New RD-1x

Darn, and I've been procrastinating selling my extra R-D1 -- now it'll be hard to get a good price.

But kudos to Epson for getting back in the game. Maybe they want to test the waters with their existing production line before they decide to invest in re-tooling for an R-D2? Fun to speculate....
 
Pickett Wilson said:
It could only work in the RF world. It's the equivalent of Canon reintroducing the 10D with only a larger LCD on the back. They couldn't give them away. Epson, however, gets a thumbs up for doing the same thing....
Mani, perhaps other camera makers will follow Epson's lead. In these troubled economic times, not having to invest in R&D could make reintroductions a solid money maker.
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Wilson - I'm intrigued by your obsession with this announcement - now I see that it's because you're generally concerned that it means that ALL development in digital technology is suddenly going to stop!
Don't worry! This won't happen. You can calm down.

Also, I must've missed the clamor for a reintroduction of the 10D...
 
i hope that epson germnay will be informed about the new release, too. SInce a couple of weeks ago i ring up epson germnay and would ask something bout the rd-1, and what i heared : r-d1 ? What is that ??? a shame !
 
Pickett Wilson said:
Smart move on Epson's part. No R&D expense on this run.
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You just posted the same negative comment on the other thread.
I think that makes something like 12 or 13 negative posts in the last couple hours on this one announcement. Broken record or what??

Remember: no-one is forcing you to buy one!
 
I am pleased that the R-D1's continue. While I have owned and used (professionaly) Nikons -D100, D200, D300, D!, D1X, D2x- I perfer the "film" like quality of my two Epson's.
 
While I wish they could've shoehorned a 10MP sensor in there, but if it's a very low noise 6MP, I'll consider it. I was hoping for $1000-1500 range though.

That said, it's interesting to see a company fill a perceived demand for a niche product in these economic times - gotta hand 'em that - makes one wonder if this isn't an indicator of something bigger.
 
Bill58 said:
No R & D, but I wonder how much A/S? In other words, will this one be more reliable than the 1st offering?

I'm gonna sit this one out too and wait till a better RF digital appears on the mkt.
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more reliable? have you owned one? i am amazed at all the negativity coming out from people i've never heard from before.... the Epson R-D1 has to be one of the more rock-solid digital cameras out there (and i am not gentle with mine and i'm the third owner)! where is all this coming from?
 
Seems like at least some people are buying Canon 40D cameras instead of Canon 50D cameras because the increase in megapixels did not do much for the sensor noise issue, so maybe Epson is following Canon and thinking that perhaps the whole megapixel thing is calming down enough to move a few more 6mp cameras.
 
jke said:
Seems like at least some people are buying Canon 40D cameras instead of Canon 50D cameras because the increase in megapixels did not do much for the sensor noise issue, so maybe Epson is following Canon and thinking that perhaps the whole megapixel thing is calming down enough to move a few more 6mp cameras.
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If they're using a newly designed 6mp sensor and associated firmware/software, I'd welcome such a decision...otherwise....
 
My r-d1 has also performed flawlessly over the years, and while only 6mp, I still like the images I get from it, especially with my Summiluxes attached.
 
If the image quality is as good as the last Nikons to use the 6MP chip it ought to pretty sweet (they really did squeeze a lot out of that old sensor). And if they leave the AA filter alone, very sharp images in RAW should be possible.

My main concern is how they plan to price it... I just scrolled through the links on the Japanese site and they show a RRP of 299,800Yen - according to the xe.com converter, that's just over $3000 US!

Oh well it was nice thinking about for a few minutes...

:(
 
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I've owned a secondhand R-D1 for two years; 100% reliable and produces lovely tones and colours – rather better than my D100 and D200.

Nevertheless, it would be nice to have seen at least a 10mp sensor in the new version and I have to say the handgrip seems to me to be as superfluous here as it is on M Leicas.
 
jke said:
Seems like at least some people are buying Canon 40D cameras instead of Canon 50D cameras because the increase in megapixels did not do much for the sensor noise issue, so maybe Epson is following Canon and thinking that perhaps the whole megapixel thing is calming down enough to move a few more 6mp cameras.
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It appears that 15MP is the brick wall for APS. If you cram any more pixels in to there, the size of the receptors shrinks to the point that you lose DR and noise can go up.
 
I'm excited that they're bringing it back. But 6mp just isn't enough for anyone who wants to crop and/or print larger 8x10. It would be a done deal for me if Epson had put a 10 in there. Even at 2k the price would be totally right.
 
I own 1, & to be fair, the R-D1 did have its share of quality-control problems (misaligned RF, tilted framelines, dead pixels, poor adhesive for the rubber body covering, etc.), if not reliability per se, not to mention complaints of inadequate or nonexistent service from Epson.

I attribute many of these problems to poor coordination between Epson & Cosina, as well as Epson's relative inexperience in selling cameras & other non-printer/scanner products. I hope things have smoothed out by now.

Personally, I've been fortunate to only experience the body covering problem, which obviously doesn't affect image quality.

cam said:
more reliable? have you owned one? i am amazed at all the negativity coming out from people i've never heard from before.... the Epson R-D1 has to be one of the more rock-solid digital cameras out there (and i am not gentle with mine and i'm the third owner)! where is all this coming from?
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As somebody who likes to print and loves my R-D1, I'm a little bummed that they didn't go with a larger sensor. That said, I'm extremely happy with the image quality on the sensor. I'm less happy with the non-flip screen. It's one of my favorite features on the original R-D1 and I can't remember the last time I flipped it around to look at it.
 
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