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Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

peterb

Member
Been really enjoying the DP2M (Quentin your four-word review was so spot on!). Alas the weather has not been all that cooperative. Here's some early examples.

Like everyone else here I am astounded by the detail. And while the software is a drag it's not impossible to work with. Essentially I set sharpness to -1.5 and NR to 0, save as 16-bit tiffs and then complete in LR for any further tweaks.

The camera is very solidly built. And feels good in the hand. And I don't find the AF too much of a problem in low-light situations. Like the manual recommends I just look for a higher contrast object similarly distanced from my subject. It's not lightning fast but the camera does lock on well. Ideal for my deliberate style of shooting. Even some moving subjects can be anticipated and focused on. You just don't get the 'edge' with a sure-fire PDAF to keep firing away in order to get that money shot. But...if Bresson managed to get spectacular street captures with his early Leica who am I to complain?

I plan to do some test prints this weekend at Penn Camera in DC to see just how large a print I can get away with with this thing. Should be interesting. I think a pixel-peeping 30" x 45" may actually be possible. We'll see.

Accessory wise, I'm using the Sigma VF which I've done tests to get a better feel for where the center of AF is vs. distance and view is in the VF so I won't have to rely on chomping techniques. I also got Sigma's AML-2 CU lens which, by the way, is quite good. The third shot of the raised circular logo of Cobra at this weekly Saturday morning classic car gathering I stumbled upon was taken with that. I have some other shots of engine innards and details also came out rather well.

I found a great bag from an outdoors company here called Eastern Mountain Sports (their small travel belt bag). Like big bulky cameras I hate big bulky bags and just want to keep it light. (I avoided DSLR's for years mainly because of their bulk and obtrusiveness until Panasonic's G1 appeared which I've been using along with their superb 20mm f1.7 until now.) Also am getting the Milich grip for added mass and stability.

Finally I may have figured out a way to provide 8000 maH of power so I won't have to keep swapping out batteries every 110 shots. Basically I am getting 3 1.2v 8000 maH rechargeable "D" sized batteries from RadioShack along with a Lexmar charger and a battery holder. Then soldering on a connector that will attach to Sigma's SAC-5 'dummy' battery connector (which would normally connect with a plug-in power supply for extended indoor shooting). If it works, I'll be happy to share my jury rigging with everyone!

Anyway, I apologize for the somewhat droll subject matter and promise to provide some much better material in the future. (I guess like everyone else here I just HAD to shoot something). But I couldn't be happier with this cam. Some shots taken in nearby Old Greenwich, Ct. (Note: one thing this web site doesn't let you fully appreciate--probably a problem with my general membership--is that in the shot of Grand Central taken last Friday at night while en-route to Maryland you can ACTUALLY see the ticks of the clock at the information booth! The 30mm lens is THAT good!)

Thanks for looking.

P
 
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peterb

Member
Thank you Po! Really liked your website! (Mine's currently down for the moment as I am re-tooling for a totally new concept.) Your shots are spectacular The shots of Maui brought back some superb memories of a trip there with my wife three years ago. Now I want to go back to the North Shore in Paia with this little camera in tow.

Also many thanks to you as well, Quentin! The shots you've posted here have been nothing but inspirational (and ultimately, expensive) for me.

I find the camera a delight to use. Reminds me of the M6 I reluctantly sold off (along with my lenses) when Leica SWORE there was no way they could create a digital version of their famous design. Water under the bridge.

This camera is a whole new ball game. Very fluid once you set up the Q menus to your tastes. And the buffer is fine. With practice using the OVF I hope to just shoot away as I did with the film M. Generally I'll shoot at ISO 100-200 in color. ISO 400 to 800 in BW. (Even with the noise I've found BW images have a certain romantic film-like quality to them. Although if a great color snap at ISO 100-200 would look better in BW I'm all for it. Some of the utterly creamy smooth tonality I've seen in the BW examples are totally sublime.)
 

pophoto

New member
Peter, thank you for your kind words, how embarrassing! I keep the site to motivate me to do more photography, but with a two year and another on the way, it's bit difficult to find the time to sneak out, so most shots are just family time!

From the LL review, I'm still too Pu$$y to try out the camera, I'll let you real men to keep inspiring me for now, and may bite the bullet come 2013, but who knows, maybe a DP3M on the horizon.

Anyhow no excuses for any of you since you guys (You know who you are) have shown how quickly you have warmed up to the camera! I really want to see how it does with longer exposures (moving clouds, misty waters) and perhaps with ND on the front, if there are any color artifacts (funky colors) to be seen!

Thanks
Po
 

peterb

Member
Po,

I think Reichman might have scared off a lot of people with his comments. The camera is actually pretty easy to use. I prefer Aperture Priority as I simply keep the aperture at f2.8 or f5.6 (depending on the scene) and let the camera do the rest. Pre-set functions for the AE-lock (either just exposure or just AF or both) allow you additional flexibility so you can quickly get focus and exposure down before composing (or lying in wait for your victim if that's the case).

The AF, as I mentioned, seems to work well enough to get a pre-focus and lock (along with exposure) ready to fire when the 'decisive' moment hits. Or just aim, focus and press using the general or center-weighted metering. And unless you do most of your shooting in gritty night venues I'd dare say most of the time the camera will suit most people's needs.


The much-ballyhooed software isn't all that hard either. For the most part you can just dial down the sharpening (most reviewers say the camera is so sharp that you might want to do this and have recommended a setting somewhere between -0.8 and -2.0 depending on your tastes) and 'save' and 'name' the parameter. Then, unless you don't open the software and attach the camera, fish around it's memory like you would any flash drive or external drive and drag the image files to your computer, when you attach the camera to the computer the software finds the files in the camera and will do an automatic conversion from the peculiar Foveon Raw Files to either 16 or 8 bit tiffs or jogs (whichever you prefer) in your pre-saved setting.

Ready for a final tweak (if even necessary) in LR, Photoshop or even Photoshop elements. LR is a nice program because you can quickly do minor tweaks and export them. The exposure is so good most of the time that tweaks really aren't all that necessary. Maybe a slight adjustment of spot exposure on a curve but that's it. (I know it sounds like a lot but in actuality it isn't!)

The chief complaint is ISO speed. I guess having used the Lumix G1 which had such horrible reports of 'noise' beyond ISO 400 I just got used to shooting at lower ISOs. The slower f2.8 lens does take some getting used to as what might have been handheld for me earlier begins to push the limit of shake. And with this camera's uber high sharpness you want to keep shake to a bare minimum. An investment in a good lightweight table or full standing tripod wouldn't be a bad idea.

Interestingly enough, a lot of the better DSLR zooms are f2.8. Maybe they got away with things because their sensors could handle noise better at higher ISOs but they are, essentially, no different in the speed dept.

And speaking of zooms, while this is a fixed lens camera, ironically, with the high clarity and enlargability of files, you don't need a zoom to attain a sizable print by merely cropping. You just sacrifice ultimate size. (So instead of printing something at 40" x 60" you print a cropped shot at 20 x 30". Would that be so bad?) And stitching as Quentin Bargate has shown in some of his amazing shots is a way to have a good wide angle without having one.

Be not afraid.
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
A few more shots from DC with the DP2M and DP1M.
The Weiwei installation at the Hirschhorn
White House. Note tripod with binoculars on roof. An SS agent was up there scanning the crowd just after I took this shot.
WWII Memorial at night. Hand held, but braced on a railing.
Discovery at Air/Space Museum. Can still see burn marks form last re-entry.
Enola Gay. B-29 bomber that dropped first A bomb at Hiroshima.
QUOTE]

Carl, I must say the DP1M is doing a really good job there!, and right, it looks very film-like.
Thorkil
 

scho

Well-known member
A few more shots from DC with the DP2M and DP1M.
The Weiwei installation at the Hirschhorn
White House. Note tripod with binoculars on roof. An SS agent was up there scanning the crowd just after I took this shot.
WWII Memorial at night. Hand held, but braced on a railing.
Discovery at Air/Space Museum. Can still see burn marks form last re-entry.
Enola Gay. B-29 bomber that dropped first A bomb at Hiroshima.
QUOTE]

Carl, I must say the DP1M is doing a really good job there!, and right, it looks very film-like.
Thorkil
Thanks Thorkil. Yes, the DP1M performed well in the city environment.
 

scho

Well-known member
We are finally getting a little fall color, although not that vibrant. Here are a few from today's gorge walk. All with DP2M, tripod, and processed using "landscape" color mode in SPP. I usually use "neutral", but felt the dark, overcast light needed a little Velvia treatment. I think it may be a little too punchy still. Most gorge shots are two shot stitches. The "LARGER" images ar reduced 50% from original size.


LARGER


LARGER


LARGER


LARGER


LARGER


LARGER


LARGER
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
Color casts in DP2M images. On bright surfaces I often can see magenta and greenish color casts. Was it discussed before and what is the cause? Any best practices?
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
Lovely pictures Carl, and nice melancholic mood with overcast! But clicking at "original" the original size turns up anyway I guess?
Thorkil
 

scho

Well-known member
Lovely pictures Carl, and nice melancholic mood with overcast! But clicking at "original" the original size turns up anyway I guess?
Thorkil
Thanks Thorkil. No, "original" in pbase is just the 50% image that I uploaded.
 
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Farnesworth

New member
A few from a morning spent Ballooning in Napa, CA. Full sized versions (which are awesome in detail) at picabroad.com

As others point out, keep it at 100-200 asa in natural daylight and it's on a par with my D800 or M9 with the very best glass.

My poor OM-D, even with the Olympus 75mm 1.8 is just not in the same league.





 

biglouis

Well-known member
There is so much good stuff here, I don't know where to start.

Peter, the shot in Grand Central station is a good place to start. Awesome. I bet that would print up large and be a great photograph to look at again and again. You'd probably discover something new each time!

The aerial shot from the balloon is also amazing. Clarity and colours are awesome.

The shots inside the gorge showing the autumns colours are another highlight.

Uwe and Quentin's careful studies are also great work.

If I've left anyone out, sorry, not intentional

What comes across again and again is the clarity, colouration and detail in the shots.

On handling, I think the simpler user interface is a benefit. One of things I always liked about my M8 was that you couldn't really get lost in the menus. Likewise with this camera. The Quick menu is particularly useful and simple to use, or at least I find it so. My only gripe is that I find the body a pleasing shape but slippery.

Actually, the light weight is also an issue. I think this adds to camera shake rather than reduces it (or maybe I really am getting too old).

I think I need to view this as the first digital 'film' camera. The results are very filmic.
I have been treating using it like a film camera. iso100-160 wherever possible, iso400 where you have to, iso800 where the shot itself will be worthwhile despite the noise. I can't recall ever working above iso800 with film because the colour film stocks sort-of maxed out at that level (my favourite being Fuji 800Z <sigh> I wish they would reintroduce that).

The sharpness of all shots I've taken is remarkable. Actually, it is amazing, even unbelievable in some shots. I've seen it and I don't believe it. Keep waiting for the gotcha.

LouisB

PS I think I'll head for Liverpool Street station on Monday in the rush hour and try a similar shot!
 
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