R-D1 questions

I'm wondering if any R-D1 owners have experience of the

following:-<p>Replacement batteries - it says in the manual 'only use Epson

EU-05' (but then it would, wouldn't it?), but this appears identical and is

rated the same as the Fuji NP-80, Kodak KLIC-3000 and Toshiba PDR-BT1. I ask

because I can currently buy the Fuji for less than a FIFTH of the price of the

Epson - so has anyone tried any of these as alternatives?<p>SD Cards - Is there

any mileage in buying 'faster' SD cards (say 133x) or is the write speed limited

by the camera firmware in any way?<p>Any info would be welcome. Johnny.

The Fuji works fine in my R-D1, but doesn't last anything like as long. Look for

something the same mAH rating if you can - various people have them, for

instance 7dayshop in the UK. (Look over at rangefinderforum.com, where

you'll get more info; some people have experienced lockup that might be due

to cheaper batteries, not sure that there's any consensus on this). <p>

The consensus re cards seems to be that, eg, the Sandisk Ultra II gives better

performance that the Epson can use... but the Extreme III's increased speed is

not realised by the R-D1. But bear in mind there a promotion on the Extreme

at the moment, which gives you a free copy of Capture One LE.

Thanks Paul, all the above are 1500mAh same as the Epson. What's the betting they all eminate from the same production line?

I notice that the faster rated cards format faster. The slower rated cards format disproportionately slower by a LOT ... but apart from that, in practical shooting, there seems to be no difference.

It's safe to use the NP-80 or clone type packs. It can be tough to find batteries that are

rated as high as the Epson, though.

 

I don't know about buying the faster cards. I rarely fill the buffer in the Epson.

John, haven't checked the Toshiba or Kodak battery, but the Fuji NP-80 is

definitely rated 1300 mAh. Get 1500 if you can, it seems to make much more

than a 15% difference to battery life. <p>Otherwise, as you say, I would be

extremely surprised if there is any difference, despite Epson's dire warnings.

The 7dayshop NP80's are 3.7v 1500Mah and cost 5.99GBP each:

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=8140

 

I have three of these and have had no problems, but do check the discussions on batteries in the R-D1 forum on Rangefinder Forum as suggested above to get the full picture.

 

I have Sandisk Ultra II (512mb) & Lexar 133x (1Gb), perhaps a smigen faster from the Lexar's shooting Raw and faster camera formating downloads to the computer using a card reader. Not much in it in real world terms.

Thank you people.