New R-D1 has shutter die

[MarkEDavison]

Just want to report that I have been the brief owner of a new R-D1.

I'm very impressed with the quality of the color that I get out of this camera, the ability to use my Leica lenses, and the short lag time of the shutter.

Unfortunately, the shutter died on the camera's first real outing--to shoot my son's graduation ceremony. Not a big deal, since he's graduated from elementary school--but a bummer nevertheless.

Have any of you heard of similar mishaps, and is there any quick field fix?

I know that the mechanical shutters of the R2 s would sometimes jam if you wound on while the shutter was still open, and that the jam could sometimes be cleared by putting the shutter on B and winding.

Otherwise I'm just going to trade the camera for another new one at the retailers.

:bang:

 

[Sean Reid]

Wow, I hadn't heard of that happening before now. Good luck with camera number 2.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[back alley]

welcome marke and if you don't mind, maybe keep us posted on this.

joe

 

[Jim Watts]

Welcome Mark,
I haven't heard of this happening on an R-D1 but it is exactly what happen to a friends Bessa R3A. One brief outing and the shutter failed completely. I believe the shutter in the R3A is the same as as that in the R-D1.

No field fix as far as I know. I wouldn't be to alarmed though if you get a replacement. My friend has had no further problems.

 

[sgy1962]

I hope you had something as a backup.

 

[alansoon]

Not that it's directly related to your case, but I had two Bessa-Rs that jammed out of nowhere. I swore I wouldn't touch a Cosina body again. Their lenses are however, spectacular.

 

[alansoon]

A similar posting on photo.net yesterday. Not about the R-D1, but a Bessa-L. I think Cosina's shutters are basically the same across the board.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00CdXM

 

[MarkEDavison]

On second body now

On second body now

Well, I swapped the R-D1 with the jammed shutter for a new body. The new body seems fine in all respects except that the rangefinder vertical alignment is off, which makes it hard for the rangefinder to really "snap" into focus, except for vertical targets. The dealer has no more R-D1's to try at the current time. Oh sigh.

I take it from reading other threads on the forum that Epson tends to replace bodies, rather than repairing them at this time. I don't know how much more time I want to spend doing QA / QC for Epson.

 

[Sean Reid]

Mark,

If it's great in all respects, my vote would be to see how well it works for you as is and, if needed, send it to DAG for adjustment of the vertical alignment.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[sgy1962]

Just when I'm ready to go for an R-D1, I hear stories like this -- hot pixels; dead pixels; rangefinders out of alignment; shutters not working.... It just seems to have alot of problems for a high-end product. I think I may wait to see what the second generation of digital rangefinders has to offer. But it sure looks like a fun camera.

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

Hi Mark, and welcome. If the only problem on your replacement is the vertical RF adjustment, this is the easiest thing to correct yourself of all the RF problems. I'll be happy to take you through the procedure.

Ed

 

[MarkEDavison]

Thanks to Ed

Thanks to Ed

Ed,

You were right. I fixed the problem today, and I'm even focussing my Noctilux farily reliably.