This is a short write up of my feelings about the DP3M after about 2 months of ownership.
PROS: Very high image quality and lovely out of focus areas wide open. Lightweight but quality construction, simple controls. Addition of macro to FOCUS mode. Sharp even at f2.8.
CONS: Focus hunting which gets worse the closer the subject. Strange squeaky lens a bit offputting. Unbalanced in shape with large objective on relatively slim body.
To be honest I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this camera. When it is good, it is very, very good. But when it misbehaves it is useless. The main problem is slowness and often failure to focus on near objects. When you consider this is classed as a macro lens then this is a serious failing. I regularly miss shots, especially of insects because the lens is hunting and missing focus. My DP2M seems to lock focus very quickly but not the DP3M.
Below are some very successful macro shots from today. There is no argument with the IQ which is outstanding. But the only successful regime I have found for using this lens in macro mode is to mount it on a tripod and use manual focus. This is fine for static subjects but I am used to being able to being opportunistic with my GH-2 and 45/2.8 (alas now sold via eBay) and this lens does not work quickly or predictably on focus.
I was all for selling this camera and moving on until I processed my photographs today. How long the reprieve will be depends on whether I really can deal with the quirky focus issues with this lens.
All photos were converted to 16-bit TIFFS in SPP5.5.2 and then imported into LR3.6. In SPP I mainly either reduced exposure to protect highlight and/or boosted XR3 fill-light. But in fact the photos required very little adjustment.
I did very little post processing in LR other than to crop and occasionally boost the saturation or contrast (as I find in RAW the DPxM cameras lack both).
The first four photographs are all manually focussed on tripod. The last two, iirc, were handheld.
Nigella, or "Love In A Mist" - the treatment here was to shoot at f3.2 - a sweet spot for many lenses so I got a sharp centre but diffuse background.
Stopped down you absolutely cannot fault the detail you can pull from an image even at very close focus.
The lens, or is it the sensor - or both - really does create spectacular colours when some XR3 fill-light and a boost of saturation is used. Again, check out the creamy out of focus areas.
Detail, as expected from a Foveon camera is amazing - notice the individual beads of pollen on the stamens - normally these would be blobby and not so distinct.
Probably my favourite picture of the day and another example of the beautiful rendition of oof areas. In my opinion 'bokehlicious'
Crop from another plant but the same insect. In this case you can see the astonishing detail of the carapace and head being covered in pollen.
There you have it, my most successful shoot to date of macro-type subjects with the DP3M. Perhaps it is worth working harder to achieve such results but I either need to invest in a Hoodman (or similar) loupe and possible a ring flash if I am to achieve consistent results.