Epson customer service

[loretdem]

I purchased my R-D1 #45XX new from B&H on November 1, 2005. When I received it I promptly mounted my 35 lux ASPH on it and shot photos at infinity and as close up as possible, praying I didn't receive a problem camera. Everything turned out tack sharp, thankfully. In fact I was blown away at the file quality of the combination of my Leica glass with this digital sensor. Even though the framelines seemed alright, the rangefinder patch was a bit askew but it popped into focus perfectly at all distances. Yeah a few hot/dead pixels but nothing serious so all in all I thought this camera was a keeper.
A couple of weeks ago it began to consistantly front focus with all my lenses (4 total). Then I noticed that when holding the camera in my hands, if I rock it even gently back and forth, I could easily hear something moving inside it in the area of the rangefinder/viewfinder. Click-clack-click-clack. I thought that it was front focusing but in actuality the tack sharpness was no longer there.
I called Epson USA's number on the warranty sheet. The very nice customer service guy there spent considerable time with me on the phone and asked many questions. He said he would relay all my info to the Senior Level Department and they should be in contact with me within 72 hours.
They called me a week later (today). Another very cordial guy named Peter in Toronto. He told me that I will be faxed instructions to send my camera to their facility in Indiana where it will be fixed. Turnaround 5-7 days.
Many of you who have experienced problems have stated that all Epson does is send out replacements, some with similar or other problems as a result of poor QC on Cosina's part. I was told quite distinctly that my camera would be repaired and only replaced if not fixable. Peter stated that the Indiana facility does indeed service the R-D1.
So I take it that Epson is now presumably in the position of actually supporting their high end digital camera and are through with merely swapping cameras as a general policy. If this is true then my one most critical complaint about this camera will be resolved. I was ready to take Sean Reid to task for singing the praises of this wonderful digital rangefinder while subduing its very serious QC shortcomings and Epson's lack of support which for some, especially professionals, are deal breaking problems. I will keep this forum posted as I progress through this experience.

 

[ostman]

FYI. I spoke to Epson yesterday about a problem with my RD-1. I was told I had no hope of getting it returned before xmas. 3 weeks minimum. I talked to people in Indiana, Toronto and somewhere else. Long Beach i think. I only mention this in case you do not have a back-up over xmas.

 

[rami G]

In all my repair adventures I have been told couple of times that they can fix it and that it is not true that Epson only replaces. It always turned out to be that they didn't know what they were talking about. I bet that is the case in your case too. Good luck, though ; >)

 

[loretdem]

Thank you, ostman and rami G.
It is after midnight here in New York. Never got the fax from Epson. I'll call them tomorrow.
They told me to expect a call back in 72 hours. Waited over a week.
They told me they'd fax instructions within 20 minutes. Still waiting.
I just got an assignment today where I would've liked to have used my R-D1. A portrait for the cover of a local quarterly.
I'm willing to be patient and give Epson the benefit of the doubt, but so far it's not looking good. In the meantime I'll be shooting with this thing some of you may have heard of. It's called film.
Seriously, I actually prefer shooting film. But for some editorial work shooting digital is more convenient, that's all.
Here's looking forward to a happy ending! I'll keep y'all posted.
-Carlos

 

[andrewch]

I sent my camera in 2 weeks ago to have the faulty battery gauge fixed. I called Epson this morning and was told that the camera would be sent back to Japan, and would take at least another month :-(

 

[Sean Reid]

Well...before you take me to task, keep in mind that my review of the R-D1 was written around Thanksgiving of 2004 and long before these concerns about QC arose (to my knowledge) or were widely discussed. The body I used in that review did not show QC problems at that time. As issues have arisen with my own bodies, I've posted about them to this forum. Finally, my long-term review of the R-D1 will include the results of my owner survey in an effort to give an objective report on how these cameras have held up.

I can only write honestly about what I experience when I experience it. I'm not psychic, though, and I haven't subdued anything about the R-D1. I was somewhat surprised to read that section of your post.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[jlw]

Well...before you take me to task, keep in mind that my review of the R-D1 was written around Thanksgiving of 2004 and long before these concerns about QC arose (to my knowledge) or were widely discussed.

Also, keep in mind that a lot of us have NOT had quality-control problems. Usually with this sort of thing, you never hear from the people who don't, only from those who do -- making even a small number of complaints appear significant.

Stephen, if you're planning to update your review, I suggest you try to come up with an estimate of what percentage of users actually have experienced problems. It might be educational to try to compare this to similar percentages for other new camera types/models, although I admit it would be difficult to get that info.

Otherwise there's the risk of people's conclusions being skewed by reading about what amounts to a small but vehement sampling of complaints.

I also think it's necessary to distinguish between "functional" and "non-functional" problems. For example, a shutter that doesn't fire is obviously a major issue, whereas a rangefinder patch with slightly crooked borders is irritating but non-fatal.

 

[Sean Reid]

Who's Stephen?

Jim....As you know from another post on this thread, I'm collecting information from R-D1 owners about their experiences with this camera. Whatever that information shows will be what I write. So far, it's true that some people have had problems with the camera and some have not.

I'm not updating a review; I'm writing an entirely new article about the R-D1 long term. Fortunately, I've included these sorts of survey responses into my reviews since the E-1 review and I have a pretty good idea of how to handle and present the data so that it is as fairly described as possible.

Sean

 

[Joe S]

Regarding the click-clack noted in the viewfinder in the original post. I believe this is a standard feature of the cameras, at least in mine and one other example I tried. I noticed it when I first opened the box and chose to ignore it--so far so good. I do believe most cameras are problem free, but of course the nature of forums is to relate problems and look for solutions. I will go so far to suggest a bit of an R-D1 paranoia has developed. This is somewhat understandable given the nature of a completely new, unique, quite expensive camera with (God forbid!) Leica pretenses built by a printer company! I have noted this in some somewhat over the top posts and even encountered it in myself. Thus far my camera failures have all been due to operator error. I want to emhasize that by no means do I wish to minimize Epson's poor repair records as reported or genuine camera faults.

 

[loretdem]

Joe S:
According to Epson's Second Level Customer Service Department, the R-D1 should make NO click-clack sounds when gently rocked as I described. They expressed concern about this. I will keep you posted as to the outcome.
You mentioned that you believe most R-D1's are trouble free and that a sense of paranoia may be out there. As unscientific as this may be, go check out this forum's polls. Out of 71 R-D1 owners, 69 responded to the "problem" poll. Out of those, only a third reported no problems. I'll grant you that some problems may have been minor and that a sampling of 70 cameras is rather meaningless, but to say what you said doesn't hold much water either. No offense. The most telling point is that there is a poll like this in this first place!

andrewch:
Please keep us informed as things progress with your camera. Same goes to ostman and anyone else in this situation.

jlw:
I'm glad all is well with your camera and I wish you continued good fortune in all respects. Please understand that the problem is not with the camera itself because many products get introduced with problems both major and minor. Even if it becomes fact that a large number of R-D1's are leaving the factory with substandard adjustments, the only real issue is what Epson does to resolve the matter. Replace with another potentially problematic camera? Repair the problem? I'm hoping that they will fix my camera in a timely manner but at this point, considering all the current evidence to the contrary, I'm worried because it seems they are NOT supporting this camera with anything other than replacements. What happens when warranties expire as they are now beginning to? I hope Epson comes up with something workable soon for all of our sake, including those fortunate souls as yourself.

Sean Reid knows that I respect his writing. I would never take him to task as I feel he is doing all of us a great service by writing about the history, theory and practice of rangefinder photography in the new digital realm. His observations on the R-D1 have been astute and revealing. Many here and on other sites have been commenting on the Epson support issue for this camera and Sean is now working on a new article on how the R-D1 is holding up. My comment, and perhaps the implied frustration in my comment, is part of the current dialogue surrounding this issue that has prompted that problem poll and maybe even Sean's impetus for his upcoming article. My apologies to Sean and anyone else who may have felt my comment to be unfair. That was not my intention.

-Carlos Loret de Mola

 

[losta]

Over six weeks to fix an in warranty fairly new $3000 camera seems ridiculously long. I would complain my way up the epson seiko ladder and get it expedited. Are they putting it on a boat to Japan?

I was planning to get an RD-1 but after reading some of these posts I'm a bit scared to bite the bullet.

 

[rami G]

Losta, I guess you never needed to send a lens to Leica Germany for repair. I once had to send my 75 lux for repair from US, but New Jersey don't touch the lens. The whole trip took 8 months. I never thought anything worth waiting 8 month for, except a child, of course.

 

[andrewch]

Losta, I guess you never needed to send a lens to Leica Germany for repair. I once had to send my 75 lux for repair from US, but New Jersey don't touch the lens. The whole trip took 8 months. I never thought anything worth waiting 8 month for, except a child, of course.

You are one patient man. Immediately on hearing that it would taken over a month, I dashed out the door and bought a Panasonic LX-1. It was really a badly needed excuse for my GAS 🙂

 

[Sean Reid]

Rami,

"The whole trip took 8 months. I never thought anything worth waiting 8 month for, except a child, of course."

That's very good; I like that.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All,

As is obvious from another thread, I've been working for some time on a story about the R-D1 used long term. Included in that will be the results of the owner survey I've been doing here and on another forum. Based upon my own experience and on the collective experience of those survey respondents (which will likely be a very small sample of R-D1 owners) I'll present a set of experiences with this camera. People who've seen my other threads on this forum may also recall that I had conferences with Epson and asked them to look into setting up a relationship with Don Goldberg for the adjustment of cameras with problem rangefinders. They expressed a lot of interest but I haven't seen that come to pass yet.

As mentioned previously on this forum, I had to send my own R-D1 in for repair and I'll write about that experience in the article as well (they replaced the camera).

It would be helpful if people on this list could encourage every R-D1 owner they know to respond to those survey questions. The larger the sample, the better, of course. Both sides of the story will be told in the article, of course, the frustrations and the satisfactions; the owners who've had no problems and those who've had several.

Sean

 

[losta]

Losta, I guess you never needed to send a lens to Leica Germany for repair. I once had to send my 75 lux for repair from US, but New Jersey don't touch the lens. The whole trip took 8 months. I never thought anything worth waiting 8 month for, except a child, of course.

In the 21st century there should be absolutely no reason to take 3 months or 8 months for any type of repair. Any small item can get anywhere in the world in less than 48 hours.

It is poor customer service to take that long whether it's Leica or Epson.

 

[loretdem]

I called Epson Toronto back yesterday to get the fax they were supposed to send me the day before. So now I have shipping instructions and a return authorization, as Epson's service facility in Indiana does not accept anything without prior authorization. Fair enough. I'll FedEx my camera today.
So off she goes. Will I ever see her again?
And now the wait begins. See you all on the other side.
-Carlos

 

[andyturk]

I'll FedEx my camera today.
So off she goes. Will I ever see her again?
And now the wait begins. See you all on the other side.
-Carlos

I sent mine off last week. I guess that means we qualify for the "waiting for the mail?" thread.

 

[loretdem]

I sent mine off last week. I guess that means we qualify for the "waiting for the mail?" thread.

It's been almost 2 weeks for me but the holidays surely got in the way. My other rangefinders are keeping me actively shooting so my waiting isn't very painful. I still don't get why so many can't deal with using film anymore. Photographing back in the 1990's must've been absolute torture!
Good luck, Andy!
-Carlos

 

[saxshooter]

Wow, I just got an e-mail from Epson thanking me for registering my RD-1. This is almost 8 months after I mailed in the card.

 

[billh]

Interesting about your 75mm Summilux repair experience. I sent mine to Leica USA twice (some years apart), along with resolution test charts (the negatives) of it and other lenses, and also comparison prints. They kept it a long time, and finally returned it saying nothing was wrong with it. So I contacted Leica Germany, emailed some photos, and they said sent it to them. It came back quickly and is very sharp, like it should have been when it was new. I did not use it for years, figuring it was simply not a good design. Of course I have the APO75, so I still don’t use the 75 Summilux...