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Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

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New member
@Oliver
Yes the software does some automatic changes. always...
some say that what you see first is the embedded jpg (which has gone thru the jpg engine and isnt what the raw looks like) and after that there is the raw which looks "different"

in my opinion spp is applying some kind of range enhancement, which isnt really nice.

and remember: what you see in spp is NOT exactly what you get in the file. Especially the dark parts can look really bad in spp and are better in the saved "developed" image.
 

Charles2

Active member
...SPP processing, all to zero, whatever the mode (neutral, std, portrait, ...), even with contrast & sharpening to minimum, give a too digital look, hard tones, that is not there when the picture is displayed at the very beginning...
Yes, the image you see for a second or so is the embedded JPG. The main SPP window (not the window for the single image) has a menu choice to save the JPG.

With Sharpening at -1.0, Chroma noise reduction at the left and Luminance NR at the second from left spot, I get plenty of detail but not that plastic Bayer look.

You can leave a little highlight clipping in the less important parts of an image in SPP, export a TIF file, and feed that into Raw Therapee, for example. A slight reduction of exposure in RT - typically as little as -0.05 - will cure the clipping.
 

Jim DE

New member
Charles2, I just set up a still life and PP in SPP then C1P7 (next to nothing in C1 actually was needed) using your suggested settings and the ones I have been using. The image processed with your setting looks far better (detailed) than what I had. Thanks a lot for the heads up. I have been using Sony gear so long the idea of turning down noise reduction to minus setting never even crossed my mind. ;)

Thanks for the heads up..... those settings are saved.

Kirk I have tried "AWB" and "individual WB settings" and so far (Have only had it for a short time) have not had an issue with either way. WB is one of the first things I check going in on a RAW conversion so changing it is never a issue if needed. I am still shifting back and forth from neutral to standard as well as I have not fully decided which I am liking better.... seems to change from image to image but it is very easily changed in SPP either way.
 

Charles2

Active member
Think it is too sharp? Print!

Another point about sharp resolution: looking at the image on the monitor may be too much resolution for your taste. When you print, the Foveon realism will be there but the over-sharpness will not.

I usually use Neutral color mode, but sometimes Portrait is nice even whe the scene is not a portrait, provided I reduce Saturation to -0.2.
 

OliverM

Member
Thanks for your points.
I get MUCH better results while playing with the different tools :
- reduce the apparent contrast with exposure/shadows/fill light
- contrast reduced to -0,1
- AWB
- portrait colors for portraits
- some more corrections in Lightroom.
I still think more is les and would like a true neutral mode, but at least when working more on SPP I can get very decent portraits, on top of the excellent landscapes.
 

OliverM

Member
Oh, forgot to mention : also applied the NR reduction as you indicated, I didn't thinkk it would influence in a such positive way !
 

The Ute

Well-known member
Another newbie here.

Do any of you have trouble using the LCD screen in bright sunlight ?

If so, what is/are your solutions.

I often shoot with th Sun at my back.

Thanks
 

Jim DE

New member
1832 railroad ticket booth in Old New Castle Delaware.... it was one very friggin cold day yesterday out there due to a windchill of 5 degrees....... I did not linger long out there ... ;)



Charles2 this was post processed in SPP with those new settings you posted. I shot it in neutral but changed it to standard in SPP... just seemed to like the warmer tone better..... maybe it was because I was still frozen and not fully thawed...;)

Something is odd when posted here from photobucket with the whites... did not look that way on my desktop... it needs some finesse yet.....
 

mezzoduomo

New member
Another newbie here.

Do any of you have trouble using the LCD screen in bright sunlight ?

If so, what is/are your solutions.

I often shoot with th Sun at my back.

Thanks
I believe everyone has this problem. The solution for me is a viewfinder for the Sigma, & the Sony NEX.
 

The Ute

Well-known member
Thanks to the 2 of you for your suggestions.

Only problem with the Viewfinder is that you do not know where your focus point actually is w/o referring back to the LCD screen.

It's a shame that Sigma does not make a hotshoe mountable EVF like some of the other manufacturers.

That would be a huge improvement IMO.

All that said I still love using and working with this little miracle of a camera.

The image quality makes it worth the extra trouble.
 

mezzoduomo

New member
Thanks to the 2 of you for your suggestions.

Only problem with the Viewfinder is that you do not know where your focus point actually is w/o referring back to the LCD screen.

It's a shame that Sigma does not make a hotshoe mountable EVF like some of the other manufacturers.

That would be a huge improvement IMO.

All that said I still love using and working with this little miracle of a camera.

The image quality makes it worth the extra trouble.
You are right, of course. I have started to trust that the central focus point is reasonably close to the center of the frame in the viewfinder, and so far....so good!
 

The Ute

Well-known member
I think that works in some instances but not all.

I am working on some other solutions although that may be my fall back option.

It is good to hear people's experiences with a variety of answers.

thanks.
 

mordicai

New member
You are right, of course. I have started to trust that the central focus point is reasonably close to the center of the frame in the viewfinder, and so far....so good!
+1 for me. I do the same-viewfinder plus center for focus. Works fine for me. The LCD drove me crazy in bright sun
 
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