New RD-1x

Honestly, I'm very disappointed with Epson, I would have expected at least a new sensor at 10 Megapixels at the price of 1800 USD for this new Rangefinder camera, I'd rather save and buy the Leica M8...
 
$2K isn't bad, it's got a $329-$399 lens on it, and people are buying used RD1s for $1500 or so. And a new warranty. This is good news.
 
Perhaps they saw how the G1 was selling to M mount users desperate to get away from film and decided to take advantage of the market with a "retro" sensor.
 
hiromu said:
Where did you find that it comes with skopar?
Click to expand...

I got it from this post. 🙂

"For those who can't be bothered with google translator: 6.1mp APS/C sensor. RAW+.jpg. 16x digital zoom. It comes with a 28mm f3.5 color skopar kit lens. 28/35/50mm framelines. 2.5 inch LCD on the back. It appears to come with a handgrip. Street date in Japan is April 9."
 
it appears that I misread the poorly translated site that is one of the sources of info: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/rf/2009/02/27/10302.html&ei=mnKnSe_eJYjHnQe24qjwDw&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/rf/2009/02/27/10302.html%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US😱fficial%26hs%3DdjF


The link shown at the end of the article in question was from 2007, referring to a 28mm color skopar kit lens back then. My fault everyone. I removed the reference from my initial post.
 
Last edited:
I wish they would have addressed some of the minor tweaks I would have liked, like 75mm framelines.

The new handgrip seems nice, but if I'm reading the auto-translate correctly it indicates that it won't be available separately.

In any case, nice to see that Epson still has interest in the RD1... maybe there are some engineers hard at work laying out new electronic guts with, say, a D300 sensor. Of course, at Epson's rate they'd release it in 2014 or something...

j
 
I am interested if the new sensor will be better than the current epson. If the only changes are new grip, larger lcd, and SDHC support, I'd pass. They are nice features, but not something I am willing to pay for. A new firmware that allows sdhc usage would be great for our older epsons though.
 
I'm thinking AWESOME! To me, this means:

1. the RD1 family of cameras has just got an extended life!
2. I don't have to worry so much about where I would scour the fleabay in five year's time looking for usable cameras when mine gives-up

And people - get over the 6MP thing - the sensor has excellent characteristics and renders b&w waaay better than ahem other cameras in it's class (which I also own, incidentally).

I'm overjoyed!
 
I thought it was a fake news when my friend sent me the link. Then I saw it on Epson's website, but I still couldn't believe my eyes.

Very disappointing.

How can Epson disrespect their target customers like this?

Like Jonas said:

JonasYip said:
... maybe there are some engineers hard at work laying out new electronic guts with, say, a D300 sensor. Of course, at Epson's rate they'd release it in 2014 or something...
Click to expand...

I was hoping to see a 1.33 crop, or even a full frame, R-D2 @ 2009. Now. Not 2014....

There is nothing I really need from the new R-D1xG.

The only good thing I could think of is that, I hope the price of the R-D1(s) will go down, so that I can finally get a spare that I've been wanting.
 
This RD-1x shows that no more suitable sensor for a digital rangefinder camera is available yet. Which is the conclusion from many other discussion threads speculating on when a new M9 will be available.

I don't mind moderate crop factors, but 1,5 is too much. Especially when it comes with a lot of vignetting.

But 2,000 US$ is a cute price. A digital rangefinder camera can't come any cheaper. A future Leica M9, still with a 1,33 crop factor, or thereabouts, with improved high ISO performance, - say, to ISO1600, and a pixel count of 16 - 18 million pixels, will cost between 8,000 and 10,000 US$.
 
deepwhite said:
Very disappointing.
How can Epson disrespect their target customers like this?
Like Jonas said:
I was hoping to see a 1.33 crop, or even a full frame, R-D2 @ 2009. Now. Not 2014....
There is nothing I really need from the new R-D1xG.
The only good thing I could think of is that, I hope the price of the R-D1(s) will go down, so that I can finally get a spare that I've been wanting.
Click to expand...

Hi! Is it really that bad? I think they wanted to bring back a camera that people love and enjoy. I'm seeing the positive in this.
Incidentally, even though there may be a dent in used prices for a while, the older cameras would've gone down in value much faster if the new version did have a full-frame sensor.
 
mani said:
Hi! Is it really that bad? I think they wanted to bring back a camera that people love and enjoy. I'm seeing the positive in this.
Click to expand...
Hi mani,

The reason I'm feeling bad about the news is that:

They could've done better. Much better. Or just do nothing.

If it's about continuing a great product that they shouldn't have given up in the first place, AND they couldn't find a good sensor that performs well beyond 6MP (by the way, I got no problem with 6MP), at least price it lower.

I don't know if the price is reasonable from Epson's side, but it's certainly not reasonable in the market of 2009.

And I really don't want to get a lens I don't need, be it good or not.

mani said:
Incidentally, even though there may be a dent in used prices for a while, the older cameras would've gone down in value much faster if the new version did have a full-frame sensor.
Click to expand...
If there WERE a full-frame version, I wouldn't care how much the price of older R-D1(s) will go down, because I would be busy embracing the new camera.

Sorry for being too negative for a while. Darth Vadar just told me he was my father and drag me to the darkside.... Anyway, it feels real bad to have been expecting for so long and in the end get some news like this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom