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Hiromichi Nakano

Don Ellis

Member


Click on the image to see the full-size photo -- unsharpened.

Amazing how I can mess up the simplest thing… I had planned on testing the focusing ability of the VF-21 (meaning focusing blind, without looking at the LCD viewfinder). And I had planned on doing that at f/2.8.

But I forgot that last night I switched the camera to P mode just to see the results and I didn't set it back today. So this isn't the f/2.8 I was planning on… still it came out rather well.

I focused on Hiro through the VF-21 and then reframed. This technique obviously works well. (I leave the focus point in the centre so I don't have to wonder where I last set it... or forget that I used one of the other eight focusing points and mess up my shots.)

Sigma DP2, P mode, ISO100, 1/160s, f/5, -1/3 exposure compensation.

This was very bright sunlight and while I would normally crop it to get rid of the sky, I wanted you to see that it's retained a lovely blue while dealing with all the other dynamic range challenges in the foreground, including jungle shadow and white arms. The closest leaves are about six inches behind him. I'm quite happy.

Don
 
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Don Ellis

Member
Don,
Sigma should pay you for this! I'm nearly sold....
paul
That's a lovely idea... now I just need to get Sigma to sign up for the programme. :p

Here's one more... again, nothing special, but just very quick experiment. And again, that P mode that I never use... until now. The DP2 decided this shot should be ISO100, 1/125s, f/5.0.

Click on the image for a larger image -- not full-size because I had to straighten it just to maintain some sort of dignity...



Don
 

bbodine9

Member
Don,

What was your distance from Hiro and you were using the VF21 to compose with I assume? The camera seems to do a nice job in P mode by the way. I am just starting to use the DP1 myself and have not tried P mode yet.
 

Tim

Active member
Is this jpg out of cam or did you use raw?
This is a very good question. Would one of you very kind DP2 users please, please post an in camera full size jpg for us to examine? - no editing.

I am curious to how they compare to the RAWs. :confused:

Many thanks, kind DP2 users!! :eek: :salute:
 

fordfanjpn

Member
This is a very good question. Would one of you very kind DP2 users please, please post an in camera full size jpg for us to examine? - no editing.

I am curious to how they compare to the RAWs. :confused:

Many thanks, kind DP2 users!! :eek: :salute:
For some reason I have never once shot either the DP1 or the DP2 in jpeg mode. While I'm out running errands at lunchtime today, I'll shoot something (or somebody) in both jpeg and raw mode and see how the files compare. I'm kind of curious myself.

Bill
 

Don Ellis

Member
Don,

What was your distance from Hiro and you were using the VF21 to compose with I assume? The camera seems to do a nice job in P mode by the way. I am just starting to use the DP1 myself and have not tried P mode yet.
From memory, I would guess I was about four feet away in the first shot and perhaps six feet away in the second... but I wasn't paying a lot of attention.

P mode has been doing a pretty nice job. I always used P mode with the G-series cameras, because Aperture Priority made little difference. That's no longer the case, so I've been using Aperture Priority set at f/2.8... just for the thrill of it. :p

One of these days, when I'm a little less excited, I'll start experimenting with other apertures and with P mode.

Don
 

Don Ellis

Member
Is this jpg out of cam or did you use raw?
I've only ever used RAW with my compact cameras -- and every one I've owned has shot RAW. Although there have been a few times when I've knocked the dial into Auto, which only produces JPGs on some of the cameras.

I see Bill has volunteered to shoot both and I'll try the same.

Don
 

Don Ellis

Member
Don and Bill,

Here is a link to a software package that will extract the full sized jpg out of the RAW, so you don't have to shoot both modes:

http://dp1jpeg.susieqfoundation.org/
Jim
Thanks for the thought, Jim. I see that they specifically mention DP1 and SD14, but no mention of DP2.

I think that in SSP 3.5, you can simply select the files you want, right-click (on a PC) and choose "Convert to JPEG file." Now whether that gives you what you would shoot if you shot JPG from the camera, I don't know.

Don
 

Kofronj

New member
Don,

I ran a few of my DP2 photos through the software, and it works fine for those. It's really handy if you want to extract a bunch of JPG's out of the RAW.

Jim
 

Don Ellis

Member
Don,
I ran a few of my DP2 photos through the software, and it works fine for those. It's really handy if you want to extract a bunch of JPG's out of the RAW.
Jim
Hi Jim... thanks for the clarification, although, since SSP 3.5 spits out JPGs from the X3F RAW files amazingly fast, I don't think I'll be installing a separate program to do the same thing.

And judging by my morning's tests of three subjects, the JPGs you get from RAW files are not the JPGs you get when you're shooting JPGs.

Don
 

Kofronj

New member
Hi Don,

You know, I've never tested the RAW cooked JPGs versus the camera setting jpgs. I've also never heard SPP and "amazingly fast" used in the same sentence, at least without a "not" inbetween... :)

I don't have a 'convert to JPG' option in the Mac version of the software---just the Save As..., where you can decide to use the X3F settings (normally 0), Auto, or a saved setting of your liking.

Enjoy your camera! I'm enjoying your bear shots...

Jim
 

Don Ellis

Member
Hi Don,

You know, I've never tested the RAW cooked JPGs versus the camera setting jpgs. I've also never heard SPP and "amazingly fast" used in the same sentence, at least without a "not" inbetween... :)
Hi Jim... funny. :D ... but it is amazingly fast. Not quite instantaneous, but not bad.

I don't have a 'convert to JPG' option in the Mac version of the software---just the Save As..., where you can decide to use the X3F settings (normally 0), Auto, or a saved setting of your liking.
One of the reasons I don't get too dogmatic in my comments is that we never know what computer someone else is using... or the age of the computer. I just upgraded my four-year-old PC to a Quad Core Intel something-or-other and I'm amazed by the speed increase, for example. But if someone said "fast" about my old machine, I would have been scoffing, as well.

Enjoy your camera! I'm enjoying your bear shots...
Jim
Thank you. I stuffed him in my camera bag... I'll see if I can take a few more, although I see rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Maybe he needs a little umbrella hat and some tiny Wellingtons.

Cheers,
Don
 

LCT

Member
There is really something special in that Foveon sensor. No AA filter i guess. I wonder why so many Sigma pics look oversharpened though, but it's just me perhaps. Any focusing tests at wide aperture?
 

Don Ellis

Member
There is really something special in that Foveon sensor. No AA filter i guess. I wonder why so many Sigma pics look oversharpened though, but it's just me perhaps. Any focusing tests at wide aperture?
I sharpened this bear to taste (mine), both the small and larger sizes... but I often leave my larger images unsharpened. I usually mention in the image statistics whether the image is unsharpened.

I haven't done any tests, but I have been shooting a lot of things in Aperture Priority at f/2.8, just because it's so novel at the moment.

Don
 

LCT

Member
Thank you Don. Aside from a bit of blue cast i like the color rendition indeed. Needs a bit of sharpening effectively, more so than the M8 at first glance. Otherwise the sharpness at f/2.8 is quite good and bokeh looks quite smooth as well. Not sure if i'd get better results with a R-D1 or 5D with Leica lenses.
 
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