Refund Due ??

[Ian Biggar]

I bought an RD-1 from a member's classified advert in October. Three weeks after it's arrival the shutter died - no response from pressing the release button.
Camera had only light use - I could go count the number of exposures.......
Am I due any refund or the amount for the repair?
Any comments appreciated.
Ian

 

[Pablito]

in my opinion, not unless you can demonstrate there was some inherent problem the seller tried to cover up. This is the cost of buying from an individual and not from a store that might offer a warranty on used equipment. As long as the seller represented the camera honestly, i don't think you can ask him to cover the repair.

 

[Geo]

I am afraid not, that's always a risk when second hand.
This could have happened any time, now or after six months.
I had the same thing when I bought a second hand Powerbook,
after a week the screen needed repair; 600 euro penalty.
These are things the previous owner could not for see, I guess.
Geo

 

[Didier]

I agree with Geo and Pablito's. You may try to ask the dealer for a partial refund but I doubt he will accept. The R-D1 is the kind of camera I wouldn't buy used, honestly. Buying a R-D1 was already a risk when bought new with warranty from a dealer (I know what I'm talking about, spent months without camera which went back, and spent tons of money for shippings and VATs and other fees).

But have you tried everything? Is it the shutter only or a general electric breakdown? Is there a reaction with the needles when you switch it on, is there a LED in the viewer when you push the shutter button half?

Didier

 

[Ian Biggar]

Refund Due?

Refund Due?

Thanks for the speedy replies tho' I don't like the way this is going.....
No shutter speeds visible in viewfinder - no reaction from shutter release button but - if I switch the camera off then on again their is a very soft click and I can then "wind on" the lever but still get no response from the button. All needles working.
Ian

 

[rogue_designer]

You can always talk to the seller - and see if they might be willing to chip in towards service.

But I don't think you can expect it. Certainly you are not "due."

I am sorry. I know how frustrating that can be.

I know the RD1 won't trip the shutter if it thinks the card is full. Have you tried pulling out the card, formatting it, and putting it back in?

There have been similar problems that turned out to be not serious at all - I'd do a search here and at photo.net and see if anything similar comes up.

 

[Ian Biggar]

Refund Due?

Refund Due?

Thanks for the pointers.
Does not make any difference if I format the card.
Can get the shutter to activate and the LEDs to light up in the vfdr if I give the camera a smart "tap" on the base plate and then I can take a photo but this is not something I want to continue doing - which would indicate that it may be an electrical connection problem rather than the shutter dieing.
Ian

 

[M. Valdemar]

In a private sale, the item is expected to work on delivery. If it does not, that is grounds for a refund.

If some mechanical object breaks one day or one week or one month after you get it, it's not the seller's fault.

When you buy used, you are taking a chance. You are getting a substantial discount off the price of a new object just because you agree to the risk.

You can't expect a private seller to offer a full warranty like a full-price retail seller.

If you bought something perfect that was very valuable for a very cheap price, would you offer the seller additional money after one year because it didn't break down?

 

[M. Valdemar]

PS: While maybe not for the squeamish, there are many online guides to opening the top and bottom plate of the R-D1.

Why not carefully open the camera and look for obvious fried/loose connections? There's a good chance you might fix it yourself.

If it operates when you "bang" it, it seems as though there might be something that you can visually troubleshoot.

 

[JNewell]

I am not trying to pile on, but I agree with Pablito, Didier and the rest. No obligation either legally or ethically unless the seller knew and concealed the issue, which I doubt is true. Sometimes bad things happen. I bought a second-batch M6 from a dealer LNIB. A little over six months later the meter goes dead. Oh, well. That's one reason the refurb R-D1s were attractive - $1400 for an R-D1 with a 1-year Epson warranty made the purchase a lot more attractive (even though Epson service appears to be better only than nothing at all - at least it would be on their dime rather than mine).

 

[Paul T.]

Are they Epson batteries, and are you sure they're charged up fully? Although I never encountered it myself, I have heard some of the third-party batteries can cause a similar fault.

On the bright side, I have seen here that Steve's camera, I believe, in Culver City, can fix the shutter . You've got nithing to lose by asking the seller if he'll pick up a proportion of the repair. Of course he's under no legal or moral obligation to do so.

 

[JonasYip]

No shutter speeds visible in viewfinder - no reaction from shutter release button but - if I switch the camera off then on again their is a very soft click and I can then "wind on" the lever but still get no response from the button. All needles working.
Ian

This sounds like what happened to my camera, which turned out not to be the shutter itself but some linkage bit or something. Anyway, Steve at Steve's Camera was able to fix it without new parts from Epson. While he's in there he improves upon some other areas that he thinks are potential weak points. After I got it back the shutter was noticeably less "clanky" sounding (conveniently I have a 2nd RD1 to compare it to).

FYI, here's what he did to my camera (this was his first RD1, so he tore it down completely to investigate):

http://www.richcutler.co.uk/r-d1/r-d1_18a.htm

Here's the thread concerning the repair:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33325

j

 

[gdi]

Just add - I had incredible service from Epson this summer when my shutter failed - it is common. They replaced the shutter mechanism and I had it back in about a week.

But as others said - yours sounds like a connection problem and that may indicate a trip to Steve Choi...

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Anyway, Steve at Steve's Camera was able to fix it without new parts from Epson. While he's in there he improves upon some other areas that he thinks are potential weak points. After I got it back the shutter was noticeably less "clanky" sounding (conveniently I have a 2nd RD1 to compare it to).
j

ooh that's very interesting and good to know!

 

[Ian Biggar]

Thanks all - I get the message- have emailed the seller to see if he would be interested in contributing to the repair but can guess the answer.
Thanks for the suggestion of the repair at Steve's Camera - let me know if he ever sets up shop here in the UK!!
Have dispatched camera to Epson for repair (£320 flat fee!!)- may look for a broken one to practice amateur repair work but not willing to try it on my camera at the moment.
Would still buy a second one - but maybe from a shop with a warrenty - love the camera.
Thanks again - I think we can close this one now.

 

[kuzano]

I Have had three digital cameras fixed by manufacturers for no charge for chronic issues.. one By Sony, One by Fuji, and one by Minolta. I explored the internet aggressively on searches and found that the problem I was having was a "known issue" by the manufacturer.

Look to see if your problem is a "known issue" by Epson and covered for repair. In "known issue" cases there is usually a range of serial numbers covered, which stops when the Mfr discovers and re-engineers the problem out of the camera.