New RD1 - Black Frames

K

Keith Cocker

Guest
Hi,

I had a new R-D1 delivered from Robert White on Friday and I have really been enjoying using it and pleased with the results. I have used it extensively over the weekend with no problems.

However, today it started to produce the occasional "black frame". The shutter fired but the picture was pure black. At first it was just the odd one but as the day went on they became more frequent. I noticed some posts suggesting that it might be a battery problem. It is certainly the case that this was the first charging of the Epson battery from new and that it was showing in the low area on the battery meter when the problem started - according to the frame numbering I have taken 304 RAW's with the camera (and therefore the battery charge).

I am away from home and without my battery charger so I won't be able to check out if it is a battery exhaustion problem until Friday.

Is anyone able to confirm (reassure me!!) that what I am seeing is the resukt of a low battery? I might also call Robert White and warn them I might be sending a camera Back to them - I hope not as I really like the camera.

Thanks

Keith Cocker
 
You won't know for sure until you've recharged your battery. Won't hurt to call Robert White in the meantime.
 
It was lightly linked to a battery problem, but many said it had no bearing on it. Sean's survey got about 5% of the R-D1's with this problem, I think - and it isn't fixable, (I almost bought one with that problem and researched it - nobody had a fix) you had better return that little puppy while they still have more to exchange it for.
 
If you have taken 304 Raw frames on just one battery charge I would suggest that you at least try recharging and trying when you get back befor a return. That amount of exposures is more than most of us are getting per charge even from the Epson battery.
 
Full marks to Robert White (and in particulary thanks to Trelawney at RW) for good service. I spoke to them yesterday and an new exchange camera arrived this morning. Fingers crossed everything seems to be OK with this one. Phew!
 
Black Frames

Black Frames

I just received my r-d1 from robert white today. On the first charge of the battery, towards the end of it's life, I started getting black frames. Meaning, the shutter fired and all that appeared was a completely black frame. Has anybody heard anything more about this? Should I request a replacement???
 
When I 1st received my R-d1s several weeks ago, the first shoot on a partially charged battery gave me a couple of black frames. Ater charging the battery overnight, I have shot a couple thousand files without it happening again! It might be the battery!
 
Being paranoid about battery dependence , I believe the answer is to never have a battery in the camera that is less than 1/3 good.........
As I normally use 1 Gb cards [capacity 100 RAWs] I change the battery with the card [or soon after if things are moving too fast], certainly two cards per battery max.
I shoot with two bodies and carrry two extra batteries for each, with a further two on charge in the car or back at base...............
 
FWIW, I haven't experienced black frames when the battery (whether original Epson or generic) has been near-dead on my R-D1 (purchased from Robert White). Instead, the shutter simply won't fire &/or the camera shuts down.
 
So, the latest situation is, I bought 2 new batteries to test if the original battery I received with the camera was resposible for thes "black frames". It was not... The camera is still getting black frames no matter which battery i use. This is severely frustrating as i just bought this camera from robert white on july 27th. From what they told me It was a previously returned camera that had been sent back to epson japan for repair and then returned to robert white for resale as a EX DEMO". I thought this was a good thing honestly. i figured epson japan would work the bugs out and make it ready for use. I was wrong... I was'nt too worried because i was told by Robert White that it had an "international warranty" and I could get it repaired in the states. I called epson USA yesterday and was ademently denied any kind of warranty service. I called epson UK and asked if the camera indeed had a international warranty, they said yes. I also, wrote Robert White and they again stated that I could take it to any US epson service center for warranty repair. I called back Epson USA and told them this and they again said "No. under no circumstances do we repair cameras from the UK." Can you imagine my displeasure... I asked them to put that in writing so i could confront epson UK. they again said "no". I felt like I was in the middle of a fight between siblings. As of yesterday I wrote to Robert White requesting they either produce a copy of this warranty that states that I can get repairs done in the US or send me a replacement camera at there expense. My rational is they wrongly informed me about this so called "International Warranty" and they should be held responsible for getting me a working camera. Does anybody feel that i may be asking too much? Or is there any other course of action I should be taking? thank you in advance.
matthew
 
Send the camera back to Robert White and get a new one from them. Any other course of action will take forever. At worst, it will cost you the shipping cost...
 
has anyone checked the exif data on the black frames? what does the shutter speed say on them as it might be far too high.

can anyone check?
 
I would take two pictures of the same exact object, using the same exact settings. one would come out fine and the next would be a black frame.
 
Robert White have a good reputation - I bought my R-D1 from them and am buying one of my M8s from them - the real problem here is Epson who are not providing a meaningful level of service even within warranty, never mind out of warranty. All the indications are that they wish they had never got involved with this product.
 
I'm hoping that Robert White does right by me and replaces the camera and pays for shipping. I contacted them via email yesterday and have not gotten a response yet.
I hope they are as honorable as people say they are.
 
Mark Norton said:
Robert White have a good reputation - I bought my R-D1 from them and am buying one of my M8s from them - the real problem here is Epson who are not providing a meaningful level of service even within warranty, never mind out of warranty. All the indications are that they wish they had never got involved with this product.
Click to expand...

Mark

On the one hand, it does seem Epson wishes they never gor involved with RD1 project. Then, out of the blue, comes the firmware update. Granted, the distribution has been poorly implimented but still it is odd for an "orphan camera" to get a major upgrade. I wonder if someone in the organisation has a soft spot for the camera.

With the introduction of the M8, the status of the RD1 could be really weird. The fact of the matter is it works really well, notwithstanding all its idiocyncracies. My guess is, if the thing can be seviced forever (TBD), and the M8 is a commercial sucess (by Leica standards), the RD1 could become a working cult object.

Actually, what I would really like to see is the M8 become enough of a success that Cosina follows up with another model under either the Zeiss or Epson brand.

Like I said before "Hope Springith Eternal"

Rex
 
with a little help from a friend we have figured out what the problem is. When we set the camera to 1 sec exposure and remove the lens and look inside we notice that upon firing the second shutter does not open. It seems like it is strictly a mechanical issue. the big question is, who will fix it for me?
 
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