R-D1 - M4 hybrid DIY project!!!

cleo7613

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Dear fellow illuminati,
I've been considering the pros & cons of combining the best bits from an R-d1 and Leica M for a while now - eg banishing rangefinder woes..
having followed Huw Finney's homemade M2aD project for some time - no news in a while - I think it may be time to sharpen the chisels and undertake a project myself: savage an R-d1 and shoehorn its guts into an M4... or thereabouts.
Feedback welcome.
I'll be needing an affordable R-D1 for the transplant surgery, HLA permitting: under GA of course; please bombard me with your offers, suggestions...
warm regards
Carl
 
What would you be trying to achieve? The R-D1 is a fine camera in it's own right, I guess I just don't get why you'd wreck two perfectly nice cameras?

I'm serious, I really don't get it. Can you explain? Thanks.
 
Because the M4 is one of the best M bodies and it has a better rangefinder and a quieter shutter i guess.
But it would still have a .72x mag VF so i wonder if it would be possible to view wider frames than 28mm (42mm FoV).
 
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Hi Joe - well I wouldn't want to wreck 2 perfectly nice bodies, but occasionally an 'ugly user' can be found - I think someone mentioned just such an R-D1 in a recent post...
regards Carl
 
LCT - I wonder if the lenses from one of the Voigtlander finders could be mounted within the M4 topplate to replace the usual VF...
 
Before undertaking such a task, I'd first look on the web for photos of the RD1's innards.. I've a hunch that much of the electronics resides on flexible circuit boards tucked away in all kind of recesses that the M4 doesn't have.. and that the buttons/dials and connectors are all on the wrong places.

The great thing about the M2aD idea, is that it's basically built from the ground up to fit an M2 right from the get go..

But if you do decide to hacksaw a couple of cameras apart, please post the pictures here...
 
Sounds like an interesting idea, but it seems rather fraught with difficulties. Firstly I have the impression the shutter of the M4 is rather more bulky, making for a rather unsurmountable space problem, and secondly the geometry of the innards is rather critical, making for interesting effects. We need only think of the problems caused by a minor connection in "an inaccessible place" of the M8 which caused banding.
 
Good luck for your Frankenstein project. Implementing the metering/AE and synchronizing the M4 cloth shutter with the R-D1 electronics will be the bigger challenge than transplanting the sensor.
Didier
 
LCT said:
But it would still have a .72x mag VF so i wonder if it would be possible to view wider frames than 28mm (42mm FoV).
Not necessary. The M4's 50mm frameline becomes the M4-D1's 35mm frameline (52.5mm FoV), the M4's 35mm frameline is the new 24 (36mm FoV), and so on. The viewfinder is not the problem.

But I hate to spoil people's enthusiasm, but I still don't see the viability of this project. Firstly, the R-D1 and M4 that you're going to use cost at least $2k together; you have to see for yourself if you can afford to waste this kind of money if your project fails, and since you will want another camera in case it does, which in the case of another R-D1 would add another $1500, you might just as well save the money instead since you are almost in M8 territory. Secondly, on a more technical note, the R-D1 has all sorts of user interface elements (analog gauge, shutter speed selector, shutter releae button) that have an electrical function with the circuitry, the M4's are purely mechanical. You'd probably end up with a camera with two shutter speed wheels that you have to keep in sync, and you need to add a switch to Leica's shutter release button, and you will have to fit the R-D1's metering circuit in there, and you will lose automatic exposure because the Leica shutter doesn't support it, and you will have to make a new body frame because you won't get all the electronics in the film compartment (the only free space in the M4's body), and so on. Unless you are a very skilled camera repairperson, you will probably have a hard time accomplishing all that. I certainly couldn't. At least clear all these design aspects before you buy your parts bodies.

Incidentally, there is really no reason at all why the digital components should come from an R-D1, since you're trashing its rangefinder and shutter anyway, so getting the innards from a cheap-ish DSLR in there seems like a more straightforward and cost-effective solution. You could try and use one of the old Kodak DCS backs, which have the advantage that they're designed for replacing the back of a film-based Nikon or Canon SLR.
 
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cleo7613 said:
Hi Joe - well I wouldn't want to wreck 2 perfectly nice bodies, but occasionally an 'ugly user' can be found - I think someone mentioned just such an R-D1 in a recent post...
regards Carl


OK you want to make a digital M4, got it.

I will be really interested to see how it works out! My only recommendation would be that you try an R-D1 and see how you like it on its own before surgery!!!

Have fun and keep us posted!🙂
 
Seems a bit silly to wreck 3 perfectly fine cameras. Why not just buy the components (sensors) themselves. Would probably be cheaper. Or salvage them from some older dSLRs. Those go for peanuts (compared to what 2 R-D1s cost).
 
Zen-shooter said:
Hey I just remembered. I have a broken Kyocera Finecam S3R P/S.
The focus mechanism is broken, but I bet the small sensor, circuit board, power source ar all fine.

The camera is so small that I'm sure that the stripped components will fit inside a MDa body....
Crop factor ?
 
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