Thoughts and questions about my new R-D1...

[RIVI1969]

Hello...!

Finally my new Epson R-D1 arrived 3 days ago and it has been a complete new experience because it is my first rangefinder ever so I am trying to get used to it.
In order to make my transition a little less bumpy from a D70 to the RD1, I would like to ask you a few things...

First, if you have found some camera parameters combination that works better for you. Second, if is normal to get quite a few out of focus shots while learning the rangefinder process... and third, maybe it is me and I need to make more tests, but I found the pictures more grainy at the same ISO than those from the D70... could this be possible or is only my buyer´s remorse messing with my mind?

My kit consists in only one lens -CV 35mm 1.7- plus a 2GB Sandisk Ultra II card and last but not least, a beautiful brown Luigi´s case. Any advice will be really appreciate, and I hope to upload some decent pictures soon.

Regards,
Ricardo Villagran

 

[jeff laitila]

Welcome to the R-D1 owners club!

Welcome to the R-D1 owners club!

I don't really have any techincal advcie for you, other than to ALWAYS shoot in RAW.

But besides that, just shoot as much as you can.

Once the operation of the camera/lens becomes second nature to you, you will find that this will allow you to focus your energy on the subject/scene, and this will go a long way towards improving your output as well as increasing your enjoyment.

 

[rvaubel]

AKA: The R-D1 Pioneers

AKA: The R-D1 Pioneers

Ricardo
If this is your first rangefinder or for that matter manual focus camera, yes you will have a learning curve with regards to focus.
The first lesson is to REMEMBER to focus. After that, practice makes perfect.
Also you should check to see if the camera tends to focus a little in front or a little behind your chosen point of focus. To do this, take a test shot of a newspaper on a table about 3 or 4 feet away so that the paper is sloping away from you, at about a 45 degree angle. put a pencil on the newspaper near the middle, then focus carefully. Shoot the test with the lens wide open. THIS IS IMPORTANT
Now check the point of focus at 100% in photoshop(or whatever). Ideally your chosen point of focus will be the same as the actually point of focus. With the CV 35mm f1.7 it should be +- 2" at 3 feet distance or better.
Also check your infinity focus. The superimposed images should merge properly.
The reason for all this checking is that autofocus cameras tend to be able to compensate for manufactering tolerances a little easier than rangefinders. That being said there are many situations were autofocus cameras cannot provide the precision possible with manual focus rangefinder. There are other situations where SLR autofocus is a better choice.
As to the noise issue vs the D70, the results should be about the same as they have identical sensors. I like ISO 800 for color available light, and only use ISO 200 when their is plenty of light. Many of us that are shooting in RAW use a +2/3 exposure compensation to rescue shadow detail(and control noise) because Epsons exposure algorithm seems to want to avoid blown highlights at any cost(a valid stratagy with JPEGs).
The other new thing you will notice is learning to deal with parellax and other framing issues. Take alot of pictures and chimp till you see what works. The key here, take a lot of pictures and experiment. Its free after all. When I get a new lens I'll take a hundred pictures in an afternoon. Needless to say I have a lot of pictures of my dogs, the flowers in my back yard, my favorite brick wall, etc.