nice but I don't receive anything from Epson or anyone else. I wish Epson would just send me an R-D1 as a thank-you gift (are you reading this Phil? Merritt has my address). <G> A colleague of mine keeps telling me they should do that. I do try to be very objective when I write though, so if a camera does well in a review I write, it's because it earned it and not because of any sweetheart deals. I paid retail for my Epson R-D1.

Sean

 

[jlw]

Count me in! I was thinking of the possibilities myself after the interest in the Japanese book. infact I had corresponded to the publishers of the japanese book to ask about an English version, They are interested in possibly producing some other camera books in English but were sceptical on the RD-1 as there is a rather "miniscule audience."
Mike

This may be true, but if they had published a simple black-on-white, text-only supplement providing English translations of the text blocks and captions, I'll bet they'd have been able to sell enough of them to make it worth their while.

The key lesson of "niche marketing" is that even a small customer base can be profitable, if you can get all of it. The fact that R-D 1 buyers constitute a fairly small, cohesive market is actually a good thing from this perspective.

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

I"ve had house guests for several days, and next week will be on the plane to New Orleans for the LHSA Spring Shoot plus several days of travel, so I haven't replied to all the interesting ideas here. Actually mostly I am not sure how to proceed. I will be speaking to Tom Abrahamsson while on my trip, and he had just spent some time with Mr. Kobayashi and with Cosina's engineers, so I'll run this by him as well.

I really like the idea of an English version of the already-existing Japanese book, or a booklet of translations, but this is not a substitute for a user's book.

Ed