Epson R-D1 vs. Leica M8

Epson R-D1 vs. Leica M8

  • Epson R-D1 or R-D1s

    Votes: 267 55.6%

  • Leica M8

    Votes: 213 44.4%
  • Total voters
    480
tomasis said:
what do you mean leica's older models? do you mean M5 nothing else? If I compare Rd1 to DSLR, it appears much like as a leica but if I do compare rd1 to analog M and it feels suddenly big, both at height and thickness. As I said above, it is not a problem for me. If you thought about comparison to M8, it is understandable.

I actually believe that Leica wouldnt choose swiwel LCD door if it make the body thicker. But a budget model would be nice 🙂 Striped of many features etc.
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Indeed, I was not too clear. What I mean is that the RD1 can be used without LCD at all and still be able to change the important settings, so in that it is closer to older cameras. On the M8, can't change settings without the LCD.
I especially love the ISO dial and exposure compensation on the RD1, this is so handy.
 
Mattikk said:
Atleast it doesn't cost so much. You can have five RD-1's with the same price, one bump is no big deal. You keep on bumping your head.
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it is no under production and rd1 might gain collector value 🙂 even it is digital. But it is RF also lol 🙂 did you got m8? 🙂
 
I'm still getting to learn my R-D1, but I have to say that, by and large, the interface is pure genius. With the screen turned in, you can use it without any digital distractions, and all the commonly used functions, including iso, white balance and raw/jpeg mode, are accessible thru analog switches and readouts. The old-style rewind knob as a jog-lever to toggle thru selections is fantastic. The shutter is fairly quiet, too.

I'm not a big fan of the wind lever, as it is awkward to use sometimes. But that's just a niggle.
 
Mattikk said:
Atleast it doesn't cost so much. You can have five RD-1's with the same price, one bump is no big deal. You keep on bumping your head.
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I think you should compare used items with used items. So for a used M8 you would get 3 epsons, when you compare prices here in Germany.

Before buying a used M8 I thought about buying an epson but didn't find a reliable seller in six month. So your calculation "3 for 1" is absolutely theoretical.

(Btw. I only thought about the epson because of the much lower price)
 
I have owned both cameras since their respective first appearances. My M8 had to be replaced by Leica after 2-3 months due to a defect, but I've had the new one for about 20 months. I tend to use the M8 more often because of its 10 mp and the ability to blow up a portion of the file to A3 size, but that said, the R-D1 is much more satisfying to use. I just used it on a wedding last weekend, for which it is better suited than the M8 due to its quietness and, apart from wedding formals, no one would likely need anything larger than a full frame 11x14. My wedding kit: Zeiss 25/2.8, Jupiter-12, 50/1.4 Millennium Nikkor with adapter, and S-mount 85/3.5 Apo Lanthar with the same adapter.

If I was shooting mostly landscapes, tripod mounted, the M8 would be the way to go. But for theater, concerts, weddings, portraits, the R-D1 is nearly its equal in imaging, and beats it big time on ergonomics.
 
tom.w.bn said:
I think you should compare used items with used items. So for a used M8 you would get 3 epsons, when you compare prices here in Germany.
Before buying a used M8 I thought about buying an epson but didn't find a reliable seller in six month. So your calculation "3 for 1" is absolutely theoretical.
(Btw. I only thought about the epson because of the much lower price)
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Hi Tom - I bought my RD1s new this year from RobertWhite. I think it was one of their last new models, but as far as I know the camera can still be bought new from Japan.

I bought mine after a lot of consideration and lots of comparison shots (mostly from flickr). Although people tend to upload fewer fullsize images on flickr these days, I found there were enough for me to see that the RD1 has better 'grain' at higher ISOs, and that the overall image quality was in many ways more dependent on the lens than the sensor.

Obviously price was a key factor - but mostly because both cameras have a relatively poor reliability record, and at this early stage of digital RFs it seemed more sensible to go for the cheaper unreliable camera, rather than the very expensive unreliable camera. 🙄

Best! Mani
 
I had an RD-1 and I can honestly say that it was the best camera I ever had the luxury of possessing and using.
I was adorable to shoot, play with, and the 6mp images were just simply outstanding -examples on my flickr account.
I just loved that you could close that screen and be done with the whole digital aspect of it. It was small & black and made for the perfect journalism tool.
However my needs became such that I needed to return to film, so I sold it to another member on here. I have an M6 now and I love that almost as much as the RD-1.
 
kevin m said:
True, but the Epson has ergonomics the Leica can't touch. Plus it's quieter! Too bad they can't merge the DNA of the two cameras. 😀
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The ergonomics are better on the R-D1 but with the new Auto-Iso firmware, the M8 is now also very good.
As for quieter, while the noise of the R-D1 is shorter, I hardly ever get noticed with the M8. It was not the case with the R-D1 and it metallic "cling".
 
yanidel said:
The ergonomics are better on the R-D1 but with the new Auto-Iso firmware, the M8 is now also very good.
As for quieter, while the noise of the R-D1 is shorter, I hardly ever get noticed with the M8. It was not the case with the R-D1 and it metallic "cling".
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aha! so you finally admit i was not totally mad about the "cling"!

did you get the M8 or the M8.2?
 
not mad 😉 exaggerated 🙂
Let's face it, the cling gets you noticed when in quieter environnment.
In my experience, the M8 (not M8.2) gets unnoticed, probably because people do not assimilate its strange noice to a camera. You can be two meters away from a person and most do not react to the shutter of the M8. Even in a church ! maybe also because my leather half-case smoothen the noise.
 
yanidel said:
not mad 😉 exaggerated 🙂
Let's face it, the cling gets you noticed when in quieter environnment.
In my experience, the M8 (not M8.2) gets unnoticed, probably because people do not assimilate its strange noice to a camera. You can be two meters away from a person and most do not react to the shutter of the M8. Even in a church ! maybe also because my leather half-case smoothen the noise.
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Strange but true. I consider the sound of my M8 as quite loud (is this correct english?). When I take photos while standing right behind persons they never turn around.
 
I own both the M8 and RD1 and RD1s, will never part with the RD1, and have just sold the M8 and got the M8.2. My trusted RD1 got me hundreds of beautiful photographs which I can print easily up to A2 and A1 prints, I still love the winding over the auto wind on, maybe this is because I've used film camera for too long. The M8.2 have now given me the choice to shoot (shutter down) and rewind only when I lift my finger from the button, hence the upgrade.

I still use my RD1 regularly and still very happy with the results, I know there is still a demand for the RD1, a camera dealer in HK have bought a batch of brand new from a dealer/collector in China, now selling for approx. UK £1100.00.

Here the link:
http://www.tincheungcamera.com.hk/category/1_27&filter_id=31
 
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