I would totally buy an updated version if they made one!! So awesome!

Somebody should definitely do a Kickstarter for a modern Epson R-D1. It would be amazing and could work as a Kickstarter because of that niche market.

They have made a last bunch of cameras in 2013 or 2014 and called them R-D1xG. This camera was sold including a grip but only in Japan. I am very happy that I got my fingers on one of these brand new. Sometimes they show up on ebay, but very seldom. There is nothing but to love this camera

Bravo for everything you said Chris. A modern digital camera with a winder would be a game changer.

5:50s was nerve-wracking to watch. I wouldn't have the guts.

Totally agree!! Your presentation of this camera is incredibly thought out and well explained. I just don't see why any of the camera manufactures for years have not come out with a comparably well build like the RD1 by Epson. How they did not come out with an RD2 Full Frame with more battery life and larger capacity picture storage is beyond me. I personally own two RD1's and upgraded to a Sony Full Frame 7A only because of the size of the sensor and storage issue. I go back and forth between the Epsons and the Sony. You're so dead on with the user experience of classic film camera in the now digital age is lost. Overall at the end of the day it is what you're most comfortable with I feel I have the best of both worlds great glass and the type of camera that suits the need. Thanks Marco Muñoz Jaramillo

I would definitely buy a new one of these. ability to hide the screen, "film advance". It just feels right.

I love my Nikon FE. I respect and greatly admire Chris and Jordan's intelligence, delivery and the fact they do their homework. Thanks for posting this gem. I do appreciate it.

Chris your talk about a true "digital FE" gets me so exited. Every time I pick up my FM3a the handling simply floors me. Having a digital version would be incredible. Jordan, thank you for reminding Chris to take the lens cap off.

Oh man what a treat this video was. Thank you Chris and Jordan!

"I'm gonna use this strap" Never uses it haha

Jordan gets five seconds and still steals the whole show!! Love the vid, as always. You may want to go around whacking a film advance lever all day; I do not. Guess I had too many years of that. For me, Fuji is striking the perfect balance for all you've mentioned/advocated. Thanks.

Great stuff Chris & Jordan! Well done on the unsung camera of yesteryears, that's a terrific idea and hope to see more of these videos coming!

Absolutely fantastic to finally see this camera in action! Thank you for this video. Had a Leica M8 for similar reasons for many years, absolutely hopeless electronics but beautiful images and so much fun to shoot. Might pickup another later again.

Love this video. You guys have come a long way with the production, content, and pacing of your videos. When you first started, they were slow, meandering, and uninteresting. You've come a long way and now I look forward to your posts. Great job.

What a fantastic looking camera, a wonderful sentiment, and great jazzy music too.

Brilliant episode, Chris! You have articulated so eloquently what so many of us desperately need.

Great job showing folks the R-D1, I've got a pair(R-D1 and R-D1s) that I need to start using more often.

enjoyed the vid and the walk down memory lane. You are absolutely right about retro styling and the 'feel' of a well built camera. I am using a Nikon D500 and Sony RX100 mk 4 today but part of me hankers for the simplicity of the Nikon FM2 which I had stolen years ago. Simple, solid and a joy to use. We have become so obsessed with technology that we forget that some of the greatest photographs were taken on much simpler cameras in the day when the art was in light, composition and the moment not pixel counts and vast menus

This camera totally passed me by. Love it. Love the winder and the dials. great review.

"Notice the strap because it's a loaner" .. never uses it

This is outstanding. It's your best vintage camera video yet. I would have never known there was a camera out there with the Epson name on it with this much charm and design elements. This video should be required watching in photography classes.

Fantastic job Chris, being new to Photography this sort of info is most valuable.

Rangefinder camera reviewers always seemed to talk about the R-D1 in glowing terms. It's so great to finally see the camera in action. Thanks TCSTV!

Oh yes R-D1!!!! R-D1 is one of the most amazing and interesting digital camera I ever know of. I love this camera so much. Its design is so beautiful and it renders the colors so nicely. In many cases the out of camera jpegs are so nice that they just need a simple level adjustment or even no post processing at all. R-D1 produces the most beautiful out of camera jpeg I have seen on any camera. (The colors are not "accurate", but feels film-like). Clearly the engineers at Epson put tons of effort into tuning the color. P.S. about the branding, at first I did not understand why they use Epson brand either. Later I learnt more about the story behind the camera, how Epson developed the R-D1 project, how much thoughts they have put into it. R-D1 is like their own baby. Of course they want their dear child to bear their own family name!

Chris's most passionate performances. great video!

I love your message. The experience is everything!

i'm addicted to you videos.. thanks for making them.

Absolutely awesome! I am so getting the R-D1

Rd1 is one of the best looking camera ever designed，the glass dials，the manuel shutter winder，pure function makes beauty！and the subtle n steady shooting experience it provides，been using my rd1 for 5 years，wish it ll never break down…

The most beautiful looking digital camera ever made, period. Those gauges, the advance lever, the squarish shape, the rangefinder windows...just perfect. One of these with a 35 Summicron, one of my GAS wettest dreams!

This was excellent. Probably my favorite TCS video ever.

thanks for this video!! I've been drooling over this camera for a long long time

Hello from Switzerland. Nice videos I enjoy it a lot! Keep on!

I love the look and the controls of this camera. The advance lever is great! But then again, I shoot with two film cameras: Canon A-1 and Canon F-1N, so this camera would be familiar to me

Absolutely correct! I miss the style of older cameras and I still shoot film so I can enjoy the feel of them. I shoot new digital too but it just doesn't feel the same.

Beautiful camera (and my very first TheCameraStoreTV comment after I don't know how many years of watching). Epsons were always highly underated. I had an Epson 3000z when it first came out and they snuck a Carl Zeiss 7-21mm F2.0-2.5 lens on it! To this day those were some of the best photos I've ever taken. (And seriously I thought I'd NEVER comment on here... but the second you mentioned "Epson"... ya got me.) See you at Photokina.

I absolutely love those dials on the top. Definitely very "steampunk"-esque.

This might be the best series on the web. And by the way, your selections are right on ( I still use a Fujifilm S5 Pro for my most important portrait and wedding work). I was always impressed by the R-D1 as well. The thumb winder was my favorite part of the shooting experience in film -- so much so that I bought a Pentax K1000 for that reason alone.

Really insightful stuff at the end, great video guys

I started off with a Canon AT 1, still love to use it just for the winder, never thought how it could be incorporated into a digital camera, 100% agree with you Chris, modern manufacturers should incorporte it like the RD1. Great video as always, thanks!

Lovely Sax playing.......nice!

Thanks for sharing. This is awesome design and modern manufacturers should look this back

The RD-1 is such a great camera, and. I still shoot with mine quite frequently. As you said in the video, there is something special about shooting with this camera that others don't have. I'm so glad you guys did a video on it. I was wondering if you would when you started the series.

Fantastic video as always

That ….. was as awesome a review as John Mayer did for IWC big pilot. Your video made my day. I am sold on that baby.

I wish there were more cameras like the RD-1. Especially that shutter cocking mechanism. Love the video, guys!

Such Beautiful Photos Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just a real treat Thanks man Chris :) :) :) :)

This might be the best review I've ever seen in a while. I loved the camera, it's just perfect. I've checked eBay for a good deal but couldn't find any though. I'd have bought if it was cheaper. Thank you for this great review!

thank you, i love this review. Specially the last 5 min about not hitting the next big tech but going back to photography. And that's why I love my fuji x series cameras.

I felt your words about the shooting experience came deep from your heart man

Again it was a great pleasure to watch one of your reviews :)

This was my first digital rangefinder body a few years ago when I moved away from heavy digital SLR's and I loved using it. The skin tones I thought were better than the M8 I got later on and at ISO400 and below it was superb and still well-priced on the second -hand market. I'd highly recommend it to anyone wanting to save a few dollars off a digital M camera.

Great looking camera - might try and snag one for my vintage collection.

I'd love it if my Xpro 1 had a shutter winder on it!

it was my dream camera and once I bought mine I am truly in love with it! Best camera ever used, it makes me enjoy shooting and that makes.me.shoot more!

Fantastic review!

Great video, excellent presentation!

awesome review. I've often come across this camera in camera stores, but never knew much about it. Love that thumb winder! :)

Beautiful camera body. Just love the look of the Epson R-D1. Thanks for the review guys!

Really informative and cool review as always guys.

I was just thinking about this camera today and I was surprised to see it still being talked about 12 years later. That mechanical winder does make a lot of sense as a way to save battery, something there doesn't seem to much of on the X-Pro1 & 2. On battery savings, I wonder why Fujinon lenses are only fly-by-wire. I wonder which uses more battery, those gauges, or a LCD. Great video!

Great conclusion at the end! So many true things finally said!!

I really love this series!

Really enjoy these retro reviews - makes me appreciate the character that older gear and lenses have... and at the same time, appreciate what I might have taken for granted in my current gear.

Great Episode!

I seem to remember that the sensor was the same one used in the Nikon D70? The D70s was my first ever DSLR, and I still have some fond memories of it!

stunning camera and love these reviews

great video as all ways. Always look forward to your vids :D

My best pictures are made with R-D1. I bought one, sold one, bought one and sold and now, end ob 2016 ! I will get back the lovely one.

Great review. This looks like such a killer camera. Love the whole style and design. This is a camera you can enjoy shooting with. I agree, let's go back to our roots and get past the technology and start enjoying inspired design again.

Last 5mins of your thoughts, are mine too since 3years . I almost had tears in my eyes.. Bro. How great it would be if our Nikon RF came true.

Great video and well said!

quite agree with the host! yes. we need one of these. even with a classic slr body

OMFG. I want a modern version of this. I want the steam punk gauges, I want the film lever that cocks the shutter abd I want it to be full framed. This is what I've always wanted.

11:53 nice epilogue. Couldn't have said it better myself. Agree with all of that.

I so want an RD-1. Or a modern one. Great video!

Really awesome review! Hit the nail square on the head.

Allllll about the experience. Preach it Chris!

Thanks Chris and crew for this series, very entertaining. Are you thinking on doing some film cameras in the future? BTW my favourite feature of the RD1 is that amazing analogue status dial, so cool.

Gauges are just so cool!!!

In my dreams I own the R-D1 and when I wake up and realise that I'd been dreaming again it makes me sad. I would love to see a modern reworking of this camera but with it keeping the wind on lever, and the simplicity. the R-D1 can be found on Ebay at times but the prices are well out of my range but who knows, one day I might get lucky. Loved the video guys.

What a cool camera ! I love the gauges ! Bringing back the thumb winder on a modern camera might be a step too far though IMO.

Great review! I really wanted the RD-1 but it was mindbogglingly expensive and virtually made of unobtanium in the UK 12 years ago. A shame they didn't continue developing the idea though. Could have been a fantastic Epson/Voigtlander digital range by now. (So right about the winder!)

Most beautiful camera ever made. I agree that it would be totally awesome if they would remake it with a full frame sensor and leave the build and handleing just like it is. I would buy that thing right away. Anyhow the RD1 is a great camera on its own right and a hell lot of fun to shoot with. Great video. Thank you.

LOVE IT! I wrote Leica years ago (when the Nikon D600 came out) that what they should do is make a digital camera with a shuter advance lever so to save battery power for recording the image, they said they were considering it.... Alas it was not to be.

I really love the look of this camera. It looks like it takes great photos. I agree that it would be great if they came out with a version that has updated internals. The first camera I had experience with was a Kodak Retina that my father picked up when he was in Thailand. There really is a big difference in the experience you get with cameras like that and modern digital cameras.

Amazing video guys, I do really love this series! it would also be great an Analogue series though.........just saying! keep it up. Best regards

I love the winder on this camera. Someone really needs to make a modern camera with one of these!

Absolutely agree with your opinions on this! Great video.

I would love to see a thumb winder! And I absolutely second that thing about the shooting experience, shooting with my f3hp is so different than shooting with a digital camera, its so simple and relaxing, whereas with digital cameras there's so many buttons that mostly don't do anything important.

i agree with you Chris... bring back the classic photography experience.

i agree with you on the shutter lever. i want it on modern digital mirrorless

Really digging the jazz music. :)

SO COOL CÁMARA!!!

On finding out that this is a digital camera, I was going to change to another vid.... BUT i figured i'd watch the whole vid. SO glad I did! I shoot film! BUT this camera seems to be more film based than digital! Loved the review and might see if i can get me one of these babies :-) Tank you :-)

Best review yet

Thanks for showing us these oldtimers - it's actually way more interesting than both modern digital cameras and old film cameras. The R-D1, like at least a few other Bessas, doesn't have a "traditional" 60/40 center-weighted circular pattern. IIRC the Bessa L and R meters more like a center-weighted vertical line, while the R-D1 and later Bessa R-models are CW circular - biased towards the lower left of the frame. It's supposed to be intentional, even.

Two thumbs up on that, Chris. After having some really amazing digital cameras, I still miss some of the of my old SLRs. I'd be very happy if they made something like my old Fujica ST801 (which I still have) with all the same controls, but with a digital sensor.

Finally got one at a good price , an absolute joy to use