The Sigma DP cameras

[Chris Giles]

Possibly the wrong forum section I know, but this is more related to Medium format in direction.

I love my H4D50, LOVE it. But I usually use it for personal projects and travel stuff. But now, I'm thinking about taking something much much lighter.

The Sigma DP system seems interesting. High MP, Foveon sensor and compact.

Trouble is I have no idea what I should get and there appears to be three models (the Dp1, 2 and 3, the Merrill and the Quattro).

I'm not interesting high ISO performance. Just image quality but don't seem to see much online about any of them. Which is odd.

Can anyone offer a comparison / guide on what is what?

Thanks!

 

[mmbma]

buy the three DPMs, perfect companions to your medium format setup.

the image quality is superb, even by medium format standards

 

[mmbma]

you can check out images in the "other cameras" sub forum

 

[darr]

Chris,

I shoot the three DPM cameras, the SD1M, and MFD as well. The DPM cameras are my MF in a lightweight shoulder bag. If you can't get all three, I'd start with the DP2M as it has a razor-sharp 30mm f/2.8 lens that is a 45mm f/2.8 equivalent. You might need a loupe for shooting in the sun since there is no EVF. The Sigma optical add-on VF is a waste of money IMO, and I use a Hoodman Loupe and prefer it over the aftermarket EVF I purchased.

As advised above, you should wander over to the 'Other cameras' thread in this forum for advice, questions, and images regarding the Sigma line of cameras.

Kind regards,
Darr

A few Sigma DPM pictures:

Water Lilies, etc.
Sigma DP2M, 1/50 sec at f/8, ISO 100

St. Marks Lighthouse
Sigma DP1M, 1/1250 @ f/2.8, Handheld

Reflection
Sigma DP2M, ISO 100 +0.7, handheld

Windy Sunset
Sigma DP3M, ISO 100, 10 sec @ f/8.0
​

 

[tsjanik]

Those are wonderful Darr.

 

[darr]

Thank you Tom! I do love my little Sigma bricks.

 

[GrahamWelland]

As Darr mentioned, these little bricks are great for travel when you don't want to take the full MF / tech camera ensemble with you.

I now travel with my Sony RX1-R and a Sigma 'to go' Think Tank Mirrorless Mover bag with the DP1M, DP2M, DP3M and my spot meter. I've also taken to using a color checker grey card for white balance in the field. Also, you can never have too many batteries ...

The results are quite stunning overall considering the system. The Sigma processing software though is pretty flaky but the results are fine.

 

[synn]

I have been thinking of these "Bricks" lately too. What do you DP owners think of exporting straight out of the Sigma SW as TIFFs and doing "real" edits in PS?

 

[miska]

I would consider these cameras seriously, if they had Lightroom support (or DNG). As they are, they're simply a no go for me, as I don't want to use another software to process (esp since I have only heard horrible things about the Sigma SW).

 

[GrahamWelland]

I have been thinking of these "Bricks" lately too. What do you DP owners think of exporting straight out of the Sigma SW as TIFFs and doing "real" edits in PS?

That's pretty much what I do although I've only been using the system for a few weeks so far. I'll look to make sure that the exposure range is good for shadow/highlights and if necessary do minimal adjustment to ensure that the histogram had no problems and then export to TIFF to PS.

One thing that you'll never need to do is sharpen the image before export!

This is an unsharpened version from the RAW. These things don't really shine as much at a small size compared to the original full size images where the sheer detail rendering of the Sigmas is very impressive. They look like technical camera images but without the resolution obviously. I've been shooting side by side with my Alpa/IQ260 and it's convinced me enough that I can live with a small travel outfit using these cameras when I don't want the burden of taking a backpack, big tripod, and risking leaving the system in my hotel when on a business or pleasure trip.

In the example below, the Alpa/Rodenstock/IQ260 will render the fact that there are a few people on the shore of the Sandy River in this shot, plus who's fishing, some of the facial details etc. The 14-15mp of the Sigma DP2M used here will show that there are people and basic colors of their clothes but that's where the resolution runs out. If I'd shot it with my RX1R or A7R or X-T1 systems then I would have seen that people were there but with less detail than the Sigma.

 

[synn]

Stunning image, Graham. You've just made me poorer by a few hundred bucks, I think...

 

[GrahamWelland]

This is a 100% jpg crop from the original. The browser seems to be messing with the jpg a little compared to what I see in PS on a MBP Retina but you'll get some idea of the rendering of these mini-travel MF alternatives. Again, I stress that this is unsharpened.

 

[dchew]

I am banning myself from this thread.

 

[UHDR]

i think one of the beauty of these bricks is that....we are not talking about super high megapixel count, but every pixel you get is top notch quality. i recently got myself an A7r (with leica tri-elmar), it baffles me every time i view at 100% why i spend all that money....

once you converted the raw file in tiff and import to lightroom, it's business as usual. but because the files are actually quite small once in tiff form, it doesnt cause too much lag for my old pc, unlike the a7r 36MP files.

 

[darr]

I have been thinking of these "Bricks" lately too. What do you DP owners think of exporting straight out of the Sigma SW as TIFFs and doing "real" edits in PS?

That is currently how I process all my Sigma images. I upload the RAW files to a folder on my hard drive, open Sigma Pro Photo (SPP), locate the folder, select all files, make TIFF copies, and close SPP. Then I open Lightroom (LR), import, and go from there. I do not have the time to mess with SPP.

I have been with the Sigma cameras for about 18 months and in that time, SPP went through a major upgrade, but it is not to my liking. Other photographers may do other things with SPP, but I choose to stay with my normal workflow which is LR and PS.

 

[darr]

I want to add that I recently sold a 10x19" (framed 16x25") image made from this cropped composition and it was razor sharp. The DPM cameras are really remarkable with all things considered. They are currently marked down because of the Quattro models appearing, which I am passing on.

Wish I Was There
DP2M, 1/400 sec @ f/8, ISO 100, Handheld​

 

[KeithL]

Had the DP cameras been supported by industry standard software and had excellent low light performance I may well have been using them now. They're not and they haven't so alas I'm not.

 

[ErikKaffehr]

Darlene,

A lovely image, expertly processed!

Best regards
Erik

I want to add that I recently sold a 10x19" (framed 16x25") image made from this cropped composition and it was razor sharp. The DPM cameras are really remarkable with all things considered. They are currently marked down because of the Quattro models appearing, which I am passing on.

Wish I Was There
DP2M, 1/400 sec @ f/8, ISO 100, Handheld​

 

[Chris Giles]

Thanks all. I didin't really think to check the other camera section, I went into small sensor!

I've a DP2 arriving tomorrow. I looked into a way to bypass the software and there's a lot of misleading info out there. Adobe says Camera Raw supports it but appears not to. Some are saying you can use the Raw to DNG converter but that's a no too.

I think I've found the right compact finally.

 

[Jon Warwick]

I'd agree with quite a lot of the above. I had a DP2M and it's a pretty unique camera in terms of the look of the files from such a compact machine. Pixel level sharpness is amazing. No sharpening really required in post. I do find that - for large prints of 30x20 and above - that I much prefer the output of my Leica M240, however, which seems to have more robust and smooth looking output. In large prints, you get more jaggies with the DPM for things like hair strands. I typically used the DPM on a tripod - I found it's clip on viewfinder fairly inadequate, and I dislike holding a camera at arms length. I also struggled with getting skin colors right with the DPM - a greenish tinge was often there out of the camera, which drove me crazy. SPP was also something that drove me away from wanting to use the DPM and towards a more regular CMOS full frame camera.