Epson customer service Redux

brightsky said:
Carlos, I discovered something odd with these firmware versions.

Because you seem to have one of the newest serial numbers, I assumed that E04106-0101 was the "latest" firmware version and E04106-0100 was the original.

However, when I checked the firmware version on my 0019xx serial number camera I was quite surprised to see E04106-0101. My camera was purchased in July 2005.

Problems with these units do not appear to correlate with batches of serial numbers so I am perplexed about the two different firmware versions interspersed among the serial numbers. If date of production is not the key, what is?

I wish they were sold through Target, as the return policy would be straightforward and consistent. :D
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IIRC, Stephen Gandy has been on a tour through the Cosina plant and has ssen the assembly line for the R-D1. Cosina makes the body and RF/VF. Then the body is sent to Epson for fitting the digital innards. I think that somewhere between leaving the Cosina plant and the completed camera ending in a box someone isn't as careful with the RF/VF as he/she should be. And since Espon probably doesn't quality check the RF/VF anymore (Cosina sent the it out up to the standards of their QC), it's easy to end up with a less than satisfying RF/VF unit. Just my opinion but since we have nothing better.... :p
 
ulrik said:
So, brightsky - what's your hot pixel situation? Any chance that E4106-0101 might acually map out a few of my hotties?
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Based on my sample, I'd say no chance at all.

Your question prompted me to do a little testing. FWIW, lens was a 28 Cron ASPH. Control is 1 second exosure, cap on. I stepped through RAW and JPEG-H at each ISO setting; 200, 400, 800, & 1600. Epson RAW was used as the converter and the only change from ERF was setting the file to 16 bits. The results are as follows:

JPEG-H ISO 200 Count=7
JPEG-H ISO 400 Count=11
JPEG-H ISO 800 Count=18
JPEG-H ISO 1600 Count =28
_________________________

RAW ISO 200 Count=3
RAW ISO 400 Count=10
RAW ISO 800 Count=13
RAW ISO 1600 Count=29

ISO 1600 is simply unusable and blotchy. The hot/stuck pixels varied in size and color. There are 2 or 3 red ones that are quite noticeable and common to each test, several blue, a few green, and white.

If you really want to cause yourself some angst, click Photoshop's magic wand anywhere in the photo and see if you can name the constellation. :)

To be fair, reality differs somewhat from the results. For all but medium low to low light, most of the aberrant pixels blend with the scene and do not need to be fixed. Healing brush is a panacea for the remainder.

There exists a plug-in that will supposedly fix hot pixels, but I have not tried it as using Photoshop tools seems to be the ticket for now, although I have slowly given up hope of Epson ever addressing the issue.

It would be interesting to see what numbers everyone else posts regarding their samples. After all, misery loves company. :)
 
brightsky said:
Carlos, I discovered something odd with these firmware versions.

Because you seem to have one of the newest serial numbers, I assumed that E04106-0101 was the "latest" firmware version and E04106-0100 was the original.

However, when I checked the firmware version on my 0019xx serial number camera I was quite surprised to see E04106-0101. My camera was purchased in July 2005.

Problems with these units do not appear to correlate with batches of serial numbers so I am perplexed about the two different firmware versions interspersed among the serial numbers. If date of production is not the key, what is?

I wish they were sold through Target, as the return policy would be straightforward and consistent. :D
Click to expand...
I would like a confirmation from someone that there actually was a version number E04106-0100. I do not believe that the current software E04106-0101 does any pixel mapping and your testing seems to confirm this. I am still thinking that in general new R-D1's with serial numbers above, say, #4650 or so MIGHT be better QC-wise than earlier ones, although andyturk did not care for his #4600. I would like to think that someone at Epson Japan finally got wind of the RF/VF problems and brought it to the appropriate party's attention to be rectified. When eyeman finally gets his new very late serial number R-D1 that his dealer is waiting to receive, we may learn more and I'll revisit my opinion on this matter. In the meantime I'm just guessing and trying to be somewhat hopeful that things are progressing and not degressing. I was really wanting my very nice replacement camera from Epson to be a sign of better things to come.
-Carlos
 
RML said:
IIRC, Stephen Gandy has been on a tour through the Cosina plant and has ssen the assembly line for the R-D1. Cosina makes the body and RF/VF. Then the body is sent to Epson for fitting the digital innards. I think that somewhere between leaving the Cosina plant and the completed camera ending in a box someone isn't as careful with the RF/VF as he/she should be. And since Espon probably doesn't quality check the RF/VF anymore (Cosina sent the it out up to the standards of their QC), it's easy to end up with a less than satisfying RF/VF unit. Just my opinion but since we have nothing better.... :p
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Stephen's very reliable and if he witnessed this then I believe him. This would mean that anyone who can fix a CV Bessa could fix an R-D1 (at least the RF/VF). DAG doesn't seem afraid to go there but others won't touch it. Why is this?
So why won't Epson offer DAG and others authorized service support? Even their printer business model leaves a lot to be desired. When they introduce a new line they also introduce new inks that cannot be used in their previous printers, so you must buy new printers to use the new inks. It is ridiculous that they could not offer the improved inksets for their legacy printers, even if they have less or different printheads in them. Imagine that every time Kodak improves their Ektachrome film they change the film format ever so slightly so that you'd need to buy a new camera just to use their latest and greatest color film? Of course in this digital era my analogy using Kodak film is pretty pathetic but you get the idea. Epson is a weird company and we are at their mercy.
-Carlos
 
"I also put in a covering letter mentioning the previous seven week wait and asked about a temporary body to use, however i have not heard anything and am not holding my breath."

Eric,
Sorry to hear of your ongoing problems. Did you receive your R-D1 Owners Club membership and letter? In the letter for the U.K. Epson states "In addition to these items, membership to the Epson R-D1 Owners Club also provides you with an exclusive 1 year replacement warrenty. This entitles you to receive a loan camera should your Epson R-D1 require service within its first year".

It might be worth reminding them that as they have left you without a camera for 7 weeks that are not respecting their promises and are in breach of contract.
 
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loretdem said:
I would like a confirmation from someone that there actually was a version number E04106-0100. I do not believe that the current software E04106-0101 does any pixel mapping and your testing seems to confirm this. I am still thinking that in general new R-D1's with serial numbers above, say, #4650 or so MIGHT be better QC-wise than earlier ones, although andyturk did not care for his #4600. I would like to think that someone at Epson Japan finally got wind of the RF/VF problems and brought it to the appropriate party's attention to be rectified.
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My firmware is E04106-0100 and serial is 16xx. I have one hot pixel at 200 iso that dissapears if I use ACR conversion or the noise reduction in Epson RAW. At 1600 iso it looks like a section of the starry sky viewed from sidereal space. ACR conversion makes it look terribly noisy, Epson RAW is more acceptable. But it is rare that I take pictures of the back of my lens cover with a high speed film, develop it, scan it and look at it pixel by pixel, or make an analog enlargement from the exposed negative. I prefer to see the flaws of my CCD instead of software removing things that might acually be a starry sky.
 
[/QUOTE]
Eric,
Sorry to hear of your ongoing problems. Did you receive your R-D1 Owners Club membership and letter? In the letter for the U.K. Epson states "In addition to these items, membership to the Epson R-D1 Owners Club also provides you with an exclusive 1 year replacement warrenty. This entitles you to receive a loan camera should your Epson R-D1 require service within its first year".

It might be worth reminding them that as they have left you without a camera for 7 weeks that are not respecting their promises and are in breach of contract.[/QUOTE]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your kind words.
I have registered with them, however i have never received anything from the R-D1 Owners Club. I did receive an E-mail from "epsonrd1" ....... Epson Europe B.V. on 28/10/2005 which i replied to with my serial number as requested and have heard nothing since.
Late on Friday afternoon I did get a telephone call from Jaz at Epsons Technical Support for the R-D1 stating that he had seen my request for a loan R-D1 and said he would see what he could sort out.
I haven't heard anything since.

Also with Epson UK / Europe appearing to swap out the hotshoe with the serial number between bodies ( warranty issues i assume, unlike in the U.S. where the replacement body has its own new serial number ), it makes it virtually impossible for a visual check as to how recent the body is.

Keeping my fingers crossed for 3rd time lucky.

Cheers
Eric
 
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EricC said:
Hi Jim
...I have registered with them, however i have never received anything from the R-D1 Owners Club.

Cheers
Eric
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Eric,
The Epson Owners club does seem to be pretty disorganised and slow. I complained about waiting for months for my certificate of ownership after registering and ended up with two with different club membership numbers in the end! :confused:

The person who seems to be running the owners club for Epson is Greg Barfoot and his e-mail is: greg.barfoot@orc.co.uk may be worth chasing him up.

Luckily my R-D1 still seems fine and I hope it stays that way, but it is now out of warranty so I am hoping that Epson set up some proper servicing facilities in the U.K. as the situation doesn't look good if I should now require a service. I had a little more faith when Sangers, who were the U.K. Voigtlander agents, were distributing the camera in the U.K. for Epson as these seemed to have a better knowledge of the camera than Epson support. Unfortunately they went out of business last year.

Jim
 
Hi Jim,

Beleive it or not i have just had a reply from epsonrd1, confirming my serial number and advising me that they are waiting to hear from other R-D1 owners included in the same mailout.

My membership card should be with me within a month from today.

Oh well, something does appear to be happening albeit very slowly.

Cheers
Eric
 
I spoke with Phil Amato, Epson USA product manager for the R-D1, months ago about setting up a relationship with DAG for rangefinder alignment. He was very interested, took contact information etc. but it doesn't seem to have come to fruition. I have just a few hot pixels in my own replacement R-D1 body but I would really prefer they weren't there because it's time consuming to clone them if one is delivering several hundred files to a client. I'd like to find a copy of the camera like Carlos got!

Cheers,

Sean
 
I bought my R-D1 from Dr. Yao in HK, while I live in Holland. I never bothered to fill out the owner's card. Reading all the trouble and slow response from Epson doesn't make me confident reg'ing would be of any use for my import camera.
 
I spoke with Phil Amato, Epson USA product manager for the R-D1, months ago about setting up a relationship with DAG for rangefinder alignment. He was very interested, took contact information etc. but it doesn't seem to have come to fruition. I have just a few hot pixels in my own replacement R-D1 body but I would really prefer they weren't there because it's time consuming to clone them if one is delivering several hundred files to a client. I'd like to find a copy of the camera like the one Carlos got!

Cheers,

Sean
 
Just had a phone call from Jaz at Epson UK and there is a loan camera on its way to me as i type. He has even given me a tracking number so that i can chase the Courier if it has not arrived by tomorrow. :D

Eric
 
Sean Reid said:
I spoke with Phil Amato, Epson USA product manager for the R-D1, months ago about setting up a relationship with DAG for rangefinder alignment. He was very interested, took contact information etc. but it doesn't seem to have come to fruition. I have just a few hot pixels in my own replacement R-D1 body but I would really prefer they weren't there because it's time consuming to clone them if one is delivering several hundred files to a client. I'd like to find a copy of the camera like the one Carlos got!

Cheers,

Sean
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I trust this R-D1 as much as my M2, and that is saying a lot. Except that I feel I must pamper it because if it starts to malfunction it's over. My M2 is a workhorse and is imminently fixable: the perfect photographic tool.
It is my nature to hope that the next batch of R-D1's will be Epson's best so far. But considering the wide range of recent experiences with Epson's customer service I now feel that I'm just very lucky and that there's not much consistency in their warranty policy actions for now. In fairness to Epson (something I feel they don't deserve) I must say that even though I felt that their departments in Indiana, California and Canada are often not in sync, they never did anything contrary to their warranty that came with the camera. As early adopters, we're basically guinea pigs but that still does not excuse Epson from addressing the well known QC problems they're having making the most expensive (albeit coolest) 6MP camera in the world. Here's to the next 5000. Cheers.
-Carlos
 
perhaps there won't be another 5000. I have tried to get a 2nd boby from the dealer in Denmark but they can't get it from Epson.
 
andyturk said:
I just sent my second R-D1 back to Indiana today for another round of "Epson Roulette."
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I wonder which one of us will get theirs back first? , hopefully as good as the one that Carlos appears to have. :D

Good luck.
 
andyturk said:
I just sent my second R-D1 back to Indiana today for another round of "Epson Roulette."
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I really want to believe that with patience and perseverance you will end up with an awesome replacement from Epson. This situation with Epson being what it is, if you can deal with this pathetic hassle you will ultimately be happy with the end result. Here's wishing you much luck, Andy!
-Carlos
BTW I just delivered a set of 20 portraits all shot RAW at ISO 400-800 with a 50 Summicron wide open F2 processed through Epson PhotoRAW. Focus was right on, minor levels adjustments, usual USM and no hot/dead pixels to clone out. That was an easy job.
 
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