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Could the Epson RD1s Successor Really Have Competed with Leica?

Chris Gampat
No Comments
02/07/2022
3 Mins read
Screen Shot 2022-02-04 at 10.11.21 AM

Years ago, Epson made a camera that is only dreamed of by many photographers today. Indeed, the Epson RD1s was ahead of its time, but also behind the times in some ways. Today, it would be looked at as classically cool. But back then, people laughed at it. In fact, a lot of photographers and even camera salesmen didn’t know what it was.

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Leica Rumors posted about an Epson RD1s successor that was never released. Lots of folks never even know that Epson made a camera. I remember very vividly in my early 20s when I walked into FotoCare and talked to a rep about an Epson rangefinder. Him and a bunch of the others laughed at me and said that Epson never made one. But then one of the servicemen Googled it and found out I was right. If this story tells you anything, it’s that Epson probably didn’t stand a chance.

In 2009, the Leica M9 came to market and completely shook things up. A few years later, the Leica M9P was a darling of many photographers. And even today, the Leica M9 is revered; Leica even approved a sponsored blog post where we recommended lenses for it. Just imagine; more than 10 years later and the first full-frame digital rangefinder is still loved and cherished. How exactly could Epson beat that?

Now let’s add even more to this. The Epson RD1s cost around $3,000 according to Imaging Resource. The Leica M9, also according to Imaging Resource, cost around $7,000 when it came out. But still, the Leica survived and the Epson died. Epson’s camera had a bunch of problems too that were reported over the years. But even that’s not the biggest reason why I think Epson would’ve failed.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, or rather, the mouse! Smaller sensors have long been belittled by photographers. I mean, even hobbyists tout their full-frame cameras like they’re preaching the only true Gospel. Of course, a lot of us know better. But the sense of superiority that full-frame camera marketing has is surely a factor. However, that’s not the only reason for Epson’s rangefinder tanking.

The Epson RD1S successor would’ve also tanked because the photo industry majorly changed back then. Epson was trying to enter a niche market as the lone Grouper swimming in a tank with a Great White Shark. But the rest of the ocean consisted a bunch of other solid entries. The Sony a900 was offering a ton of megapixels for a camera back then and support for Minolta camera users. The Nikon D700 was perhaps the best autofocusing DSLR of that time, and it came in a smaller form factor with a full-frame sensor. And the Canon 5D Mk II changed the entire camera industry. 

On top of that, mirrorless cameras were started to get hyped a bit as prototypes were rumored to begin appearing.

So in the end, Epson was competing for a share of the smallest camera market that was incredibly niche. Every photographer demanded autofocus and clinically perfect image quality back then. Things have surely shifted since then. Could Epson make a comeback today? I think Zeiss or Voigtlander might be able to, but Epson – I’m not sure.

camera canon epson epson rd1s full-frame leica nikon rangefinder sensor sony
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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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