New R-D1 Owner

[sevres_babylone]

Re: Battery. My experience in terms of battery life is pretty similar to that described by Jim Watts. Maybe a little worse, but then I do look at the LCD more, I think. Also my screen brightness was at about 60% and my powersave at 5 minutes.

 

[Jim Watts]

For those seeking an alternative to the Epson batteries I have found the 7dayshop NP80 3.7V 1500 Mah batteries

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/default.php?cat=3&type=3030&man=0&filterwords=&go=SEARCH&comp=

as suggested in this thread:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25554&highlight=7dayshop

to be OK and these only cost £5.99 (GBP).

Read the whole of the thread and make your own judgement as some people have reservations because of possible problems with third party batteries in the R-D1. I had the same reservations myself, but given the cost saving decided in the end to give them a try. I have found no problems or differences to the Epson after about 2 months use and now have three.

 

[Terao]

How does the R-D1 do with whites? That is, do you need to dial in minus exp. compensation to avoid blowing them out? I know I kept my 10D permanantly set to -1/3 in sun light since it blew out whites so frequently.

I find its set to underexpose in order to protect the highlights. Permanently set to +1/3 in AE mode although I shoot RAW and tend to just adjust it in post anyway...

 

[Adam-T]

Really?
Did you find 1500 mAh Hahnel batteries somewhere?
Mine (HL-80) are only 3.7V 1350 mAh and are inferior to 3.7V 1500 mAh Epson's and generic as well.
Those willing to pay less than 5 £ for a 3.7V 1500mAh "Battech" might see:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000CQK2TQ/kelkoompcpc-electronics-21/ref=nosim

I`ve actually ended up with a Jessops one (1500MA) at £22.. It`s still charging and running on the Epson one, whether it`s as good as a 1350 hahnel or the Epson Original remains to be seen ..

the Camera is a total Jewel, I love it.. the RF area seems to be straight (none of the slopsidedness in focussing verticals I saw in one Bessa I tried) and the RAWs in Capture One are as pixel level sharp as a D50 or D70 (which is as sharp as 6Mp DSLRs get) .. the CV 35 PC is knockout even wide open and focussing is a doddle (more reliable than any C or N DSLR in the light I was shooting in! you can`t beat TRUE Manual Focus) ..

 

[frncz]

Mine just arrived

Mine just arrived

I received my new R-D1s from Robert White a few minutes ago. The battery is charging now.
I also have a new CV Nokton Classic 40mm 1.4
a new CV Snapshot Skopar 25mm 4.0
and a used 90mm Elmarit 2.8 from ebay

Shame it's not the week end!

Mike

 

[scoob_e_doo]

Great! I thought I'd add to this thread as I am a new owner as well. In fact, I stopped posting altogether riiiight about the time I got my lenses. 😀 (Apologies to anyone still waiting for a reply!)

Actually, funny thing about waiting... I didn't receive my first lens (CV 40/1.4) until TWO WEEKS after having the camera body. Oh man. I was so bummed out. So bummed, in fact, that I took to my Canon AE-1 just to get my winding fix. 🙂

The interesting part about shooting with my AE-1 right before receiving my R-D1 lens was how it so solidified why I believed I would love this camera and why I have actually found that I DO love this camera. It is such a different experience. I love not having to squint one eye and I love being able to look someone in the face, smile, pull the camera up, shoot, and still be talking to them afterwards. Beautiful. Remaining a part of your setting adds such ease to a shooting situation and I would almost go so far as to call it 'remarkable' how people have reacted to this type of photography as oppoed to a big, bad SLR. Another thing I've found that's been great is the ability to get RID of the preview and the screen entirely. It's great when you want to get your exposure correct as suggested in an earlier post, but then it brings back that Christmas-like feel when you put it away and save looking at what you shot until you get home.

Anyway, I'm obviously quite happy with the camera and have written far too much. But I have been testing and trying out SLR's for over a year now looking for something I liked. None of them worked for me like this camera does. Here's to more cameras of its type (sorry, not Leica's... but ones for 'the rest of us' 🙂 ).

Congrats to all you who have just received your cameras! Happy shooting!

Cheers,
Carlo

 

[nrj]

Thanks Carlo

I feel a similar way you about the R-D1. I've owned it about two weeks now. The viewfinder really works for the lenses I use most on it (I think 35mm and 50 perfect) but I also use a 24 and I'm not sure I will even need an external finder once I'm used to it. I really enjoy turning the screen in and just taking photos and waiting 'til I get home to see the results. I've found the aperture priority mode and meter to work well too. The pixel count was a theoretical concern before I bought but pictures shot at iso 200 have a real presence in print that I like a lot. Iso 400 looks good too, I haven't used the higher iso so can't judge these yet. I'm still keeping my M6 for what it can do as well.

Nik

 

[Innerimager]

I'll join in here- I'm excitedly awaiting a refurbished RD-1 in 2 days. Unlike one poster, my situation isn't being frustrated waiting for lenses, rather I bought 3 lenses in preparation for an M8 (35 lux, 50 chrome/rigid, and, gulp, a noctilux, all used) and have no rangefinder camera. Now the RD-1 will end that, and I may in fact wait a while on the M8 to let things settle down. Given my style of shooting, the higher crop factor of 1.5 vs 1.3 on the M8, the 1X magnification for my 50mm, and even possibly less noise at 1600 vs the M8, I think the RD-1 will get a lot of use even after getting an M8......Peter