RD1 Review more information

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http://www.dp-now.com/archives/000677.html#Top%20of%20page

 

the short version is ONLY 10,000 copies to be made, 1/2 going to

Japan. The site will be updated shortly with more information.

 

I probably will NOT be getting one for Christmas if only 10K made.

 

Gerry

I like the idea of hiding/protecting the digital display on the camera back.

I won't be getting any (not owning any compatible glass, it's just too damn expensive, and I'd upgrade my 10D to a 1DmkII instead), but I have to admit that it's a very sweet-looking piece of camera.

At $3,000.00 US I think a lot of people might just wait and see what Leica/Panasonic comes up with eventually. That's a lot of rolls of film!

Or a 10D or *istD and a set of lenses.

Interesting - these are the first pictures I have seen that really give a good idea of the size of the camera. It looks much bigger than I first thought it was. That, coupled with the price, coupled with the lack of wide-angle capability (non-full frame sensor) takes it from the "hmmm...interesting!" level to that of a "solution for which there is no problem"

 

However, it is a nice effort by a rangefinder fan who happens to be a wealthy businessman with the means to do better for his next attempt!

3,500 USD???

WAY too expensive. 200 rolls of color film with processing and prints. 1,500 rolls of B&W. Think of the things you should do with that money...

 

Take care,

Tom

I find it amusing that people who do not balk at the $2700 price for a MP find $3000 expensive. This camera will sell out, given the huge Leica fondler market in Japan alone.

 

Frankly, Leica lenses are overkill for a current generation digital sensor.

I don't think $2700 vs $3000 is really the issue. There is a perceived value in Leica M's; there is none in an epson camera. It doesn't mean that the Epson is not a good piece; it may be. Many people will consider spending several thousand dollars on a Rolex watch. I don't believe anyone would consider spending that on a new Epson watch no matter what it looks like or what it does.

 

Perceived value is the vital issue in the luxury item market, actual value doesn't mean much. If actual value was the real issue, everyone but the pros would be using throw-away cameras.

I don't think this camera is aimed at the Rolex crowd. It's for people who like the combination (and potential synergy) of high tech capability and retro control. Me for instance. I don't give a hoot about "luxury" items but I find the R-D1 very appealing. It won't be stuck in a glass case and admired...it'll be used.

 

For wide-angle capability there's the Cosina Voigtländer 12mm f/5.6, which covers a wider field-of-view on the R-D1 than does the widest Leica M lens (the 21mm f/2.8) on an M camera. Also there's the Voigt 15mm f/4.5.

 

-Dave-

3000 Euro is the price for a M7 in Germany :-(

A Web search gives prices ranging from 2599 to 3199 for a black 0.58.

A digital M will be unavailable at least for another two years, so this is the only possible way to get a true digital rangefinder.

And if my memory serves me, the estimated price for the digital R8/9 back will be around 4500 Euro and it is APS sized! So don't expect a digital M below 7000 Euro.

And for wideangel, the VC 12mm gives you the field of view of an 18mm lens on 35mm film.

Fazal Majid wrote: <I>I find it amusing that people who do not balk at the $2700 price for a MP find $3000 expensive</I><P>

I wonder if the people who are balking at the price of the R-D1 are the same people who are buying the MP - or are you lumping all Leica users into the same cubbyhole?

<em>And for wideangel, the VC 12mm gives you the field of view of an 18mm lens on

35mm film.</em><p>

 

Yes - for an additional $US 800+ and at two stops slower (f5.6 vs f2.8).

definitely a no go for me, but i'm just happy that they've started development. in a couple of generations, this thing will be 8-10MP, full frame for less than $2K.

I agree with Patrick. As long as there is a shell, the interior improvements (ie. resolution, ccd size etc. ) will come with time. Price will come down eventually to what people will be willing to pay, which is not necessarily what it should be worth.

 

Eric

At that price it makes it a fairly easy decision to pick up a Minolta A2 or Canon Pro1 while waiting for either a) price drop on RD-1 or b) digital-M. And I don't understand why people think it is comparable to drop $3k on an MP/M7 vs. the same on ANY digital camera. The history of obsolescence (real market or perceived) in the digital spaces makes spending that kind of money very difficult to justify unless you truly are made of dollars/euros/pounds or a working pro.

 

YMMV...

I will wait until it's full frame for the lenses on either this or a Leica model... it's

not fun seeing your 35mm become a 75! or the 50 almost 100mm...not for

me... I'll scan my M stuff.

10,000 copies x $3000 = 30,000,000. That pays for a lot of the tooling and research required for further advancements. Be sure the RD2 will be much less money and will fix whatever quirks the RD1 will have.

This is a most cynical and disgusting piece of marketing by Epson. They have

set a ridiculously high price but then tried to make the camera 'exclusive' by

saying that only 10,000 will be produced. In other words, trying to create a

'collector' mentality about it. It is a clunky solution to an elegant problem.

Hopefully, reviewers will not be blinded by the blatant attempt to link the

camera to Leica's high profile and will review it objectively. Don't hold your

breath.

 

Hopefully it will backfire and go the same way as the Leica O Series and the

Nikon S3 (2000). Both now a fraction of their original price with plenty of S3s

unsold.

 

Don't be silly enough to buy this Epson RD1 (Ripoff Deal1). This is about the

most blatant opportunist strategy I have seen for a long while. But that's only

my opinion.

With a 1.0x viewfinder and a Nikon D100 sensor, they would have been better off aiming squarely at the Leica M camera crowd by pricing it competitively at $1,500. Lot of us toying with the idea of a second M body, or a DSLR, would test the digital waters the Epson way, especially if it meant using our existing Leica M lenses and saving money.

 

But Fazal is absolutely right about the fondler Leica market in Japan. It has to be seen to be believed. Shop after shop with shrink wrapped M3 etc.

About Japanese collectors, <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/leica_m6.shtml#Poppies">this anecdote</a> is quite amusing (scroll back one page above the poppies)

Even as I write this, hundreds of people are buying the <i>ludicrously</i> priced D2 which has a UK street price of $2340. This camera will sell. In fact, I foresee rivers of blood....