Some may recall that I used to run the unofficial Epson RD-1 website - now donated to Stephen and part of his Cameraquest website:
https://cameraquest.com/Epson-R-D1/_r-d1/r-d1_01.htm. So, I know a little of the background to this camera. (Or, rather, can make educated surmises: to this day, Epson has said very little about the camera – at least not much has made its way outside of Japan.)
There will never be an RD-2! And the poor marketing and support was on purpose! You want to know why...?
Epson is a subsidiary of the Seiko Group, and the RD-1 was a concept product – designed to showcase the company's technical prowess. The camera is nothing more than an advert! To that end, the camera was never a "normal" product intended to be profitable.
It was no accident that Seiko Epson, to give the company its full name,
(1) chose to make a product associated with a company that was iconic in Epson's home country (Japan), namely the Leica rangefinder camera (that Leica had described a digital rangefinder as technically unfeasible was doubtless a factor)
(2) was publicly listed on the Japanese stock exchange shortly before the RD-1's release.
Some seem to think that the RD-1 was a joint project between Epson and Cosina or that Cosina was the lead: neither is true. The camera was wholly Epson's design and concept, with Cosina simply commissioned as a supplier. Apart from aspects that are Cosina's property, essentially the Bessa chassis, everything else was designed and supplied by Epson, including its heart – the Nikon sensor. The electronics were designed by Epson. The eye-catching analogue dials were created by its Seiko watchmaking sister company, and their inclusion was of course very deliberate – making the company's DNA and history obvious.
So, for these reasons (and perhaps also legal ones, arising out of Cosina's contract with Epson), Cosina can't make an RD-2 by itself. (Also, don't forget that Cosina has always maintained absolute disinterest in making a digital camera.)
In short, the RD-1 was a PR exercise, and Epson never intended to sell it as a mainstream product. Hence the lack of advertising and its low profile. In fact, I suspect its success was a bit of a curate's egg for the company: as a concept product it was wildly successful, becoming iconic itself, but this popularity strained its meagre support network, and frustrated users (Epson doubtless expected executives to buy the camera, rather than photographers wanting to actually use it!).
I wish an RD-2 would appear - I'd buy it! But it's not happening. Ever. Another digital rangefinder, perhaps, but it won't be like the RD-1 with its analogue handling and indicator dials.
