Hasitating on buying a R-D1

[littlestevie]

Hi there,

It's my first post on the forum so hi everyone!
As I mention in the title, I have the opportunity to buy an R-D1 but I'm still hesitating and I've few questions.
- First regarding the price, is 1350$ a fair price for R-D1?
- I'm a bite afraid about having mechanical and/or electronic issues with a 6 years old camera. Does the R-D1 has know weaknesses? Is there possibilities to get it repaired in case of problems?

Sorry for all these questions, but since for me buying an R-D1 is quite an investment I don't want to do a bad one 😎

Regards

Jef

 

[saiminyaku]

Hi there,

It's my first post on the forum so hi everyone!
As I mention in the title, I have the opportunity to buy an R-D1 but I'm still hesitating and I've few questions.
- First regarding the price, is 1350$ a fair price for R-D1?
- I'm a bite afraid about having mechanical and/or electronic issues with a 6 years old camera. Does the R-D1 has know weaknesses? Is there possibilities to get it repaired in case of problems?

Sorry for all these questions, but since for me buying an R-D1 is quite an investment I don't want to do a bad one 😎

Regards

Jef

Jeff,

Are you located in the United States? If so, there are a couple of places you can send the camera off to that do a top-notch job -- the one I suggest above all is Steve's Camera as Steve himself is truly a master of his craft and did an incredible job with my RD-1s evaluation, modifications, and repair.

As far as the price, I'll leave that to someone who owns the RD-1 as I have only purchasing experience with RD-1s (and there is a difference between the two at purchase point and in some cases, mechanically).

Hope this is of some assistance to you.

 

[Ronald M]

Who beside Steve can fix theseand what happens when Steve retires?

Somehow trusting Leica seems risky enough to me.

 

[thegman]

Hi Jef,
I've never owned an RD-1, but you can check for the going rate on eBay and the classifieds here. I think whether $1350 is a good price or not depends on condition. I've seen "user" RD-1 cameras go for less, and "mint" ones go for more.

When I was first looking for a range finder, I was put off the RD-1 by stories of it's flaws but now I've been in the range finder scene just a little longer I can see that every camera has reports of issues against it, not just the RD-1.

I think if you can content yourself that if you need it repaired, you know where to send it, there is not too much to worry about.

Garry

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Jef, in a general sense, buying a six year old digital camera should not be considered a long-term investment. If whatever price you pay necessitates keeping the camera for a long time, maybe it's not the best choice. You can buy much newer and technically better cameras for that kind of money...but, not if you want a digital RF.

 

[Ezzie]

Repairs may be a daunting affair for you and me, but for a trained technician the R-D1 is not much of a challenge. Most of the mechanical stuff is based on the Cosina Voigtländer Bessa range, and should be easy to fix, even for a non-Epson specialist. See the Sticky thread by Rich Cutler, and you'll be seriously enlightened.

I love my R-D1, and have only had to adjust the RF patch vertical alignment, and clean the sensor. Both of which I've done myself. I'm still impressed with the IQ, even compaired to my D2X. Apart from better auto "this and that" assistance during the picture taking process, the only real improvement the D2X gives is resolution. If however you are considering the R-D1 you already have decided that 6Mp is not an issue, and to be quite honest it very seldomly is for less than professional use.

P.S. Where I live, the R-D1 has the added value that people start talking to you out of the blue, the camera being the initial point of interest. I was at a Photo fair som weeks back and when I passed the Leica stand a rep gave me a nod and a thumbs up "Finally someone with a proper camera!"

 

[Paul T.]

$1350 is a fair price if it's on the top end in terms of condition - I would expect good cosmetics and rangefinder, and probably a box for that sum. They were holding their price at around $1400 maybe nine months ago, but I think prices have dropped since the EP-1 and GF1 have been released.

And re spares and reliability, I'd feel better about buying one today, than I would have two years ago, before Steve Choi had repeatedly proved his expertise.

 

[saiminyaku]

$1350 is a fair price if it's on the top end in terms of condition - I would expect good cosmetics and rangefinder, and probably a box for that sum. They were holding their price at around $1400 maybe nine months ago, but I think prices have dropped since the EP-1 and GF1 have been released.

And re spares and reliability, I'd feel better about buying one today, than I would have two years ago, before Steve Choi had repeatedly proved his expertise.

Amen to that.

 

[littlestevie]

First thank to all of you for your answers J

“Are you located in the United States? If so, there are a couple of places you can send the camera off to that do a top-notch job -- the one I suggest above all is Steve's Camera as Steve himself is truly a master of his craft and did an incredible job with my RD-1s evaluation, modifications, and repair.”

Nice to see that it is possible to have repair options J
I’m living in Canada, so I don’t how customs will deal with a repaired Camera.
Anyway I think the worst case is if the mother board dies, since it might not be possible to have a new one?

“$1350 is a fair price if it's on the top end in terms of condition - I would expect good cosmetics and rangefinder, and probably a box for that sum.”

Regarding the price for the moment I know nothing about the cosmetic of the camera, I’ll ask pics to the seller. However I know that it comes with the original box.

« Jef, in a general sense, buying a six year old digital camera should not be considered a long-term investment. If whatever price you pay necessitates keeping the camera for a long time maybe it's not the best choice. You can buy much newer and technically better cameras for that kind of money...but, not if you want a digital RF. »

Yes I plan to keep the camera for a long time, that’s why I’m concerned about reliability.
I’m not into the pixel count race so I can live with a 6 MP camera. Actually I came to photography using a sigma DP1, and as I appreciated the simplicity of the camera and the manual focus, I was “frustrated” to not being able to use different lenses. Then I found the R-D1, which theoretically should satisfy my expectations: compactness, good lenses, and a real viewfinder (i.e. not an electronic one). But you’re right, if I look want I can buy new in the R-D1 price range (micro 4/3 stuffs), my left brain still says: are you really sure about the R-D1…

 

[sevres_babylone]

I'd say $1350 is at the top end of the range now. The good thing for you is that the Canadian dollar is very strong right now.
The biggest known problem is shutter failure. I've had that with both of my bodies; one is now working. Unfortunately, that one is now front-focusing. (I am not a DIY guy)
Steve Choi can usually fix the Epsons, but although many of the parts are the same or similar to those on Bessa bodies, where they are not, there may be problems in repair.
With shutter failure, I don't know if you can tell much from the condition of the camera, because there were reports of shutter failure from the time when the camera first came out. I think it's a crapshoot.
The problem in shipping from Canada for repair is not Canadian customs, but U.S. and dealing with the brokerage of Fedex or UPS. With Fedex, I finally got a refund on unwarranted duty about 3 months after the fact; UPS was just a total nightmare. USPS is almost always better.
There was an interesting thread recently about Epson repairs in Japan, where Epson actually recognizes the camera exists. I've had my first body for five years now, and if the second one buys I may reconcile myself to having had a good run. (I don't want to get into an argument about how cameras are supposed to last forever; digital cameras are part computer, so I look at computer lifespan at least as a partial comparison factor -- and I've used and maybe abused my bodies). On the other hand, I just got back from SXSW in Austin, where I was using a Canon Sonnar 50mm on my Epson, and I would miss that very much.
Good luck with your decision.