Epson customer service

[jaapv]

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...

I can confirm that the factory service of Leica is very good, reasonably fast and very customer-friendly, albeit not cheap.

 

[mani]

Hi!

Sorry to start with a nervous post, but i'm wondering how this situation was resolved?
😕

After (very) much wavering, i finally decided to bite the bullet and ordered an R-D1 from Robert White. I then went straight along to a local Leica dealer and bought a pristine, boxed Noctilux for a sum that feeds a third-world village for 12 months.

When i got back to the computer, there was a mail awaiting that informed me that the R-D1's had gone back to Epson for a rangefinder adjustment... 🙁

Absolutely no complaints about Robert White i hasten to add!! They've been brilliantly informative and helpful all the way through - and believe me i've badgered them with questions!
It's just that if i get a faulty camera i'll have to send it back to them at my own expense - which comes to around $150 a pop.

So i'm curious to know how Epson QC and after-sales is going nowadays... (a few posts have mentioned that it's getting better?)

Best! //mani

 

[jaapv]

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.

I take it your avatar wasn't taken with this camera then? 😛

 

[Mark Norton]

I bought my R-D1 from Robert White less than a month ago and the rangefinder was out, usual vertical alignment issue, so it sounds like they've done the right thing and blown the whistle by sending the whole batch back - the last coming to Europe, seemingly. Seems to me CV are just not bothering to adjust the rangefinder correctly and Epson are learning the lesson of sub-contracting out production and relying on the sub-contractor to care about your brand reputation.

Good you've bought an R-D1, I've had fun today with the 50mm f1.4 ASPH (though that has a pretty awful focussing ring action and will be going back to Solms). For now, the R-D1 is the only game in town because who knows whether Leica will actually deliver when we expect them to on the DM/M8/M7d/Whatever.

Wonder when that firmware download is going to be available. Or even, if?

 

[Bob Parsons]

Epson UK site says June 1st to download the upgrade to R-1Ds, at the bottom of the first page 🙂

http://www.epsonrd1.co.uk/

The R-1Ds manual shows a menu item to map out bad pixels, which is one of the features I'm waiting for.

The "Virtual R-1Ds" link on that page will show some of the new functions when you "operate" the camera. (Need flash player installed for this.)

Bob.

 

[PaulN]

Good you've bought an R-D1, I've had fun today with the 50mm f1.4 ASPH (though that has a pretty awful focussing ring action and will be going back to Solms).

If the lens is brand new, give it some time to break it in. Mine was very stiff when I first purchased it, but a month or two later of use and it was perfectly smooth.

 

[loretdem]

I take it your avatar wasn't taken with this camera then? 😛

Yes it was. A blurry self-portrait at dusk taken with $5000 worth of equipment. I didn't have my Cosmic Symbol with me. 😀
-Carlos

 

[Mark Norton]

Thanks Paul, I'll let the lens break in first. it's just that it is alot stiffer than the 21 Elmarit and 35 Summilux I bought at the same time - maybe down to the fact that the rear lens elements are moved in the 50 Summilux relative to the rest of the lens as you focus.

Bob, yes, we're all hoping for 1 June but we'll see whether they keep their promises. This is Epson, remember!

 

[mani]

Matt who i've been in touch with at Robert White said that they'd gone through the entire batch of R-D1's and decided that Epson should adjust and check them all - which is encouraging for those of us who have the camera on order.
I just wonder if Epson actually have the expertise..? I've read some opinions that Epson and Cosina are no longer enjoying a happy relationship(!) - which may account for some of the problems that they've had in maintaining decent QC on the cameras they send out?

Anyway - great that Robert White decided to be proactive on this: can't imagine many camera stores acting with such responsibility. Looking forward (with some trepidation) to the final arrival. The digital M is definitely an enticing prospect, but then i thought of the Photokina announcement that the camera would be in stores 'before 2008'... (that was a dream i think). 🙄

 

[sreidvt]

ISeems to me CV are just not bothering to adjust the rangefinder correctly and Epson are learning the lesson of sub-contracting out production and relying on the sub-contractor to care about your brand reputation.

Hi Mark,

I wouldn't say that. We don't actually know where in the manufacturing process these RF adjustments are going wrong.

BTW, my Epson Europe contact (who created the site people are quoting) told me June 15th for the firmware.

I admire RW for sending the whole batch back for adjustment, that's the right thing to do.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[RML]

I wouldn't say that. We don't actually know where in the manufacturing process these RF adjustments are going wrong.

It was suggested that the rf was first adjusted by Cosina before the whole shabang would be transported to Epson where the sensor and such would be assembled. I can imagine that that could lead to rf's that need re-adjustment, something Epson is clearly not familiar with or capable of. But my R-D1 remains my favourite camera.

 

[sreidvt]

Hi RML,

That was my suggestion. <G>

Cheers,

Sean

 

[RML]

Hi RML,

That was my suggestion. <G>

Cheers,

Sean

I kinda knew that but wasn't sure. 🙂

 

[mani]

So i guess the question still remains: what's gonna happen to cameras that develop faults over the next two or three years, if it's the case that Epson don't have the expertise or even (apparently) the willingness to fix them longterm.

Or maybe i'm thinking way too negatively already... and i don't even have the camera yet! 🙄 Still, if the camera is really as good as it's advocates say, then i'm in for a great ride (at least while it lasts!)

What's even more of a mystery to me right now is the release of the 'upgrade' version R-D1s - i have to wonder why this schizophrenic effort from Epson?

 

[Trius]

I bought my R-D1 from Robert White less than a month ago and the rangefinder was out, usual vertical alignment issue, so it sounds like they've done the right thing and blown the whistle by sending the whole batch back - the last coming to Europe, seemingly. Seems to me CV are just not bothering to adjust the rangefinder correctly and Epson are learning the lesson of sub-contracting out production and relying on the sub-contractor to care about your brand reputation.

Good you've bought an R-D1, I've had fun today with the 50mm f1.4 ASPH (though that has a pretty awful focussing ring action and will be going back to Solms). For now, the R-D1 is the only game in town because who knows whether Leica will actually deliver when we expect them to on the DM/M8/M7d/Whatever.

Wonder when that firmware download is going to be available. Or even, if?

Mark: Are you sure CV is doing the final QC? I think someone posted here that Epson installed the sensor at the last stage of manufacturing, which would mean things could go wrong after the camera left CV's hands. I'm not sure if that's actually the case, and clearly final QC is lacking. But to automatically blame CV is a bit much unless you have knowledge of the process. Not that I'm an R-D1 user, but I work for technology companies and have a lot of experience with end-users placing blame without having all the facts.

 

[Mark Norton]

You're right, I do not know who is doing the final QC and messing it up but the blame lies squarely with Epson for either not doing it right or not making sure CV are doing it right. Aligning rangefinders hardly plays to Epson's traditional strengths whereas churning out 10000 circuit boards with an imaging sensor does. It might very well be that the quality of this product is off BECAUSE Epson have elected to do it themselves instead of keeping CV involved. Who knows? At the end of the day, it will be interesting to see what, if any, support is available for this product after the warranties expire and the R-D1 is nothing more than a shiver-inducing case study in the Epson Management Training Department.

 

[iUser]

I don't know of any company that would just stop supporting a product. There will always be spares (within our lives) and there will always be someone paid £50'000 a year to know how to fix things.