Do pro photogs use R-D1?

[DGA]

I was wondering, do professional photographers use the R-D1 in their work?
I mean photojournalists or other photographers who live of their camera.

The reason I'm asking is because in the near future I hope to be a pro as well
(in the news industry).
I'll probably be required to produce and deliver all my images digitally and fast,
but I don't want to loose the RF touch.
So, getting an R-D1(s/x) sounds reasonable (since I probably will not have
the funds for an M8 🙁 )

So, What say you?

 

[emraphoto]

there's a dutch fella, sorry can't remember his name, that i have crossed paths with. he uses them and puts out very good work!

 

[back alley]

i doubt it.
dslr is the way to go for ultimate flexibility for a news type shooter.
2 zooms and off he goes.

 

[Roger Hicks]

What's stopping you using an R-D1?

If your pics are publishable, no editor gives a **** what you shot them with.

(And I've been an editor as well as a photographer and writer.)

Cheers,

R.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Not to speak for every photojournalist out there, but I'd suspect that they're mostly using Nikons and Canons. I use a D700 for all my pro work, and have worked for AP, Southern Living, Newhouse Newspapers, and I've been freelance for 13 years (shooting everything from people, to food, to sports, to architectural interiors), and if you want to do fast-breaking stuff that's the kind of thing you're going to probably have to use. Particularly if you're shooting something, and one second you need a closeup of someone, and the next second you need to do something wide, you're going to have trouble with fixed focus lenses. I don't think it makes a difference between Nikon and Canon, but I don't think an RD-1 would be appropriate....depends on what you're shooting. One of the things AP hired me for was to do a lot of environmental portraiture with my Leica M6, so if you're going to be primarily shooting that kind of stuff, it might work. You could maybe have an RD-1 for those types of situations, but you're going to want to have some kind of DSLR......just my opinion, based on working in the industry.

Editors might not care what you shot the photos with, but if you didn't get the shot BECAUSE of your equipment, then they will care. Ask me how I know!

 

[DGA]

Basically, I'm after reliability. I'll require a tool which delivers.
That is the main reason for my question: Does the R-D1 can stand a professional life?

DSLR, although is the most common among the news photographers, can be very intrusive.
Moreover, I love my M-Hexanon set and I don't want to leave it behind

 

[Merkin]

I am not going to say that no pro photojournalists use RD1 cameras or M8s, but the vast, vast majority use either Canon or Nikon DSLRs. 50 years ago, rangefinder cameras were by far the fastest cameras to operate in the field doing pj work. Today, they are among the slowest. (yes, you can set your camera to the hyperfocal distance at f/11, but you could also do that with a Canon or Nikon DSLR if, for some reason, the AF isn't fast enough for you.) Also, if I am not mistaken, the RD1 has a sync speed of 1/125, which is a full stop slower than modern pro dslrs, and is 2 stops slower than the D40, which, if I am not mistaken, shares a sensor with the Epson. Also, you have the (for photojournalism) disadvantage of only having prime lenses. I am a huge advocate of primes for artistic work, but for pj and weddings, zooms are essential, because you can't afford to miss the shot while changing lenses. You also have the disadvantage of a (relatively) poor selection telephoto lens wise. When covering an event, you often can't get as close as you would like, and 200mm lenses (or longer) often come in to play here. I would recommend pricing various options between the Epson, Nikon, and Canon systems. I can't speak to Canon systems personally, but I can speak to Nikon and M mount systems. Feel free to send a PM if you want more detailed info about comparisons and options.

 

[emraphoto]

seriously, carve out a niche now and use what works for you. if you want to pick up a couple of dlsr's, 70-200 and a 24-70 (or whatever) and pump out the tight and bright stuff you're going to have a very hard time. climbing above the folks already on the call list will be next to impossible without a certain style. look, niche.

run a couple of r-d1's if you want and put your signature on the work. it will be a tough sell in the beginning but stick with it and it will open more doors for you.

my 2 cents.

rumor is ben hernandez uses them too.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Basically, I'm after reliability. I'll require a tool which delivers.
That is the main reason for my question: Does the R-D1 can stand a professional life?

DSLR, although is the most common among the news photographers, can be very intrusive.
Moreover, I love my M-Hexanon set and I don't want to leave it behind

Here again, it depends on what you're shooting. If you want to work for the AP and do fast-breaking stuff, I don't think the RD-1 is going to cut it. But, if you're going to be doing photo-essays, then you might be okay. For example, I did a year-long story with a writer friend of mine about Tangier Island (a fairly isolated island in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay), and these people were pretty camera shy and wary of 'journalist' types. I shot with my M6 because, as you say, it wasn't intrusive, it was quiet, and the types of things I was shooting didn't require a machine gun approach of a DSLR.

But, I was shooting something for the AP a number of years ago at the U.S Capitol building. It was a presentation with some political muckety-mucks, and I was towards the back of the room. I had my 28mm Elmarit on my M6, and was getting a wide shot of the room. Suddenly there was the big handshake that I was supposed to get, and I wasn't expecting it to come so soon in the presentation. All I had on my camera was the 28mm, and if I had a camera with a zoom lens I could have gotten the shot....but I didn't. After that day, I realized that my trusty M6 was not appropriate for those situations....and my editor told me too!

 

[flip]

I cannot imagine a professional (using a R-D1) toting a dozen batteries and changing them once an hour.

 

[emraphoto]

i worked on one for a year and a half and 3 batteries would get me through a day.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I cannot imagine a professional toting a dozen batteries and changing them once an hour.

Don't know about the RD-1's appetite for batteries, but the D700 is actually quite frugal. I normally carry 3 fully charged batteries with me, and if I'm shooting it up all day, the one battery usually lasts.

 

[emraphoto]

agreed, the new breed of nikons have amazing battery life

 

[tbarker13]

Of course an RD-1 (just like an M8) could be used professionally. But you certainly won't be seeing much of it for newsgathering.

It used to be a fairly common site to see a photojournalist armed with a couple Nikons or Canons along with a Leica rangefinder on a strap around his/her neck.
At best, that's an incredibly rare occurrence today. Heck, most of the younger photojournalists I've worked with in recent years barely recognize the Leica name.
Considering the tough financial times faced by the news-gathering industry, there aren't many organizations out there with the resources available to spend that kind of money buying M8s or M8.2s for their staffers.
If they had the funds, they'd be much more likely to spend it on HD video equipment.

I wish it weren't so, but the days of rangefinders being used with any sort of regularity by photojournalists are long gone. Leica jumped off that boat when the company failed to develop a digital camera in a timely fashion.

 

[MatthewThompson]

DSLR, although is the most common among the news photographers, can be very intrusive.
Moreover, I love my M-Hexanon set and I don't want to leave it behind

You need to take another look at why you want to do editorial work. Photojournalism has nothing to do with being quiet and waiting for your shot. If you've never been in a scrum before you owe it to yourself. If you're not being intrusive, you're not getting the current events shot that pays the rent. If you're shooting for the Mayberry Weekly, you can likely get by OK with disposables.

Not saying it can't be done, but there's a tool for every job. You either have that tool, or you look like a tool when it comes time to deliver. The romantic side of me would roll up in an E-Type Jag to shoot commercial stuff with my old Hasselblad kit. I could decide to do it, sure. But I'd be bagging groceries to make the bills.

Commercial photography is all about slaving to the market, and right now the commercial market wants 10 perfect shots to pick from 15 minutes after the event's done.

 

[Vince Lupo]

You need to take another look at why you want to do editorial work. Photojournalism has nothing to do with being quiet and waiting for your shot. If you've never been in a scrum before you owe it to yourself. If you're not being intrusive, you're not getting the current events shot that pays the rent. If you're shooting for the Mayberry Weekly, you can likely get by OK with disposables.

Not saying it can't be done, but there's a tool for every job. You either have that tool, or you look like a tool when it comes time to deliver. The romantic side of me would roll up in an E-Type Jag to shoot commercial stuff with my old Hasselblad kit. I could decide to do it, sure. But I'd be bagging groceries to make the bills.

Commercial photography is all about slaving to the market, and right now the commercial market wants 10 perfect shots to pick from 15 minutes after the event's done.

Your wise words sound like you speak from experience, and I totally agree. In the biz, you gotta leave sentimentality for the weekends.....unless you're working them, of course!

 

[emraphoto]

i disagree. i do a lot of waiting. i used to put the shutter to work and hammer off bursts. burnt a few flash units too.

now i wait. i wait for the picture to appear and i take it. sometimes 1 frame.

 

[Merkin]

Don't know about the RD-1's appetite for batteries, but the D700 is actually quite frugal. I normally carry 3 fully charged batteries with me, and if I'm shooting it up all day, the one battery usually lasts.

I have a D700 as well, with an MB-D10 grip, and the 2 EN-EL3e batteries last for days. Even if you do manage to run them out, the MB-D10 comes with a secondary tray that you can mount 8 AA batteries on in a pinch.

 

[emraphoto]

i think it must be said that news work and photojournalism are two different animals.

 

[tbarker13]

Your wise words sound like you speak from experience, and I totally agree. In the biz, you gotta leave sentimentality for the weekends.....unless you're working them, of course!

Yes, but not every assignment falls into that sort of category.
Long ago, I was doing an internship as a photographer. I was working on a photo story about a young gymnast training for the Olympics. I was getting ready to spend a morning at her home as she was getting ready for the day. One of the staff veterans pulled me aside and suggested I "leave the winders at home" and use a single F3. He suggested it would be less intimidating for the young girl. He was right.

Surely there are times to be aggressive, pushy, etc. But also there are times to take a more subtle approach. And in those cases, I could see the rangefinder working well for the OP's purposes.