[ivoire]

Very nice detail. I used the K5 money for a 6 week trip to india

[pinholecam]

No- K-5?.. I love the DP2 and suspect I'd like the SD1 Merrill, but this is shot an a minimum speed, 0f 1/250 second, I had to go to 800 ISO to get that, and often I have to go to 1600 or even 3200 ISO. That's something I'm not going to give up, it's a clean image, no noise reduction and very sharp, looks way better big than it does at this size. I heard 800 ISO on a Foveon is pretty messy. And no legacy 400 mm glass for cheap either.

I'm under the impression that the SD1m can take a few makes of lenses via adapters.
You might want to search on that a bit.

I was never convinced by the SD1 and SD1m images compared to the ones from the DPxm series.
Maybe its because the lenses are not as well matched to the sensor since its an interchangeable mount?

[bvg]

Any chance you could post an image or two to illustrate your point?

I am not sure I am skillful enough to conduct a really scientific investigation. My feeling is based on cumulative expression from pictures of 12bit and 14bit (I considered 12bit cameras as a cheaper and more compact alternative). Just indicative, similar objects are shot under similar conditions by k-5 (with flash):


Untitled
by vld_bzh, on Flickr

heres a K-01 shot and K-5

I suggest the first one is K-5.

Generally, 14bit camera has more subtles than 12bit camera, but PP, computer monitor, technical features of sensors complicate the problem.

[pinholecam]

Shinjuku again.
Its such a big place, I'm certainly only skimming the surface here.



I made the very stupid mistake of not trying to fit the Ricoh 21mm converter for the GR (same 49mm thread) onto the DP1m.
This could easily be done there in the camera shops in Tokyo and its cheaper there anyway.
Now, I'm left with that 'what if' doubt in my mind that it might have worked well enough.

On the bright side, a Pentaxian friend has it and I'll probably try it out next time we meet (usual during one of the monthly Pentaxian outings)

[ivoire]

Big and busy.... I've been wondering about that adapter. Let us know how it works out

[normhead]

The Barry's Bay water tower....
a typical small town project, the locomotive turnaround is gone, the caboose is a ready to be written off, it's an eyesore, no tracks or context to give people a context for what this was used for, they must have had a grant to develop it and then didn't have the money to keep it up. What they did use money on was a sidewalk with completely "out of context" lamp posts. It's odd that so many of these things are done with no concept of what the photographs will look like. Anyway, we did our best...

[panoguy]

It's odd that so many of these things are done with no concept of what the photographs will look like. Anyway, we did our best...

Yes, that happens a lot when "preservation" is being funded but not explained...

I love that "trackcycle" idea, BTW. Must've been quite the workout to get anywhere! Glad you're enjoying the DP2M.

[scratchpaddy]

That's a lot of rust, Norm! Such a shame...

I don't think we'll get anywhere with that 12 vs. 14-bit debate. The way the Sigmas render pictures is so far different than the K-5 that it would be impossible to tell how that extra 2 bits factor in.

I'm under the impression that the SD1m can take a few makes of lenses via adapters.
You might want to search on that a bit.

I was never convinced by the SD1 and SD1m images compared to the ones from the DPxm series.
Maybe its because the lenses are not as well matched to the sensor since its an interchangeable mount?

The DP cameras probably give you the most technically perfect images you could possibly achieve with the Foveon sensor, but you have to sacrifice some flexibility and creative freedom to achieve that. The two biggest reasons I got the SD1M were wide lenses, and old lenses.

I finally got an M42-SA adapter in the mail yesterday. It wasn't cheap, but it works well. It was the only one I could find with the flange in the back to catch the aperture pin on auto lenses. Otherwise, the pin would scrape the dust guard. Not good. Since Sigma's register distance is 1.5mm shorter than Pentax, you can use adapters with a flange between the lens and the body and still get infinity focus. It's so much easier than the Pentax ones that have to fit completely inside the mount to work properly.

The list of lenses I can use with the SD1 just got a whole lot bigger.

Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm f/3.5:


Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4 (@f/2):


Takumar again:


You'd think it would be a waste with some of the softer lenses, but the difference goes beyond resolution. Pictures just don't look quite the same as on the K-5, even with that Takumar wide open, when it's quite soft. Whether the different look is better or not is a matter of opinion, and probably depends on the lens. I'll have to dig in to my Soviet collection next.

[ivoire]

normhead..... I like the rail cycle and the steam tractor the best. City councils usually decide on "improvements" ie death by committee

scratchpaddy.... i'm looking into a K01 or Nex5N for use with my left-over manual lenses. Need a decent and inexpensive low light body

A local carnival was setting up for the weekend

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[IMG]
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[scratchpaddy]

Nice ducks! Did you win one for me?

i'm looking into a K01 or Nex5N for use with my left-over manual lenses. Need a decent and inexpensive low light body

That's what a lot of sensible people have done. I don't have much cents, but I do have few quarters.



(50mm macro @ f/11)

[barondla]

Normhead, your rail cycle image is awesome

Love the duck shot ivoire. So colorful.

Pinholecam, your cityscape is impressive. So alive. After your conversion lens comment, I am thinking about 19mm on my DP1Merrill. Arghhh. It could work. Aren't the Ricohs 28mm equivalent lenses? Now that I think about it, the guy that got me into the Sigma also has this Ricoh. Will find out if he has the 19mm adapter.

scratchpaddy, you have some sharp cents! The SD1 is looking good. Anyway to adapt K to Sigma? A K-01 with Foveon sensor would be a have to add it to the bag camera for me.
thanks
barondla

[scratchpaddy]

Anyway to adapt K to Sigma? A K-01 with Foveon sensor would be a have to add it to the bag camera for me.

Not any good ways, no. Sigma uses the same bayonet as the K, but it's an electronic mount, a copy of Canon's. The camera's guts are right behind the mount, and there's no room for the aperture lever that sticks out the back of K-mount lenses. You could neuter the lens, and it would fit, but that's no way to treat a lens!

Sigma makes all the modern glass I'd ever want. For old glass, I'm happy to stick with M42, which works much the same as it does on Pentax bodies, but without shake reduction.

Helios-44 (old 13-blade version) @f/2 during some rare rainfall yesterday:

[normhead]

Taken from the lookout off of Hwy 60, between Barry's Bay and Whitney, stitched in Hugin



And a pixel peeper of the beach, the boats in the water and docks sticking out from the beach display clarity I doubt you can match with a bayer image.

[pinholecam]

Kamakura is often called 'Little Kyoto', its certainly a nice place for a day trip out of Tokyo or for a 1-2day trip in itself.
I chose to go here since I did not want to hassle with the longer trip to Kyoto, also potentially avoiding the tourists.





These 2 were exposure blended from 3 exposures each, since I was totally clueless about the practical dynamic range of the DP1m (just a few days old to me at that time).
It can be quite taxing on memory space as well as battery life.
The camera operates pretty good to me, don't think I found it lacking in buttons nor was there much menu diggng.
Now that I know that it pushes shadows poorly but recovers highlights pretty well, I've got to try shooting it differently from my K30.

[normhead]

Very cool, one thing I noticed with this camera is the images are so sharp, the images at reduced size often have artifacts that the image at full size don't have...You actually have to pixel peep to understand how good the camera really is.