It's true ... The RD-1 is the 'coolest' digital camera ever made!

[Ezzie]

great idea keith. And the 35 1.2 is great on it. so is a zeiss 25mm for a 36mm fov

Ezzie's custom wooden grip that i got with it. Best grip ever 🙂 (my dial is slightly off though after bumping the camera hard one day :/ )


Epson R-D1 + 35/2 by Adam Regele, on Flickr

You lot! Don't get me started, again!

I agree, it is certainly the coolest digital camera I've even seen. Should I get hold of one again? Would mean I'd shoot less film, not sure I want that. Yet.

 

[fireblade]

From the faux film rewind knob that ties in with the various menu functions to that quirky but fascinating analog display on top of the camera. Oh ... and lets not forget the manual 'film adavance' lever for re-cocking the shutter that you can conveniently hook your thumb under while shooting ... and of course the LCD screen that you can flip over to totally deny to the world that you've secumbed to the digital tide! 😛

I showed the RD-1 to a friend who is a semi pro photographer (magazines posters etc) who is generally impressed by nothing in life ... and I mean nothing!!! When I showed him the Epson a week or so ago his reaction was .... "Wow! That is the coolest camera I've seen, now I understand why you bought it!"

If RFF had a 'Cool Wall' ala Top Gear this camera would have to be at the top of it ... surely! 😀

...like that young boy who tastes honey for the first time😀

 

[Keith]

I had it -- liked the dials, and the minimal shutter lag.
Didn't like the crop factor and that the black wore down to reveal plastic. The M8 had better IQ.

I probably wouldn't want the the RD-1 as my only digital camera because of the points you make ... but I wasn't overly impressed with my M8 when I had it either for as many reasons. Poor high ISO performance, IR issue, shutter like a staple gun and a price tag of $6000!

If I hanker for full frame with all the bells and whistles I have my D700!

If I want a unique experience and a load of fun for casual shooting ... the Epson fits the bill IMO. 🙂

 

[Ezzie]

Thanks! Contact Ezzie, but I think he made it himself (or a local friend). I can take detailed photos of its simple design if you or anyone else wants to try and replicate it. Dramatically improved handling for me.

I made the grip myself. Not difficult at all. A piece of wood under the base, a piece of half round (in this case oak) wood for the grip, and a tripod mount bolt. Grip is sculpted to fit my hand (evidently Adam's is similarly sized), fitted to the wooden base by two screws and glue. Mahogany stained. Thats it.

 

[astro8]

The other positive about this camera is I adjusted the rangefinder infinity setting yesterday and was amazed at just how easy it was ... happily it fixed the back focus issue I was having. 🙂

That's good news. Something like back focusing could certainly obscure your view of just how good this camera really is.

I had a 35' lux that front focussed on the R-D1. After DAG fixed it, it went instantly from POS to the Holy Grail.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I have to agree, the R-D1 is a very cool camera, and it feels right when you hold it and when you shoot it. The images are very nice.

Still, if I had to choose between the R-D1 and the M8, I'd choose the M8.

I actually don't understand why they haven't made an R-D2 with an APS-H sensor. It can't be any more expensive than making a higher-end Micro 4/3. If people got in line for the Fuji X100 and the X Pro1, I can't believe they wouldn't think people wouldn't get in line for the R-D2.

 

[Ezzie]

I have to agree, the R-D1 is a very cool camera, and it feels right when you hold it and when you shoot it. The images are very nice.

Still, if I had to choose between the R-D1 and the M8, I'd choose the M8.

I actually don't understand why they haven't made an R-D2 with an APS-H sensor. It can't be any more expensive than making a higher-end Micro 4/3. If people got in line for the Fuji X100 and the X Pro1, I can't believe they wouldn't think people wouldn't get in line for the R-D2.

You're not alone in wanting for an R-D2 along those lines.

 

[RichC]

I do miss mine (remember me? I created the RD-1 website, now on Cameraquest's website).

But I print large (my current project is four 6 foot (2 m) prints) . 6 MP is useless except for A4 (10 inch) prints - you can see differences in print quality at A3 (20 inches) compared with even 10 MP cameras.

The sweet spot for a hand held camera is about 20 MP. Sadly, 6 MP makes the RD-1 no more than a toy today... I can't use it professionally nor in my MA photography degree I'm doing. 🙁

If Epson made an RD-2 with 20 MP, I'd buy it in a flash, but that's not going to happen. Ever.

 

[nemjo]

... and what about the selftimer???

nemjo

 

[efix]

If RFF had a 'Cool Wall' ala Top Gear this camera would have to be at the top of it ... surely! 😀

Now that you mention it ... when was the last time the Cool Wall was featured on Top Gear? Feels like ages ...

 

[Keith]

I'd never heard of the RD-1 until yesterday - it looks pretty cool!

By the sound of things it is a real rangefinder rather than those Fuji pretenders.

Them's fightin' words .... I hear thundering Fuji hooves in the distance! 😀

 

[Keith]

Now that you mention it ... when was the last time the Cool Wall was featured on Top Gear? Feels like ages ...

A 'cool wall' would be a fun thing here ... we could have a poll occasionally to decide what should be on it. I wonder how you'd implement something like that?

 

[Sparrow]

... all well and good but would it impress Kristin Scott Thomas?

... when it came out there was a lot of detractors here on the interweb, it seemed to offend quite a few groups, and there was already an established bunch of Cosina critics who were ready to bash anything out of Nakano. Yet here we are years later and even Leica can't make a digi-camera with a winder and an instrument panel off an Alvis

 

[Lss]

... to that quirky but fascinating analog display on top of the camera.

Like I said before, the person who came up with the logarithmic pictures left display should win the Nobel prize for camera design. It's both beautiful and extremely functional. That idea should definitely be used in a future product, too.


Hey, how many shots do you have left?

R-D1 user: Enough to last me for two days, I think.
Any other digital camera user: How many exactly? I've gotta know exactly. I've still got 327.
... ...
R-D1 user: Almost a roll.
Any other digital camera user: Whaddaya mean? I've got 28 now.
... ...
R-D1 user: Ten. Now we start counting 'em.
Any other digital camera user: Yeah, yeah, 10. I was counting all the way down from 999. I feel dizzy.

 

[fireblade]

By the sound of things it is a real rangefinder rather than those Fuji pretenders.

Them's fightin' words .... I hear thundering Fuji hooves in the distance! 😀

🙂 was it Shakespeare who said "I say there is no darkness but ignorance." 😀

​

 

[Sparrow]

🙂 was it Shakespeare who said "I say there is no darkness but ignorance." 😀

... and "A picture, sir. when comes your book forth?"

 

[rover]

The coolest digital camera ever. We need to start a bag thread for it.

http://www.google.com/search?q=hubb...AMajS2AXL9KX5Bg&ved=0CBcQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=644

 

[Keith]

... all well and good but would it impress Kristin Scott Thomas?

I still get ...... well never mind, when I remember her in 'Four Weddings And A Funeral!'

Gorgeous, gorgeous woman! 😀

 

[Sparrow]

I still get ...... well never mind, when I remember her in 'Four Weddings And A Funeral!'

Gorgeous, gorgeous woman! 😀

... yep, I just looked at google-image for a photo of her with a camera ... but got distracted

 

[Keith]

I finally managed to take a couple of pics with the Nokton on the camera. 🙂