RD1s Announced

According to my contact at Epson USA's PR firm, the R-D1S is not currently a USA announcement. I don't know yet if that means they won't be sold in the USA or, if they are sold, when they might be available here as an official import.

6MP, in my mind, is actually enough for many kinds of work and the file quality from the R-D1 is quite good. Improving the camera's firmware is something I've been urging Epson to do for some time now and I'm glad that they've at least done it for a revised model. It would be wise for them to make this firmware change available to current R-D1 owners, even if that would need to be done via a repair facility.

I spoke with Epson USA's product manager for the R-D1 at PMA and he had no news of an upgraded R-D1 or R-D2 for the USA. I suspect the R-D1S will make it here eventually nonetheless. Epson didn't even have the R-D1 on display at PMA and when I asked an Epson rep. where the cameras were, she said, "We don't make cameras". "Really, what about the R-D1?" I asked. "Oh, we call that the rangefinder, not a camera. It's not here."

If the firmware maps out the hot pixels and fixes the "double shutter press" problem, those improvements alone will be very worthwhile. I'm working on getting a review copy of the R-D1S from Epson.

Cheers,

Sean
 
Sean Reid said:
Epson didn't even have the R-D1 on display at PMA and when I asked an Epson rep. where the cameras were, she said, "We don't make cameras". "Really, what about the R-D1?" I asked. "Oh, we call that the rangefinder, not a camera. It's not here."
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Sean, thanks for the info.

Your experience with the Epson rep at PMA depressed me.

Cheers, Charlie
 
RML said:
About the mapping, where did you read that? I didn't find that on the spec sheet on the Japanese Epson site.
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I got that from a press release Epson circulated in Japan ... also, the possiblity of upgrading current R-D1 units is under investigation, more details are to be revailed soon. Apparently, it's NOT just a firmware upgrade, some hardware swapping maybe involved.

Cheers,
 
Doesen't look like any hardware has changed other than the super cool ever-ready case listed under "accessory" on the i-love-epson site- I would give ny left arm for that.
 
I just visited the "I love my Epson" site and they already have a promotion for R-D1s owners to send in their serial number and win or get something. BabelFish translations are a little strange.
I entered anyway with my 0018xx serial number! Keep you posted
Rex
 
saxshooter said:
Sean, thanks for the info.

Your experience with the Epson rep at PMA depressed me.

Cheers, Charlie
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Me too. If I get any information from Epson USA or Epson Europe, I'll post it.

Cheers,

Sean
 
I emailed Epson Connection to ask whether any of the R-D 1S's enhancements would be available as a firmware update to the R-D 1, and got the following (non)response:

Hi Jim,

Unfortunately, information on this camera is limited at this time as it has
not been released. So, we don't have an answer to your question yet.
Periodically check our website or our Pre-Sales department for more
information.

Epson Pre-Sales
800-463-7766
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If it's not an official US-released product, I guess I can't really blame them for not having information on it, although I really wish Epson were a little more connected to itself in general; sometimes I get the sense that the leg bone ain't connected to the thigh bone etc. etc.
 
Yeah, I am going through my contacts at their PR/Marketing company. And as usual for the R-D1, they haven't been filled in on what is going on. I think Epson does not do a good job of internal information announcements.
 
JoshRoot said:
Yeah, I am going through my contacts at their PR/Marketing company. And as usual for the R-D1, they haven't been filled in on what is going on. I think Epson does not do a good job of internal information announcements.
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I don't think that it is a problem of poor communication, it is more of market size. The marketing firm is getting contracts for millions to market/advertise products that actually make money for the company ;) Epson is known for printers, and I'm sure if you ask the firm how the ultra-chrome inks differ from v1 to v3 (or whatever it is now) I'm sure they would know off the top of their head. I'm sure the reps for the Epson account would laugh at the amount of $$ spent on advertising the R-D1 compared to their other products. It's like going into an Apple store and asking them if/when Powerschool will be ported over to a universal binary. It is such a niche product, I doubt the floor rep will even know that Apple sells a product for teachers/schools.

From the initial press releases, Epson reserved 5k cameras for the Japanese market, and 5k for the rest of the world. We know now that only 5k cameras have been sold. Epson is sitting on 5k cameras that aren't selling. On top of that, quality control problems plagued every review of the camera. At $3k a pop, that comes out to $15 million dollars in profit wasting away in a warehouse. So, they fixed the bugs and are writing off $5m by reducing the price to $2k. Part of me now wonders if this a last ditch effort for Epson to blow out their inventory and move out of this market all together. Given that the camera has truly been updated since it was announced almost 2 years ago, isn't a good sign. Everyone new that Leica was getting into the market and PMA would have been a great time to pre-empt Leica with an R-D2 announcement with a larger sensor and larger buffer. How hard can it be? After 2 years, the prices on sensors and memory have come way down. Even if Epson stayed at $3k, it is _still_ going to be $2k cheaper than Leica, and Epson already has experience under their belt with digital rangefinders. It is new territory for Leica. Leica may have a $5k boondoggle on their hands that _also_ has QC issues.

blah.

I love the camera though, but worry that this may be the end for Epson. To further Sean's earlier comment, I have 13x19 prints (Epson, no less) taken from my D30 that get comments to this day. When people ask if it was with a 14MP camera, I say nope, 3MP. That is when their jaw drops.

-Paul
 
Sean Reid said:
when I asked an Epson rep. where the cameras were, she said, "We don't make cameras". "Really, what about the R-D1?" I asked. "Oh, we call that the rangefinder, not a camera. It's not here."

Cheers,

Sean
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That is just too sad.

Earl
 
What I just read from 'Chasseur d'images' today ( the biggest photo magazine in Europe, at least what they claimed...) is that RD-1 will be firmware upgradable to RD-1S.
 
pstevenin said:
What I just read from 'Chasseur d'images' today ( the biggest photo magazine in Europe, at least what they claimed...) is that RD-1 will be firmware upgradable to RD-1S.
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That's good news if true!

But I might still go for a second body. :)
 
Allowing R-D1 owners to upgrade to the R-D1S firmware is exactly what Epson should do.

Cheers,

Sean
 
Sean Reid said:
Allowing R-D1 owners to upgrade to the R-D1S firmware is exactly what Epson should do.
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According to my response from Epson, that is not what is going to happen:

"At this time, Epson America does not have plans to sell the R-D1s in the U.S. In addition, technical and service related issues limit the ability to provide a firmware upgrade to the R-D1. However, Epson America will continue to provide customer support and service for the R-D1. "

However, I still wonder if all the info is out about this camera. I wouldn't be suprised to see that statement change in the future.
 
B&H lists the R-D1 as out of stock. I am still wondering how Epson USA will handle future service for the current R-D1. Perhaps replacing it with the R-D1s....
 
That makes the remaining American R-d1's a really hard sell because there is no way i would buy a $3000 camera when i know that there is the same camera with a few improvements that can be had for $2000. Looks like if i get one it will be coming over on a boat.



JoshRoot said:
According to my response from Epson, that is not what is going to happen:

"At this time, Epson America does not have plans to sell the R-D1s in the U.S. In addition, technical and service related issues limit the ability to provide a firmware upgrade to the R-D1. However, Epson America will continue to provide customer support and service for the R-D1. "

However, I still wonder if all the info is out about this camera. I wouldn't be suprised to see that statement change in the future.
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I am guessing that the RD-1 may start becoming "unavailable" until Epson USA figures out what to do, ie. selling the RD-1s here. Meanwhile, the remaining RD-1 cameras go back to wherever for the upgrade, silkscreening of the "S", shipped back out and sold.

Which leads me back to a firmware update being available for the rest of us!
 
I have a feeling that at some point, the word from corporate headquarters will change, and the R-D1s will be 'officially' available here.

I also wouldn't be suprised to see the firmware update become available for existing owners.
 
Things can change over time. Let's see where things are at in a few weeks.

Cheers,

Sean
 
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