jim_watts

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.

"Here's a funny question. How many people in the world actually own an RD-1 or RD-1s? My wild guess is that the number is in the thousands. Perhaps tens of thousands but not hundreds of thousands"

 

It was Epson's intention to only make 10,000 R-D1 cameras. To my suprise it has not sold that well. Given the feedback from owners quoting serial numbers on the R-D1 forum at www.rangefinderforum.com and stock with dealers like Robert White in the U.K. sales had reached just under 5,000 before Epson decided to remarket the camera as the R-D1s. Probably in an effort to stimulate sales before the Leica digital M hits the market. The firmware update to the R-D1 gives all the functionality of the R-D1s and there are no other improvements, perhaps with the exception that some claim the black paint finish is more durable, so it seems the "new model" is to try to stimulate sales.

 

It's really difficult to judge what Epson is upto here though as they say there is no intention of importing the R-D1s in either the US or Europe. Perhaps this was also part of the marketing though? I haveheard of more people trying to get an R-D1/R-D1s since they said this. Rarity value? Robert White seems to had and sold the last of the R-D1's and seems to have been able to import the R-D1s no matter what Epson are saying.

 

I would estimate total of the two models at about 6,000 now worldwide - thousands, but not tens or hundreds Alex.

 

I have had mine for 19 months and love it. My M4 is seeing very little use these days.

 

Jim

"It eats battery energy like dingo. I am afraid to take it to Europe. Even with a converter I'd worry about frying the battery while recharging. (Okay, I'm worry wart; I am also still alive.) "

 

Alex,

 

There is no problem with the standard Epson charger (Model: A281H) for the R-D1 in Europe. You will not fry your batteries. It is specified for voltages from 100 - 240 50/60hz to make it universal for the US & Europe. Voltage in EC countries is standardised at 230V. You will though need a different plug/s depending on the country your in or a multi adapter. Replacement leads with plugs are fairly easily and cheaply obtainable from electrical stores.

Jim

Bill,

This is a wonderful and important book. Not dated, as it probably sets a precedent for some of the semi fictional conceptual works by Cindy Sherman etc, but IMHO much better photography that captures the feel of Paris in the mid 50's, the book was published in 1956.

 

I did have a first edition (now worth a small fortune) , but gave it to a good friend as a 50th birthday present before the reprint was published as it was always his favourite book and his copy had been stolen. The reprint was pubished in 1999 in the UK by Dewi Lewis and is virtually identical (there are a few minor differences)and if anything is slightly better printed. I think about 25 GBP in the U.K. Buy without hesitation. I'm hoping someone is going to reprint Ed Van Der Elskens "The Sweet Life" another great book.

 

Jim Watts

Yes and the Epson (Cosina) R-D1 although a great camera also has unfortunately had quite a few quality control issues. Luckily mine is reasonably O.K. but does have a few Hot Pixels.

Further to my previous post the Wolf link shows how to make a full rangefinder adjustment involving both adjustment screws which needs the top removed to reach the second screw which is the factory (sealed) coarse adjustment. Quite often only the upper screw needs adjusting which can be reached by removing the coverplate in the cameras hotshoe.

Here is a link to rangefinder adjustment on the R-D1: http://www.imagere.com/paulwolff/rd1.htm

There are many posts on rangefinder accuracy, frameline accuracy, hot pixels and other R-D1 issues with suggestions and help on the R-D1 Forum on www.rangefinderforum.com

 

I don't want to detract from the help available from the experts in this forum but the R-D1 is digital and therefore more posts about it are made on the RF site.

An R-D1 shot taken in the British Museum, London.

35mm Summicron between f/2 & f/2.8. iso set at 1600.

Andrew, Welcome to the world of R-D1 photography. It is an excellent camera and I hope you continue to retain your enthusisiam. I have with 4 months of use now inspite of a few minor problems (Hot Pixels & Front Focusing with certain lenses). Sounds like you have a good example and Epson have been good about exchanging the cameras if not. Like all cameras it has some problems but if you are a dedicated rangefinder user who wants to go digital there is no alternative.

 

Not to distract from the valuable contributions in this forum but the biggest resource for an exchange of information on the RD-1 is on Rangefinderforum.com at: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=3152cc80c3ef788916b58a7201c3107a&daysprune=&forumid=48&x=12&y=3 with over 2000 posts now.

The Walker Evans pictures to select and download from the Library of Congress site are the ones that have a Tiff file as well as the jpeg. These files are larger and good enough to produce a 10 x 8 inch print (the size in most cases of the original negative). A few years ago I downloaded about 10 and with a bit of work in Photoshop (some of the originals, in most cases from prints with their mounts, are a bit rough)I have made better prints than the ones I purchased from the L of C in the past.

Sad to hear he has died, although he did live to a good age at 94. Hopefully someone will mount a new exhibition giving his work the exposure it deserves.

 

I have a signed print by him made in the late 70's from the Worktown series. A nice picture of a Bolton woman. Its not a very good print as he was not a great printer and it looks as if the negative was showing its age and lack of care at the time the print was made. The important thing for him was creating a "Document" of the social conditions of the time.

 

Jim

I can't really be sure with the R2A but if the accuracy of the frameslines is only 85% as in the Epson (digital) R-D1 (made in part by Voigtlander/Cosina) then the 40mm is a much closer match than the 35mm. Almost 100%, just very slightly less than seen at the bottom of the frame.

My Second Edition has the Kerouac introduction and he only comments: " Robert Frank, Swiss, unobtrusive, nice with that LITTLE CAMERA that he raises and snaps with one hand a sad poem right out of America onto film..."

 

The Original 1958 Les Americains published by Robert Delpire in Paris has a different cover and has accompanying texts gathered by Alain Bosquet placing it more in a (Anti-American?)socio-documentary context (which is perhaps why it did not go down too well) rather than the Kerouac text. Still no mention of the Leica model used as far as I remember.

 

I think its important not to ignore Delpire's contribution to this great book.

"There is an excellent exhibition devoted to Frank's work that recently appeared at the London Tate Modern. It was amazing seeing all those prints first hand - as well as noting how many were 'keepers' from his contact sheets."

 

Although this was an excellent show it was very misleading with regard to contact sheets. In most cases these were not the original sheets but 'constructed sheets' from individual film strips. This is clear if you checked the frame numbers. Some of these sheets had Frank jumping around the states on the same roll of film. Tate Modern should have been much clearer about this rather than just describe them as contacts which gave the impression that each represented one roll of film.

 

One is though able to tell even from the strips that Frank was certainly not one for over shooting on a subject. One or two frames in most cases and he knows he has it in the bag and moves on. Even more amasing then that he was supposed to have shot 28,000 frames in 3 years.

 

Lots of excellent images from the Americans project that he and Robert Delpire edited out from the final cut were on show, many I think for the first time, so in that sense there are plenty of keepers.

 

He is certainly a photography giant. I did see him at the opening but didn't get a chance to speak to him unfortunately.

 

There was also an interesting 'South Bank Show' documentary on him on UK TV to coinside with the Tate Modern Show.

 

Jim

You could also try the small camera dealer (sorry cannot remember the name) but he is mainly a repairer and is in in Gilbert Place. It is just across Bury Place from Pied Bull Yard so you could compare prices and time scales.

 

Jim Watts

Re. Focusing & other quality control problems on the R-D1.

 

I purchased my Epson R-D1 in the U.K. just before Christmas and in general I am well pleased with it although did I regard it as a fairly expensive purchase at ?2K, but then it is unique and I suppose if I factor in film costs it will have paid for itself in a couple of years.

 

I have the following lenses to use on my R-D1: 25mm Voigtlander f4 Skopar (zone focusing, not range finder coupled), 35mm f2.0 Summicron, 50mm f2.0 Summicron and 90mm f2.8 Tele- Elmarit, which I also use on my Leica M4, and have also (very briefly) tried a friends Voigtlander 15mm, 28mm f3.5, 40mm f1.4 & 75mm F2.5 lenses.

 

All the above lenses I have tried appear to work fine apart from a problem with my 35mm f2.0 Summicron. I have carefully checked for any focusing problems now on all my own lenses but not in detail on my friends VC lenses but the impression was that those with rangefinder coupling worked fine.

 

The problem with the 35mm f2.0 Summicron is at under about 5 feet and at apertures wider than f4 this focuses 3 inches further forward than the plane of focus achieved by the rangefinder. (Depth of field probably covers outside these parameters).

 

I have noted the various reports of focus problems with the R-D1 but these seem to be associated with the rangefinder being out of alignment, at least vertically, or with wide aperture telephotos where the short rangefinder base compared to the Leica does not allow such accurate focussing. My R-D1 seems totally accurate in this respect with perfect alignment both vertically and horizontally at infinity and vertically at closer focused distances with all these lenses. The 90mm f2.8, which should be the most problematic, also focuses well even at very close distances. The 35mm Summicron always seemed to focus perfectly on the M4 (but I will recheck this in detail on film) so I can only put this down to some incompatibility with the cam on the lens. I have cleaned the cam to make sure there is no grit ect. and also reinserted a number of times, but the problem still persists and to the same degree. This lens (Canada 1975 vintage, owned from new) also seems to have a noticeably warmer colour balance than all my other lenses on this camera, also not noticed before on film.

 

Now I know there is a consistent problem find I can allow for (e.g. by focussing on an ear instead of an eye) but is annoying all the same. As I generally prefer a slightly wider angle (35mm on 35mm full frame) I will probably end up getting the VC 28mm f1.9. Has anyone experienced focusing issues with this lens?

 

The other issue is one of locked (hot) pixels on the sensor, also mentioned by one other post I have seen and in the Amateur Photographer review. These are not much of an issue in prints at least at A4 but a few can be fairly clearly seen at 100% view on the computer or even more clearly if you scroll across your photo on the R-D1?s screen at full magnification. The visibility is dependent on the ISO rating with higher rating (i.e. more amplification of the sensor) making them more visible. I made prints photographing a fairly plain surface to give zone 3 (dark) and zone 5 (mid-tone) and can ONLY Just make out three at 400 ISO but these become slightly more visible at 1600 ISO. My main concern is will the sensor show more with time? I spotted one locked pixel (worst than mine) on the dealers demo R-D1 in the shop so I wonder how much of a problem this is with the Epson R-D1?

 

I could take this camera back and I?m glad to hear Epson are not quibbling about replacements but given other experience with the camera I could end up with a worst example? So any comments on the above would be helpful.

 

This is my main gripe with Epson that for an expensive, ?2K in the U.K. camera body the quality control really should be better, but in general I love it and think it?s a worthwhile purchase.

 

Finally not to detract from this Forum (but it is supposed to be a non digital one) those interested in the R-D1 may like to know that Robbe Gibson has started a group specific to the Epson R-D1 at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/epsonrd1

Not many members or postings yet but it could prove a more accessible forum for specific Digital R-D1 issues.

 

Sorry about the length of this reply and that it can up with no real answers to why the R-D1 has this front focusing problem but at least it may indicate a few lenses that work O.K.