The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

dp1 and sigma photo pro

smokysun

New member
is it my imagination or does the sigma 2.5 photo pro give a lot more detail and richer color than lightroom 2? it should, saving tif files as 80mb!

wayne
www.pbase.com/wwp
 
Last edited:
D

ddk

Guest
is it my imagination or does the sigma 2.5 photo pro give a lot more detail and richer color than lightroom 2? it should, saving tif files as 80mb!

wayne
www.pbase.com/wwp
I think that photo pro does a better job than LR at converting sigma raw files too but its a bear to use, I hated it. Anyway I don't see why even bother with photo pro when you process the files to this extent.
 

smokysun

New member
this is the first time i've used it (just loaded it myself, after someone else had written the conversion seemed better) usually i download everything with lr 2 and then convert the ones i like to tiff. then i use paint shop pro with plugins. this time i picked a few to convert with the sigma.

as i said, the tiff files huge this way, 80mb, but with a lot of info. i have the psp on a separate 64 bit hard drive so it handles the files fairly fast (4gigs of ram).

yes, the sigma a bear to use. i would suggest simply converting them without processing in the sigma. the reason to do so is the information. i don't really post-process that much, i merely try to pull out all the color and detail i can.

here's an 84% crop from the third picture. maybe that shows what i mean.

wayne
www.pbase.com/wwp
 
Last edited:
D

ddk

Guest
this is the first time i've used it (just loaded it myself, after someone else had written the conversion seemed better) usually i download everything with lr 2 and then convert the ones i like to tiff. then i use paint shop pro with plugins. this time i picked a few to convert with the sigma.

as i said, the tiff files huge this way, 80mb, but with a lot of info. i have the psp on a separate 64 bit hard drive so it handles the files fairly fast (4gigs of ram).

yes, the sigma a bear to use. i would suggest simply converting them without processing in the sigma. the reason to do so is the information. i don't really post-process that much, i merely try to pull out all the color and detail i can.

here's an 84% crop from the third picture. maybe that shows what i mean.

wayne
www.pbase.com/wwp
I don't have my Sigmas anymore and at the time, 2 months ago, photo pro was still the only game in town, and using it was like pulling teeth for me and one of the major reasons for not keeping them. I don't know what settings you're using here but I know that photo pro is very heavy handed with sharpening but this image still looks like it has gone through some kind of post processing, either hdr or some sort of contrast enhancing plug-in.
 

fordfanjpn

Member
I guess my situation is different. I have never been a fan of LR/ACR conversions, and I don't find SPP to be hard to use at all. However, all I use it for is to convert the DP1 raw files to tiff that I then process in CS4. I use Auto in SPP, and it produces a rather flat looking tiff file that retains lots of information in the shadows and highlights. That gives you lots to work with in Photoshop, or whatever PP software you use. To me, the conversions done this way are much better than converting in LR or ACR. IMHO.

Bill
 

mazor

New member
Holy moly, images posted in here all look quite abstract looking! Very nice works, hehe

The images here all look like some sort of HDR have been implemented, hence why the noise levels are so high in the shadow areas, which can be seen easier on the cropped in bus shot.

The HDR technique used looks like some sort do "detail enhancer"

Am i right or wrong?

Mazor
 

Streetshooter

Subscriber Member
Mazor,
Good point and I wouldn't use that for my own work. I am interested in hearing opinions about the Sigma SW. I use LR & CS3 and am happy but there seems to be a movement that finds better results the other way. The HDR stuff is not photographic to me, it looks like acrylic or oil.....Maybe cause I work with many artist...but that's what I see in it.....
shooter
 
D

ddk

Guest
Mazor,
Good point and I wouldn't use that for my own work. I am interested in hearing opinions about the Sigma SW. I use LR & CS3 and am happy but there seems to be a movement that finds better results the other way. The HDR stuff is not photographic to me, it looks like acrylic or oil.....Maybe cause I work with many artist...but that's what I see in it.....
shooter
Photo Pro will give you different looking tiffs than those produced with PS or LR. The images will look sharper and seem to have more resolution and tonality. Sharpness is due to Photo Pro's very heavy handed sharpening algorithms which you can't completely turn off, the tonality is a matter of taste but like any other dedicated the system that I've tried, Sigma's own software will give you a more unique look than generic converters, you have to decide for yourself if you like it or not. It doesn't cost anything just download a copy and give it a whirl!
 

smokysun

New member
interesting observations. i find dedicated (and classical) photographers don't like the hdr look. but the general public (friends, etc) find it more 'real'. irony of ironies. "all art is transformation." yes, i'm increasing the tonal contrast, which i suppose is the equivalent of tone-mapping in hdr. that's after the conversion, perhaps removing some noise (which i did not do in the bus one), warming a bit, and so on. it's simple, but you need a file which provides lots and lots of information.

hope that clarifies a bit.

wayne
www.pbase.com/wwp

ps. here's a re-post of some taken with the digilux 2. of all the pictures i've ever taken these got the most positive responses for emotional impact. and that seems to me what we all ultimately want, however we get it.
 
Last edited:

mazor

New member
thx smokysun for that confirmation. Indeed the RAW files have to hold alot of information!

I find my 5D can do alot more HDR extreme range from a single RAW file when compared to my LX3's RAW files.

What would be good if someone could compare DP1's full HDR tone mapping against the LX3 tone mapping HDR all from RAW files of course ;)

MAzor
 

smokysun

New member
you're very welcome. and that comparison would be interesting for me. the lx3 seems a lot more responsive, better in low-light, etc., but i shot so many with the d-lux 2/lx 1 that i thought "i've done that." the panasonic look would still be the same.

wayne
www.pbase.com/wwp
 

Streetshooter

Subscriber Member
Wayne,

Norman Rockwell would have been a photographer if he met you and saw your images....

It's not just the Americana vision but the sensitivities and sensibilities that the images evoke. It's not my style but I like looking/feeling them.....
There's something about the last image that brings more of you to the front.....Like you were just seeing and not being a photographer....(Love the Bear head in the sky...)

Don
 

mazor

New member
Yes the "Panasonic look" would be pretty similar to the LX1/d-lux 2 but the Lx3/Dlux4 is meant to offer that much more than the previous models in terms of noise at higher ISOs as well as overall dynamic range.

Since the DP1 is supposed to be the king in dynamic range, one would expect it to outclass the LX3 still in these kind of tests right?

Mazor
 

charlesphoto

New member
Smoky sun - cool look, very much like photorealistic paintings of the 70's. I see them as pushing the edge of illustration actually. Works best on certain images and not others though (for me at least). Like the second and last in the fire outlook (?) series. I would tread lightly with the heavy post for everyday images but then use it when apropo and you could have a unique series.
 

Lili

New member
I have to agree with Don about images that are obviously HDR, they tend to leave me Cold.
Wayne, I love these images, you have a unique eye. Always look forward to your new work. The work crew series with the digilux are remarkable. I did a double take about the bear head Don mentioned then saw it.
 

smokysun

New member
thanks, everybody. i agree about these methods working with some kinds of pictures and not others (subject matter). after the mention of the 5d i thought i'd try a couple of its files. here they are. and a 100 % crop.

wayne
www.pbase.com/wwp

ps. conversion done in the canon software. the tiff files 74mb, almost the same as the dp1.
 
Last edited:

mazor

New member
wow, this HDR thing is pretty awesome! The 5d shots have so much dynamic range. Especially the ones with windows looking outside. Lots of grain though, did you not use any form of noise reduction?

MAzor
 
Top