News on the R-D1 future ?

I'd love to have an RD-2 with 10Mpix or so. A longer RF base would be nice. 75 and 90 frames if possible. And an option for a lower mag VF out to 21 perhaps.

I don't really need the analog dial, elegant though it may be. And though I don't mind the shutter cocking lever, I'd prefer "autowind" because I'm forced to move the camera away from my face to cock the lever when I'm shooting vertically (which is most of the time), and that really interrupts the flow.

But I'd be really disappointed if they took away the swivel LCD...

j
 
I've never laid eyes on an Epson R-D1 let alone used one but in several areas it seems superior to the M8 to me. With Leica increasing the M8 price by $1000.00 that gives Epson plenty of room to move on improvements to a successor if they do go ahead and I hope they do!

Leica should worry ... the corporation responsible for the R-D1 could out muscle Solms without breaking into a sweat if it chooses!
 
Who knows, maybe they are some how involved with the new Nikon Full 135 sensor (as Nikon just like the D2H sensor won't reveal the partner)

more fuel for the fire
 
I'd like a user-selectable choice between auto-wind or lever, higher shutter speeds with no dial lock (though I know this is currently disable-able), more iso choices, shiny black paint (or I wonder what a chrome one would look like?), and a wider base with no backlash...very very nice.
Edit: And I hope it will always say "Rangefinder Camera" on the top plate. What other camera says that? And I like that it says "Epson"...unpretentious, pragmatic...a "sleeper" in fast-car terms.
 
Last edited:
Essential:

More megapixels but not at the expense of noise
Better batttery life
support for SDHC
75mm framelines

Nice to have:

Longer RF base
1/4000th shutter
smaller crop
 
More megapixels, lower noise, higher ISO? These goals tend to be mutually antagonistic. More megapixels means smaller sensor sites, thus more noise. And there tends to be more noise at higher ISO settings.

Skip the swivel gizmo, but keep the sensor. Increase the resolution slightly, to 7.2MP, to permit an 8X10 at 300 dpi. Fix the problem of the rangefinder bumping out of alignment. Let the viewfinder magnification be low enough for a 21mm lens. That's not asking much, since the equivalent will still be only 32mm, with the 1.5x crop factor. Framelines for 21/25/28/35/50. Pair the 21 with the 35, And the 25 with the 50. 28 stands alone.

Make the ISO as high as you want, and we will accept the noise when we choose to use the higher settings.

That oughta do it.
 
The R-D1 is the only digital M3 so far so please Mr Epson don't replace the 1:1 viewfinder.
It is the only quiet DRF as well, so don't remove the shutter lever either.
Also the R-D1 is the only DRF that one can use like a film camera, so please don't change the analog controls and reversible display.
Full frame? Too expensive of course so better keep the good old APS-C format with a not too strong AA filter and a modern sensor.
I just miss faster shutter speeds and a longer rangefinder as far as possible that's all.
BTW Mr Epson, no need to draw your attention to Cosina's QC i guess and please teach your crew to sell and repair a rangefinder.
 
The word in the article is "re-introduce". So if it's true, I would expect exactly that, a re-introduction of the existing camera, not a new design.

Ian
 
iml said:
The word in the article is "re-introduce". So if it's true, I would expect exactly that, a re-introduction of the existing camera, not a new design.

Ian
Click to expand...

Yes this is the most likely senario. I don't think Epson got near to the originally proposed (limited edition of) 10,000 units of R-D1 (& really just firmware updated R-D1s). It would seem from the serial numbers about 5,000 R-D1 and at the most a couple of thousand R-D1s were produced.

The tooling was probably good for 10K plus units, so it could be re-introduced at minimum cost and the boost in interest due to the M8 probably makes this worthwhile.
 
Jim Watts said:
Yes this is the most likely senario. I don't think Epson got near to the originally proposed (limited edition of) 10,000 units of R-D1 (& really just firmware updated R-D1s). It would seem from the serial numbers about 5,000 R-D1 and at the most a couple of thousand R-D1s were produced.

The tooling was probably good for 10K plus units, so it could be re-introduced at minimum cost and the boost in interest due to the M8 probably makes this worthwhile.
Click to expand...

Actually that would be pretty smart

take the remaining resources you have from the first production run

sell it at a reduced price (were still talking at least a grand though) and satisfy the existing rangefinder fans
 
Reintroduce it, but hopefully with a modern sensor. APS-C will do. Definitely needs an LCD for chimping (can't really introduce a digital product without it) and let it swivel - it's cool! Good firmware (with a good B&W pre-view function as a marketing tool - a "digital optimized for B&W"). Sensible frame-lines!

I'll take one right now, as a back-up to my M8.
 
I think the two most mentioned wishes for the current R-D1 are more MP and a better QC for the finder misalignment issue. The latter could be easily fixed and changing the sensor and software shouldn't be a too big issue. The sensor of the coming Nikon D300 perhpas could be a candidate. Other things like a different finder, quieter shutter, extended shutter speeds etc. would mean at least partly a new design and I don't believe that Epson would do that.

These features are already covered by the M8 which unfortunately is too expensive for many of us (and in my opinion it is basically too expensive, regardless of features/quality etc.). The natural competitor here could rather be a Digital Ikon but the advent of that thing is unfortunately very unclear.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy an R-D1 with more MP if it came at a reasonable price although it still happens frequently that I sit in front of my monitor being very happy about the results I got with 6 MP.

IMHO give it a higher MP sensor, leave everything else unchanged and it could be a success for Epson.

But finally all that counts is a good shot and that is already possible right now with the current R-D1.
 
CameraQuest said:
people,

the only RD future is as a discontinued camera.

really.

Stephen
Click to expand...

Unfortunatly that is also what I think, Stephen. But as I said, the RD-1 is a good camera, if not an excellent camera and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't stay that for some more time. I mean, it exists, it can produce great results so why not be happy with it?
 
mn4367 said:
Unfortunatly that is also what I think, Stephen. But as I said, the RD-1 is a good camera, if not an excellent camera and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't stay that for some more time. I mean, it exists, it can produce great results so why not be happy with it?
Click to expand...

I like the RD too.
but that doesn't make it less discontinued.

Stephen
 
Prior to the interviewer inquiring about the RD-1, the President of Seiko had never heard of the camera. Epson has been distancing itself from the RD-1 from day one. Why would it introduce another "orphan"?
 
Oh, you're probably all correct (esp. Stephen) in declaring the R-D1 discontinued with no heir or spare on the horizon... I'm just jealous of the competition going on in the dSLR world - breathtaking new features and technology being rolled out every 12 months... Can you imagine that kind of competition in the the dRF world? Can you imagine Zeiss and Voigtlaender out with dRFs... maybe ewven Canon and Nikon? And some digital MF-RFs?

One can dream, no...?
 
I don't know, Gary. I'm sure the President of Seiko, especially, wouldn't know much about many of their specific consumer models. Somebody in that position has much bigger things to worry about...like, why they aren't selling Grand Seikos in the US yet. 😉
 
RML said:
You're absolutely right, Didier. I was just pointing out that a longer base is possible. And I doubt Zeiss holds any patents on how to turn a short base into a longer one. 🙂
Click to expand...

There's certainly no patent on longer baselengths, but Zeiss knew Cosina is also factoring Voigtlander, and thus has certainly made a contract which prohibits Cosina to use design or design parts from the Zeiss camera for something else than Zeiss.

But the Bessa T rangefinder module could be used. I'm certainly not the first asking for an affordable digital M-mount Bessa T.

Didier
 
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