B&H Photo No Longer Stocking R-D1?

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saxshooter

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Noticed THIS Friday when tried searching for Epson R-D1 on B&H's website.

I wonder if it is temporary. When they didn't have in stock it would say "out of stock" but this time it turns up with nothing at all...
 
saxshooter said:
Noticed THIS Friday when tried searching for Epson R-D1 on B&H's website.

I wonder if it is temporary. When they didn't have in stock it would say "out of stock" but this time it turns up with nothing at all...
Click to expand...

The R-D1 appears to be discontinued. Epson America has no more in stock, Amazon says they are discontinued, B&H says they are discontinued (different from the link you provided), and Robert White flat out states that they have secured the last batch in Europe and that this is the very last of them ever.

Doesn't look good.

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/digital.htm#Labelerd

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006FU2AC/104-9858192-7010300?v=glance&n=502394

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Makes sense. Crazy expensive probably for them to service all the defects - even though Epson is picking up the tab, they spend time doing it. And the Digital M will blow that thing out of the water in terms of sales. And will not cost so much in after-sale service.
 
shutterflower said:
Makes sense. Crazy expensive probably for them to service all the defects - even though Epson is picking up the tab, they spend time doing it. And the Digital M will blow that thing out of the water in terms of sales. And will not cost so much in after-sale service.
Click to expand...

That also ties in with the recent reports that R-D1's sent in for service are actually being serviced (ie, replaced with a RMA serviced camera) instead of being replaced with a new camera. They are most likely having to fix them now.

I'm still checking - no official word from Epson on this, but nobody seems to actually have them in stock. The few places that claim to have them are notorious for not actually stocking merchandise (except for Robert White, who is actually saying that's it for the R-D1).

Well, it was a niche item, and it got a nearly two-year run in a market that typically has a 1 year or less product lifecycle. Not bad.

I fear that the upcoming Leica M8 is going to be the same thing - a drug on the market until they finally take it out back and shoot it.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
If anyone wants an R-D1 it may be worth contacting Robert White. When I ordered mine just over 3 weeks ago they had that day sold the last one from "the last batch". I had to wait while they negotiated another batch from Epson which arrived 2 weeks ago.

I think the STOP PRESS notice on their page hasn't been changed for some time.

Bob.

Edited to add: I've remembered it was reported on this forum that Robert White had returned the latest batch to Epson because of QA problems. When those are fixed they could become available again. It seems as if I was very lucky!
 
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bmattock said:
That also ties in with the recent reports that R-D1's sent in for service are actually being serviced (ie, replaced with a RMA serviced camera) instead of being replaced with a new camera. They are most likely having to fix them now.
Click to expand...


I just got mine back from service this week. The one I sent in was deemed "unrepairable" and I was sent a refurbished unit. It was a different (much lower) serial number.

Isn't it ironic. The Epson RD-1 community here (and assumedly abroad) are very excited at this firmware update (available so far through the Epson UK site only). New life has been breathed into this camera, it seems.

And now you can't buy them in the US, or maybe anywhere else outside of Japan.

HELLOOOOOOOOO EPSON!!!!
 
Don't forget though, this camera was always supposed to be a limited run. Epson wanted to give something back to the photographic community by making the first digital rangefinder. In that regard, I think it was a success. When I heard that 5k were destined solely to Japan, and the rest of them to be distributed out across the world, I thought this day would come much quicker. The camera never took off like they thought it would, but it has developed a cult following.

In the end, I was lucky enough to get one, and I've used it with great success over the last 1.5 years. Besides all of the excellent photos that were taken with this camera, my wife learned the joys of a manual camera and now prefers it over an automatic or DSLR camera.

I still have hopes of an R-D2 announcement at Photokina. I think there is still a sweet spot for a $2.5 - $3k rangefinder.

-Paul
 
And the Digital M will blow that thing out of the water in terms of sales. And will not cost so much in after-sale service.
Click to expand...

Must be great to be able to foretell the future like that. Would you mind telling us which horse will win the Kentucky Derby next year? Maybe I can get a bet down and win enough to buy an M8, which we now know is going to ship 100% defect-free...
 
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I've been messing with Leicas for a lot of years. Their record of bug free new product intros is not exactly wonderful. 100% defect free may be reaching a bit.
 
The digilux 2 was "bug free", I'd say. there were some issues with it, but those were design decisions (finder, noise, RAW buffer), not bugs....
 
Steve L said:
The digilux 2 was "bug free", I'd say. there were some issues with it, but those were design decisions (finder, noise, RAW buffer), not bugs....
Click to expand...

Yup, Panasonic did a good job on the Digilux 2. I don't think they're involved in the M8, though.
 
JLW- Oh, right, that was Panasonic, not Leica, on the Digilux!!!

Copake ham - by the way, I don't think Adorama ever refuses an order....
 
I called Epson at (800) 463-7766 and asked them flat-out if the R-D1 was discontinued. The answer that I got was somewhat evasive.

First, the gentleman stated that the R-D1 is "not discontinued in North America." Does that mean it is discontinued elsewhere?

Second, he claimed that the R-D1 is continuing to be "Made in America." Doubtful, since it never was made in the USA to begin with.

He admitted that all authorized US retailers are currently out of stock, and that Epson America is out of stock as well. He claimed that they had placed an order for more from Epson Corporate, and they are expecting it in, but he did not know when.

He took my email address and placed it on a list to receive notification when they have more of them to sell.

Frankly, I suspect that it will be the Twelfth of Never, but I remain hopeful. And at least for the moment, they are denying that the camera is discontinued.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
sreidvt said:
George,

Are you now looking at buying one?

Cheers,

Sean
Click to expand...

No...I was simply trying to determine availability for the original poster who is.

B&H seems to no longer have it so I checked Epson direct sales - figuring if anyone had it they would.

If you know where to get one you might want to pass that along to the "head of the thread". ;)
 
I am looking to get one, preferably new or near-new with some warranty left on it.
 
My guess is Epson has simply run out of their R-D1 supply. Surely y'all know there's an R-D1s on the way... Same camera essentially but probably an additional production run.

BTW, I installed firmware 2.0 a couple days ago. Some nice improvements, though I wish the instant review allowed you to set an overlay (histogram, blinking highlights, etc.).

-Dave-
 
I was told that the R-D1s will be available here in the US in July...also, was told that the Leica M8 should begin to arrive in stores by the middle of October. Didn't have much luck with my R-D1's so I think I'll take a serious look at the M8 when it becomes available.

eyeman
 
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