Need advice, I have blindly fallen in love!

[witzansky]

Le-alain:
Could you send me a picture of the camera?
You say its green?

 

[le-alain]

I change the cover of both camera, with real green leather, especially cut for this camera,
i'll try to put pictures in the afternoon (France), must go for a "rendez-vous"

 

[Ronchnam]

Hi,

I had a RD1 and love it. I sold it to buy a M8.2. I'm ok with the Leica but I still miss the RD1. Very old style camera. I also had the Canon F1N and loved it over all my Slr cameras. I recovered the Epson with GripTac from Cameraleather and found the same feeling I had with the Canon. Quite the same shape. Very solid.

Great camera.

 

[le-alain]

Le-alain:
Could you send me a picture of the camera?
You say its green?

So my Babies 🙂
They are Rd1 with RD1s firmware, so real RD1s, except the "s" lacking on the front plate 🙂

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One with Nokton 35mm 1.4, the other with 12mm Heliar and 21mm finder
(12*1.5=18mm, and 21mm finder external frameline is 18mm.
I also have the 12mm finder.

All is great with RD1, except Batteries.
it has a poor battery life, and better is not to use LCD (I never use it)
in that case, You can take 200 Raw with a battery charge, and a SD2Go (I only shoot raw, converted with ACDSEE that give me the better color over lightroom)
when you have old batteries, they get empty quickly, and when 3/4 empty, you can have a camera lock during exposure , well known kirck of RD1.
So keep good bateries, and well charged, don't go anytime to "the last picture".

I can say, it's the most gorgeous camera to shoot with, you take great pleasure! And can shoot with so much lenses that have their own "signature" espacilly old lenses or old design of some recent ones, or have the sharpest lenses!
Perhaps what you call "charm", and I also sell some pretty Nikon gear to go with the RD1.


Here on Ebay, seems to be a good one at a correct price too:
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=331025247844&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:FR:1123

I bought one of mine for 850€, with charger and 2 batteries, no box, no disc,
and the other for 980€, Boxed, charger, 2 batteries, a SD card, notice, and disk.
Then on both, sensors were cleaned, rangefinders cleaned and aligned, verticaly, and focus.

if you have not notice or disk, it's not a big deal, easely found on the net 😉

They are built like tank, (more the F1 feeling than the Xpro 1) but the feeling with leather is sensual and confortable 🙂
(I kept the original rubber, and don't put leather on the back, as the grip is in the rubber, and is a must have)
I bought the second as a backup, and thinking Epson won't support them any more.
And I use one nearly only with the 12mm, avoding changing lense and clip the finder 😉

 

[Vickko]

Wow, just found an RD1 in Canada, at my friend's store.

http://camera-traders.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=38#EL

$800 CAD

Say hello to Anthony and tell him "Vick sent you"

 

[bpaul233]

It's an absolute lovely camera. Sure it's old -- it's got some limitations compared with newer cameras, but that's the beauty of it in my opinion.

I originally had a X100 and a DSLR when I purchased the Epson. I enjoyed the size of the X100, but never fell in love with using the camera like I have with the Epson. No bells and whistles -- just a tool take photographs. I ended up selling my X100 and think about selling my DSLR as well, but haven't done that yet. I use the Epson for just about everything.

I will say that the battery life is the one downside. Make sure you buy at least 2 batteries.

Hope you find one!

 

[le-alain]

http://www.ebay.fr/itm/EPSON-R-D1S-...980981?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item25828ba9b5
this one has perfect cosmetics, so barely unused, because paint on corners and on LCD hinge is very sensitive

Vickko's one is at a very good price! Humm don't need 3 !
must ask for pictures, (external, and both shutter curtains, CCD), and condition of rangefinder (clarity, vertical alignement, accuracy)
even if you pay taxes, it will be 800€

😉

 

[witzansky]

Wow, just found an RD1 in Canada, at my friend's store.

http://camera-traders.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=38#EL

$800 CAD

Say hello to Anthony and tell him "Vick sent you"

Wauv, Thats cheap!

 

[Vickko]

Yeah, Anthony's store is in a city known for its retirement community.

He often gets some fabulous equipment and he is very fair with his prices.

 

[TVR]

Anthony shop is really good, located in Market Square, Victoria. prices very fair and a good selection mostly film, if you get the RD1 you will enjoy its simple well made, not a boring phone camera!!!!!!!

 

[umcelinho]

I HIGHLY reccomend the above setup with the 35/1.4 nokton and the 12mm Heliar. it's the kit I used the most on my R-D1, and it will cover pretty much any scene and light situation you'll face. also, both are very compact and light lenses, making for a compact and light setup.

 

[tekst]

I have an RD1 for sale (albeit with a non working LCD, which is still repairable by Steve's Camera) and will let it go for cheap. It is in good condition besides the screen and takes beautiful photos despite only been a, shock horror, 6mp camera! PM me if anyones interested!

 

[le-alain]

I have an RD1 for sale (albeit with a non working LCD, which is still repairable by Steve's Camera) and will let it go for cheap. It is in good condition besides the screen and takes beautiful photos despite only been a, shock horror, 6mp camera! PM me if anyones interested!

It's a very good way to have a cheap RD1 😉

As you don't need at all the LCD on the RD1,
This will allow you taking pitures with the same pleasure as the film period !

 

[le-alain]

I HIGHLY reccomend the above setup with the 35/1.4 nokton and the 12mm Heliar. it's the kit I used the most on my R-D1, and it will cover pretty much any scene and light situation you'll face. also, both are very compact and light lenses, making for a compact and light setup.

Yes a pleasing set up, the 12mm is sharper than the 15mm on RD1, and need less action of "cornerfix"
and for those who prefer a little longuer,
the 21mm f4 (so small and so good!)+ Nokton 50mm f1.5 is a good set up too 🙂

* cornerfix is a very good fix (lightfall and color), when using "UWA" on RD1 or M8 or M9,
😉

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I've had my R-D1 (serial in the first 2000 made) since 2009 and it's still going strong (even with the paintloss).

Observations:
Batteries; As said, the R-D1 is quite powerhungry, but there are plenty of spare batteries available on Ebay, get some with a 1600mAh capacity or more.
Biggest battery drain is the write to flashcard action. Lower capacity batteries can't handle the peak power required and go into standby mode after saving a picture, costing several seconds to wake up when you want to take the next picture.

The rubber on the eyepiece/diopters on mine has worn a through twice. The screw-in eyepieces are interchangable between the Voigtlander Bessa R2A, R2M, R3A, R3M, R4A, R4M, Bessaflex, Bessa III, Bessa III Wide, Zeiss Ikon ZM, and Fuji X-Pro1. Something to keep in mind when searching for replacements.

 

[le-alain]

For M Flibble:
Do you have the RD1s firmware? Even shooting RAW, I am OK with speed between shots and don't have to wait seconds beetween shots (as you have to puch the level to cock the shutter, compose, it's hard to be faster than 1 to 1.5 picture/second, or just to make the test to fill the buffer.
Edit: OK, sorry, didn't undestood: I never let the camera go to stand-by mode, and always turn on/off., stand-by mode drain also battery and require more time to wake up then just turn the power button on.

Agee you need good batteries, and not to shoot until they are empty

Eye piece are also Nikon compatible, I have diopter adjustment on mine


for the OP,
another opportunity to follow:
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380722747278&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:FR:1123

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I do have the R-D1s Firmware installed.

The write buffer can store about 4 images as I recall, for when you have to take photos in rapid succession. Rarely do I achieve (or require) that rate of fire anyway.

I had the camera-goes-to-standby-mode-after-each-photo problem with low capacity batteries (1300mAh 3rd party brand). My original Epson battery only suffers from this when it's running on empty.

I've turned off the power-saving mode timer (or set it to a really long interval). I just turn off the camera in between shots. I keep the LCD turned off as well. Like you, I get about 200 images out of a fresh battery.

 

[Lss]

Batteries for R-D1 are so inexpensive the battery life is pretty much a non-issue in serious use. (But having a lot of batteries means it's a good idea to buy one or more cheap extra charger, too.)

 

[le-alain]

Yes, I didn't see first it was in saving mode, I turned it off, it was not adequate 🙂

it's really important to have a good battery in the camera,
and one or two in the pocket 🙂 🙂

 

[Jamieson]

Hi,

I have an RD-1X that i will be putting up for sale on the Forum this weekend. It is in excellent, like new condition. I imported it new from Japan.

If you are interested please send me a message.

Thanks

Jamie