R-D1 vs R-D1s - which to buy?

[Sean Reid]

According to my contact at Epson Europe, the only difference between the R-D1 and R-D1S is the firmware. I have not yet been able to test to confirm that. If he's correct, then installing the new firmware will allow one to make a DIY R-D1S.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[PaulN]

Not necessarily! There are data compression strategies available that might speed up the write process.

Perhaps. From a simple perspective though, when you take a RAW picture, the camera just copies all of the data to the card. Albeit a lot of data. With this new mode, you take the same RAW data, and then the camera has to process it to create a JPEG and then write the data to the disk. More processing, more data. Who knows though, they may have made some optimizations within the firmware. It is all quite possible.

As Sean mentions that the firmware is the only change, the only other thing that we'll need to do to upgrade our cameras is to spray paint on the letter "S" on the front of the camera

-Paul

 

[sf]

buy neither. wait for the Digital M. Spend a couple grand more, but get many times better quality.

 

[PaulN]

Hrmm. I've noticed that this particular forum has been rapidly filling up with people who don't even own an R-D1(S).

As I've said many times in the past, I _love_ my R-D1 and would buy it all over again in an instant. I've been happily capturing decisive moments for the last year and a half. I'd rather be taking pictures than to sit around and ponder a camera that no one (publicly) has had a chance to use.

When the R-D1 came out, the pundits kept saying buy a film camera, lense and a dedicated film scanner and save loads of $$. Now they are saying to spend an extra $2k and wait until the camera is actually out. The MD is going to be on back order for a long, long time. A year after the 50/1.4 ASPH came out, I still ended up waiting over 4 months to get one due to back order. Besides, Leica hasn't had a good track record with digital cameras, at least in my opinion. I would have been more relieved if they went with the same chip as the DMR, but they didn't. All of their other cameras have had issues, especially when you go about ISO 400.

So, in the end, I saved myself $2k, bought a 50/1.4 ASPH and have taken over 10k pictures in the last 1.5 years. I think I did alright. Besides, who would spend almost $8k to buy a single camera body and lense Especially when the camera isn't even full frame

-Paul

 

[jlw]

buy neither. wait for the Digital M. Spend a couple grand more, but get many times better quality.

Yeah, and never mind all the pictures you could have taken while you're waiting for Leica's pie to drop out of the sky. Those opportunities are sure to come around again.

 

[GrahamWelland]

Camera World in Portland OR has one...

Hmm, if it's still in stock on Monday then this might be a statement in the past tense

Camera World is a shadow of it's former self unfortunately especially since all the folks I've spent $$$$$ with over the years now all work at ProPhoto Supply - a dealer I'm happy to give a shameless plug to, even if they don't sell the Epson ... However, a local dealer is worth the few extra $ although I have always had EXCELLENT service with Robert White. True professionals.

 

[GrahamWelland]

According to my contact at Epson Europe, the only difference between the R-D1 and R-D1S is the firmware. I have not yet been able to test to confirm that. If he's correct, then installing the new firmware will allow one to make a DIY R-D1S.

Cheers,

Sean

A DIY R-D1s will be just fine with me! I wasn't sure whether they had made any other changes under the covers as camera companies tend to do. (i.e. longer battery life, updated buffer size, etc).

 

[Sean Reid]

Graham,

Not according to my contacts but I can't yet confirm that from my own first-hand experience. My gut sense tells me that it is indeed just the firmware. But...

Cheers,

Sean

 

[Sean Reid]

buy neither. wait for the Digital M. Spend a couple grand more, but get many times better quality.

George,

Am I correct in assuming that you neither own an R-D1 nor have worked with a prototype of a digital M? If so, perhaps you're not in the best position to be telling people which of these to buy.

The Digital M is going to be a wonderful camera but that doesn't mean that one shouldn't buy an R-D1 if it meets his or her needs.

Sean

 

[Will]

George,

Am I correct in assuming that you neither own an R-D1 nor have worked with a prototype of a digital M? If so, perhaps you're not in the best position to be telling people which of these to buy.

The Digital M is going to be a wonderful camera but that doesn't mean that one shouldn't buy an R-D1 if it meets his or her needs.

Sean

Sean,

Let's don't get all this serious!

Must confess, I want a R-D1 now.

Digital make me shoot more...





Will

 

[Terence T]

I handled a pre-production R-D1s unit a few weeks back and had a chance to compare it to my R-D1. As far as I could tell, the hardware is identical. The only differences being the menus and features. Epson has reassured me that a firmware upgrade is all it takes to bring a R-D1 to the R-D1s standard.

Interestingly, the frameline was also a little misaligned in the test unit. RF seemed properly calibrated. I'm of the opinion that getting a used R-D1 and upgrading the firmware is probably the best route to take if anyone is considering ownership of this fine camera now.