R-D1s review in Amateur Photographer

[iml]

The new issue of the UK-based magazine is out today and the R-D1s is on the cover:

http://www.amateurphotographer.com/

MBOI to some. The M8 gets a review too.

Ian

 

[RichC]

Interestingly, it says that the R-D1s has a new sensor...

I was under the impression that the changes to the R-D1s were all software based, not hardware. 😕

 

[jaapv]

Interestingly, it says that the R-D1s has a new sensor...

I was under the impression that the changes to the R-D1s were all software based, not hardware. 😕

They are not all that reliable in such things. remember the DMR blooper, when they were the only ones in the world to get a red disk of "sensor flare" ?

 

[fgianni]

They actually seem to say that they put new microlenses in the sensor, but the sensor itself is the same, I wonder if anyone here has both, an can check if the RD1-s suffers less than the RD-1 from vignetting. (CV 15mm lens seems a good lens for the test since it gives significant vignetting on the RD-1, that's why I did get the 12mm)

 

[zuikologist]

Jaap - I remember that too. They also seemed somewhat unimpressed with the RF cameras reviewed a month or so ago. Can't wait to see what they make of the M8....

 

[Steve L]

the R-D1s literature had a slide the microlenses, but it wasn't on the page that listed new features, so we all decided then that it was just something true of all models (r-d1 and r-d1s) and they were just trying to get more attention

 

[Goodyear]

Jaap - I remember that too. They also seemed somewhat unimpressed with the RF cameras reviewed a month or so ago. Can't wait to see what they make of the M8....

That was an interesting one.

I get the impression that a couple of the writers dig RFs, but review them from the POV of the current auto-everything-DSLR crowd.

That said, I cancelled my subscription the other week. The only thing I'll miss is Roger Hicks' column.

 

[Bob Parsons]

They actually seem to say that they put new microlenses in the sensor, but the sensor itself is the same, I wonder if anyone here has both, an can check if the RD1-s suffers less than the RD-1 from vignetting. (CV 15mm lens seems a good lens for the test since it gives significant vignetting on the RD-1, that's why I did get the 12mm)

I remember this being mentioned before. AFAIK there were two Epson documents a flash "marketing" type web page and links to more detailed information. The marketing page gave the impression the micro lenses had been changed. The other document clearly listed the differences between the RD-1 and RD-1s and the micro lenses were not included. There was similar confusion about additional heatsinking of the sensor.

Bob.

 

[Terao]

Interesting review. Not the most sensible decision by Robert White to supply the VC 15mm - the 12 or 21 would have been better for sales. Still, a bit of net research will yield just how appalling the vignetting is on the 15...

The review itself comes across a little negative, but overall a good score is given. Strange that they focus on a lack of pixels more than they do on bitching about the crop but there you go. They also mention about the shutter non-responsiveness when the camera resumes from sleep but that's not something I've encountered. I seem to recall that power-saver mode is configurable anyway...

 

[Silva Lining]

Even if the M8 is a dog - Amateur Photographer will rave about it because it has a red dot - They are all Leica-philes especially Hicks, who is always talking about 'My Leicas' (Except when he is talking about his Land Rover or how poor he is)

 

[iml]

I was expecting the review to be a bit shoulder shrugging, given AP's proclivity towards DSLRs, but it was more positive than I thought. I was surprised they claimed a new sensor, that seems like very poor research. I think the claims of improved vignetting performance are probably entirely in the reviewer's head, but it wouldn't be the first time that kind of thing has happened...

It certainly won't do sales of the camera any harm, and the more people who buy it the more likely somebody at Epson will want to keep the product viable, especially if the M8 also takes off and proves there really is a market for digital RFs.

Ian

 

[sevres_babylone]

Interesting review. Not the most sensible decision by Robert White to supply the VC 15mm - the 12 or 21 would have been better for sales. Still, a bit of net research will yield just how appalling the vignetting is on the 15...

Vignetting or not, I would have one by now, had a seller with an attractive price on a package including the CV R-D1 viewer and an apapter been willing to ship to Canada. Oh well. In the future.

Of course, the reviewers are right to point out the vignetting issue -- especially if you're looking for a lens for big sky photography. You can make your decision eyes wide open, albeit with a little darkness around the edges.

What you use it for will affect whether the vignetting is a deal-breaker or not. It remains an attractively priced lens, and vignetting aside capable of excellent results, from examples I've seen.

I continue to be impressed with Toshihiro Oshima's work with this lens. His latest example is on pbase at:

http://www.pbase.com/image/67567401

 

[Iggy]

Don't be so hard on the guys at Amateur Photographer. I thought the recent review of m-mount cameras (ZI, M7 & R3a) was pretty fair, indeed all were highly recommended in the end.

The reviewer, Damien Demolder, is AFAIK a Leica user (M6???) and I think he did a good job of introducing rangefinders to those readers who have never used anything except auto-everything slrs or digi-compacts, without patronising those well acquainted with them. In fact I took the review as pro-rangefinder propaganda.

The red dot bias jibe is not even worth dignifying with a response. I mean pleeeease. Where are we exactly? Isn't this THE place for that particular affliction.

I speak as a sufferer, naturally.😀

 

[Silva Lining]

Don't be so hard on the guys at Amateur Photographer.

The red dot bias jibe is not even worth dignifying with a response. I mean pleeeease. Where are we exactly? Isn't this THE place for that particular affliction.

I speak as a sufferer, naturally.😀

Heh, so do I, I blame AP for infecting me. I just come here to feed my disease.

 

[Mark Norton]

You can imagine that review was written around some press release or briefing document issued by Epson UK and, as we all know, Epson know next to nothing about this product of theirs.

At Photokina, I had to hunt high and low to find it on the Epson stand and almost gave up before I finally saw just one example of it. No shooting gallery as there was for Leica, Nikon, Canon and the rest.

So, the product information in the AP review is only as accurate as the information they are fed. Most of the emphasis was on firmware-related changes.

 

[sreidvt]

According to my contact at Epson Europe, there were no hardware changes in the R-D1S. My gut sense says that information is correct.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[galavanter]

According to my contact at Epson Europe, there were no hardware changes in the R-D1S. My gut sense says that information is correct.

Cheers,

Sean

This is not meant as a challenge to your info, but I have been trying to research the R-D1S (with just the internet as my source) and I came across this written by Jonathon Eastland:

"The 2004 Mk 1version of the Epson RD1 was bedevelled with a few problems, not least of which was the viewfinder issue with its three manually switchable bright line projected focal length frames. What you saw in the frame was not always what you got in the image. This issue still remains to be addressed in the new Mk II
model; it is work in progress according to my Japanese contacts but I was told by Epson Europe's Michaela Beckers, the problem of rangefinder instability has been corrected in the new RD1s, announced in the middle of March."

Here's the link to the pdf:

http://www.ajaxnetphoto.com/R-D1s_test.pdf

I would actually prefer an R-D1 (plus firmware upgrade) if no "rangefinder instability" corrections have been made. You can still get them in the US and it's really the "first" (no "S") digital rangefinder. But if the above statement, ambiguous as it is, is true, then I might order overseas for the R-D1S.

As someone just learning about the R-D1, I wonder if they just painted an "S" on remaining stock, or if indeed they at least correctly adjusted the rangefinders.

[EDIT] I understand "no hardware changes" could be true but they may have fine-tuned some adjustments to the rangefinder, or just checked them more carefully before they went out.
[EDIT] If you saw my first post you'll understand why I'm taking great care not to offend here🙂 I would be very interested in your opinion on that as well...

 

[sreidvt]

They may have re-adjusted the rangefinders on the cameras labelled R-D1S as part of the changeover, I don't know.

Sean

 

[RML]

I've never had any problems, and I don't recall anyone else having them, with the frameline selection and the actual frameline displayed. Don't know where that report came from but this "problem" jas never IIRC been mentioned here on RFF, probably the No.1 source for R-D1 information.

 

[Bob Parsons]

FWIW from the Robert White website:


What have Epson done to the R-D1 to make it into the R-D1s?

* New or updated features: RAW + JPEG support
* The R-D1s is physically identical to the original model-the changes are to in-camera firmware, and a revision to the RAW processing software.
* Adobe RGB color space option
* 'Quick View' record review function - the camera will take a shot with a full pressure shutter release when in 'playback' mode, no more missed shots
* Scene type color reproduction ('Film setting') similar to scene modes.
* Image parameter control (sharpness, color, shadow, contrast, noise reduction)
* Playback magnification up to 16x in both JPEG and RAW modes
* Improved direct printing (with up to 13.5 mp interpolation)
* Long exposure noise reduction
* Epson PhotoRAW 1.2 for Mac and PC
* EPIC Technology - Epson Print Image Control Technology

An item they have missed off the list is the ability for the user to map out bad pixels.


Bob.