RD-1 or M8?

[Ben Z]

With the M8 Leica has jettisoned their passport warranty, opting for one year parts and labor in the US.

It's true there's no USA-Passport on the M8 (the kind where they'd replace the camera if it was dropped, run over, or burned to a crisp) but according to every dealer I've spoken to, the warranty for repairs is 2 years, not 1.

 

[Sukiari]

You just won a prize for the understatement of the month! 😉

I had two service problems with my R-D1. The first happened when I took my R-D1 up to 12,000 feet. The shutter button got a bit sticky. I sent it back to Epson and they had a brand new unit in my hands in 5 days. That unit's RF drifted out of alignment, and after another call to Epson I had yet another brand new R-D1 at my house, again in 5 days.

Nowadays, I would send the R-D1 in to somebody like DAG to get the RF adjusted. But, all in all, the service was EXCELLENT. I don't even think Canon or Nikon's professional services will send you a brand spanking new camera instantly when you call in (so you don't have to wait for repair turnaround).

The service is a notch better than Canon or Nikon - what the heck is there to complain about?

 

[Jim Watts]

The service is a notch better than Canon or Nikon - what the heck is there to complain about?

Well most people were getting a replacement from Epson in the early days of the camera and not a repair (as it seems Epson were not able to arrange repair easily), but this is no longer an option fot them.

Still your experience seems much better than most around here. Which Epson unit were you returning your camera to? Do you have any good contact information for Epson that would help expidite problems for others?

 

[docolmo]

I had the RD-1s first, but I thought I wanted the M8 for bigger resolution and sharper images. Now I got both, I found the white balance of the M8 images difficult to get right. Several issues I found irritating about the M8:

1) White balance: difficult to get right on the M8
2) Manual (custom) white balance does help some of the times, but you cannot save a custom white balance for later use. By this, I mean, if you changed the white balance from manual to one of the built-in settings (e.g. shade, etc), you've got to recapture a new custom white balance. My Canon SLR's can save three custom white balance settings for later use.
3) The RD-1s auto white balance is quite reliable, for day and night shots.
4) For some odd reasons, I occassionally lose my settings on the M8 (e.g. lens detection turns itself off, DNG turned back to jpeg)
5) Not sure what parameters are being saved in User Profile settings??? Not enough explanation in the user manual.

If you have the RD-1s, keep it. When I have to decide to carry only 1 camera for an outing, I usually choosed the Epson.

 

[docolmo]

I had the RD-1s first, but I thought I wanted the M8 for bigger resolution and sharper images. Now I got both, I found the white balance of the M8 images difficult to get right. Several issues I found irritating about the M8:

1) White balance: difficult to get right on the M8
2) Manual (custom) white balance does help some of the times, but you cannot save a custom white balance for later use. By this, I mean, if you changed the white balance from manual to one of the built-in settings (e.g. shade, etc), you've got to recapture a new custom white balance. My Canon SLR's can save three custom white balance settings for later use.
3) The RD-1s auto white balance is quite reliable, for day and night shots.
4) For some odd reasons, I occassionally lose my settings on the M8 (e.g. lens detection turns itself off, DNG turned back to jpeg)
5) Not sure what parameters are being saved in User Profile settings??? Not enough explanation in the user manual.

If you have the RD-1s, keep it. When I have to decide to carry only 1 camera for an outing, I usually choosed the Epson.

 

[Gary Sandhu]

Docolmo,
On the M8, pressing "play" while in manual white balance mode (i.e. getting the "Attention. Point the camera...." message) will restore the previous white balance setting.

 

[drolo61]

Carolyn

Go get a R-D1. Period.
Try to find a seller who is honest about rhe rangefinde's accuracy and pay not much over 1400$. Get a Voigtländer lens of you choce to match you prefrred "normal focal length" and start shooting.

For really large format prints I believe neither is your tool-of-choice. The best value for money to me would be a used Canon 5D with prime lenses.

Both combo´s together would still fit nicely inside the budget for an M8.

The R-D1 is very gently loosing value, and it is still hard to get. That should be insurance enough against loosing too much in that trial. Personally spoken, the same will mostlikely hold true for the 5D. It is the first affordable full format sensor and allows for great print quality.

Should any camrea maker decide to bring a state-of-the-art FF sensor inside a RF body mounting m-glass, I would jump asap without thinking. It might be the M9, but whynot a Canon P-digital?

Let us know what you finally did!

Cheers

Olaf

 

[fgianni]

Can nobody sell her an R-D1? 🙂 Anyone?

Out of my cold, dead hands! 😀

 

[Carolyn-IL]

Thanks Olaf! You are right in line with where I am going. I played with and loved the 5D and certainly have thought tons about it too (and probably will eventually since I have all the Canon lenses).

I have been casually searching for an RD-1. Gary on this site sold one for $1500 and sadly, I missed out (offering only $1400). So I'd probably go as high as $1500 for a perfect/mint body. The last one sold on ebay for $1700 or thereabouts and I'm just not going to pay that much (while it is unique and limited, it is also somewhat outdated by that 6MP and discontinued). I do find most people are honest about the rangefinder(s), and most are off, but not all. I would buy one like that, just would have to factor in service. I'd prefer the camera to be stateside, for ease of shipping and such.

So I just have not found one yet ... but keeping my ear open.

Thanks kindly for the continuing advice ... it's been enormously helpful.

Carolyn

 

[docolmo]

Docolmo,
On the M8, pressing "play" while in manual white balance mode (i.e. getting the "Attention. Point the camera...." message) will restore the previous white balance setting.

Thanks for the tip. BTW, will it still work if I have erased the "grey" or white frame used for the custom white balance from the memory card?

And do you know what parameters are being saved in the "User Profile"?

 

[jjcha]

Thanks for the tip. BTW, will it still work if I have erased the "grey" or white frame used for the custom white balance from the memory card?

And do you know what parameters are being saved in the "User Profile"?

I can't answer this definitively, but it might be related to why your M8 resets lens detection or DNG to JPEG. When I switch User Profiles, I notice my DNG to JPEG gets switched as well, and I'm guessing maybe perhaps lens dection.

User profile seems to switch all the shooting attributes on the set menu, plus other, if not all, settings in the main menu.

Best regards,

-Jason

 

[artur5]

Thanks Olaf! You are right in line with where I am going. I played with and loved the 5D and certainly have thought tons about it too (and probably will eventually since I have all the Canon lenses).

I have been casually searching for an RD-1. Gary on this site sold one for $1500 and sadly, I missed out (offering only $1400). So I'd probably go as high as $1500 for a perfect/mint body. The last one sold on ebay for $1700 or thereabouts and I'm just not going to pay that much (while it is unique and limited, it is also somewhat outdated by that 6MP and discontinued). I do find most people are honest about the rangefinder(s), and most are off, but not all. I would buy one like that, just would have to factor in service. I'd prefer the camera to be stateside, for ease of shipping and such.

So I just have not found one yet ... but keeping my ear open.

Thanks kindly for the continuing advice ... it's been enormously helpful.

Carolyn

Carolyn, I know ( and understand of course ) that you would buy the RD1 only from within the US.. I'm in Europe (Spain) so, that's the problem.
Anyway, I think I'm gonna a sell my M6 and RD1 to help financing a M8.
I bought the RD1 recently from the first owner in Italy. He used the camera very little, if any. It came absolutely mint with box, invoice and all the accessories. Honest, I believe the rangefinder is OK., firmware was already upgraded to v.2 and everything works fine. No marks, scratches on LCD or anything.
I'm disposed to sell for 1400$ + shipping.
If you can't find anybody in the U.S. ready to part with her/his RD1 and would consider my offer, let me know. I'm not in a great hurry and don't mind waiting some days..
Cheers.
Arturo.

 

[Carolyn-IL]

Arturo ~ Do you have a selling Paypal account? If so, we might be able to work something out and I would consider some chatting about it. I will also have to research shipping from Spain to the US (although maybe you do it often and will know). I know some countries are easier than others. Also, if you have any selling experience with positive feedback, that would be most welcome.

Kind regards,

Carolyn

 

[PrisonersDilema]

RD1s

RD1s

Carolyn

Try and get a RD1s version instead. I bought one new in Singapore at US$1980 and a CV 15mm f4.5 super heliar and am enjoying the feel of a compact camera that I can bring with me everywhere and be able to shoot discreetly.

Well, there is really no comparison with a DSLR. My EOS 5D remains the primary camera with workhorse lenses like 24-70 L, 70-200 f2.8 non-IS and the TS 90mm f2.8 for product shoots. The 5D is what makes money for me. Although I am not a full-time photographer but I do shoot paid weddings, events and take on photographic assignments for a fee.

The RD1s? Mainly for shooting for fun and enjoying photography. There is no way to compare images from the RD1s and the 5D. The 5D will blow the RD1s away.

That is also why I will restrict my expenditure on my rangefinder system to only cosina voigtlander lenses. No way will I spend on Leicas because maybe my skills are not up to the mark but to shoot a wedding, an event with a manual focus rangefinder is crazy.

 

[Trius]

I do think Helix in Chicago carries the M8 and I might be able to try it. They were a little stingy on letting me do so with a video camera some time back, but I suppose I could try again with this one.

If there is resistance at Helix, I would go "up the chain" ... I have always had good dealings with Helix. At the mid or upper management level, I think they're dedicated to customer satisfaction, so don't let some first-level clerk discourage you. That's not a knock on the person behind the counter, just an observation of reality.

And you never know ... someone higher up might have a resource for an RD-1, as well. Not to mention they will have a stock of lenses available for current and future sales.

Central Camera might also be a possibility. If you are downstate ... oh well. 😉