[barondla]

Super. The images from this camera will ruin you for other serious machines. These Sigmas see the world closer to analog than any digital I have seen. In hifi it is like comparing red book CD to SACD. There is just more there. Read the review of the Sigma DP1/2Merrills online by Jonathan Valin of the Absolute Sound.

Make sure you add minimum of three extra batteries ( Wasabi 3 batteries+charger ~$30). The Sigma loves batteries. Makes the Q battery life look amazing.

Other things I think I have learned:
1. The histogram is useless. Usually shoot + .3 - .7 exposure compensation and adjust in SPP.

2. Set meter to center weighted.

3. Make sure you do all the firmware updates for camera and SPP processor. Like the Q, there have been many.

4. Patience with the Sigma and the SPP processing program. Imo the Sigma cameras are laid out near perfectly. Like the Q it is easy to see photographers actually helped in the design. SPP is easy to work but slow. It takes time to load folders. Try to limit folder to 400 or less files.

5. A lens shade is a must on DP1M. I use a rectangle shaped Hama wide hood. Most coverage I have found. Can't use a pola filter though. The hood matches the shape of the camera and looks incredibly good.

6. With the latest SPP update the Sigma is a B&W monster. Stunning for digital.

7. Usually use manual focus if on a tripod.

8. I try to shoot at f5.6 or smaller. This brings corner sharpness closer to center standards. The lens is amazing.

9. Try for ISO 100-200. 100 is least noise. 200 is base ISO and many feel it has greatest dynamic range. In SPP slide all noise settings to left.

First time out with the Sigma my shots were 1-2 steps under exposed because of the matrix metering and useless histogram. The images were still jaw dropping on the computer monitor.

Hope you enjoy the new camera. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
thanks
barondla

[ivoire]

Super images ivoire. You have the Sigma under control.

Here is one with my DP1 Merrill. Garden Of The Gods, Il. USA. The Sigma has no trouble with the many subtle shades of green. Love this camera.

thanks
barondla

Nice one... Garden of the Gods is very unique. Been there 2x and enjoyed it immensely.

This is a very reduced version of 24 images stitched in pshop. the original jpg is 124mb

[pinholecam]

barondla, thanks again.
Very useful tips, that I will keep in mind.

[barondla]

Amazing image ivoire. Have never tried any pano remotely close to 24 frames. That is 1/3 to 1/2 the shots I get on a Sigma battery! You have great skill to take 24 shots without messing a few frames up somehow, and then even more skill to combine them all in post processing.

Did you use a special pano head and adjust the camera to the nodal point, etc?

Yes, Garden Of The Gods is a beautiful place. I need to process some of the rock shots from my last visit. Probably won't be untill the Tour de France is over.
thanks
barondla

[barondla]

Tried the Sigma with an IR filter. My first attempt. This was at Dilliard Mill in Missouri. One of my trips with FF man. He was having a hard time with the fact I took three cameras - all mirrorless ( Sigma DP1Merrill, K-01(yellow), and of course the Q(black).

thanks
barondla

[scratchpaddy]

Woah, cool! Does this mean that the Merrills have a weak/non-existent IR filter? I gotta try this!

About these cameras, I agree with most of the points you laid out above, barondla, but there are a few that aren't true with my camera. Maybe because of the lens?

1. The histogram is useless. Usually shoot + .3 - .7 exposure compensation and adjust in SPP.

I've never had an issue with exposure except in situations that would mess any camera up, like strong backlighting.

9. Try for ISO 100-200. 100 is least noise. 200 is base ISO and many feel it has greatest dynamic range. In SPP slide all noise settings to left.

Is it really true that ISO 200 is base? While ISO 100 images are pretty much perfectly clean (except in deep shadows), grain and even some banding is not hard to spot at 200. I also slide all the noise settings to the left in SPP, but I'm starting to think I should maybe let SPP handle the banding.

Regarding JPEGs: yes, they're bad. They have an odd, smeary look, like they've had some heavy noise reduction applied to them. You certainly won't get the all the sensor's glorious detail out of a JPEG from this camera.

Regarding the lens... well, of course my conclusion is different from yours, because I have a different lens! The 30mm on the DP2M is eye-popping wide open, as the heavily-cropped shot below illustrates. At f/5.6, it's simply unbelievable. Contrast improves, vignetting disappears, and it's sharper than any picture-taking machine I've ever seen before.

Regarding batteries: I'm not sure why, but I consistently get more than 100 shots per charge. On the 4th of July, I got a little less than 100 on one battery, but many of those shots were long exposures, which are murder to any battery. I haven't bought any more batteries to supplement the two Sigma includes with the camera yet, and I haven't regretted it yet. Then again, I haven't been on any vacations with this camera yet...

Speaking of power, I took this on Saturday night. There was a storm off to the east, and I managed to get some lightning while looking out over the power plant across the street from me. How fitting.

DP2M, ISO 100, f/2.8, 6 sec.

[barondla]

Super lightning shot. Not easy to capture. Love the Sigma with time exposures.

The Sigma seems to have a medium strength IR filter. I was constantly bumping aganst the 30 second max shutter speed. Prefer to shoot at f5.6. Some shots had to be raised to ISO to 200 and open aperture to f4. Wish these cameras had a bulb setting! This is one of the sharpest IR shots I have taken.

Most of my Sigma tips were picked up from Dpreview Sigma forum. They advise turning the "matrix" metering off. I had it on when my 1st trip was 1-2 steps under exposed. The shots were so under exposed because the histogram and blinkies kept saying every thing was over exposed and I compensated accordingly. The other forum advises turning the histogram off! Never seen a camera histogram so far off. The DP2Merrill may behave differently. The color balance is different between the two, according to people owning both.

One of the DP forum posters knows a Sigma employee and was told ISO 200 is the base. Some people thank ISO100 exposed properly and worked in post can match ISO200 for dynamic range. Just takes more processing. For sky shots most use 100.

The "28mm" lens is very sharp at f2.8 in the center. The edges aren't as sharp until ~f5.6. This is not as good the "50mm" DP2Merrill. Not surprising since a great normal lens almost always beats a great wide lens. Make no mistake the DP1Merrill takes very sharp images. I am totally happy with it. In the Q forums here, ndjedniak compares the Q, Sigma, and a Ricoh. His post links to his blog about the Sigmas. A must read.

My original battery usage was on a day that never got over 32f. Warmer weather can nudge the Sigma to 70 shots by turning camera off imediately after the shot, no chimping, etc. I use manual focusing on a tripod and this probably takes a longer time and more power. 5 batteries are good for me.

thanks
barondla

[scratchpaddy]

My original battery usage was on a day that never got over 32f. Warmer weather can nudge the Sigma to 70 shots by turning camera off imediately after the shot, no chimping, etc. I use manual focusing on a tripod and this probably takes a longer time and more power. 5 batteries are good for me.

Except for the occasional indoor shot, I've almost never used the Sigma at temperatures below 90°F. The camera gets quite hot. When I took that lightning picture, it was 101°, and that was 10:30 at night. I've used it a few times at temperatures above 110°. Same goes for my K-5. I was reading the manual the other day, and it says the operating temperature is -10 to 104°... oops.

I don't have the patience for chimping with this camera, and I usually have the shot in mind before it comes out. I just turn it on, take the shot, hit the power button and stick it back in the pouch while it's laboriously working through the file I just took.

[barondla]

Bought my Sigma when they had that special last Nov. So last week was the first time it reached 90 here. Haven't had a chance to test it yet. Also haven't made a big enlargement yet. Gotta work on that.
thanks
barondla

[ivoire]

Amazing image ivoire. Have never tried any pano remotely close to 24 frames. That is 1/3 to 1/2 the shots I get on a Sigma battery! You have great skill to take 24 shots without messing a few frames up somehow, and then even more skill to combine them all in post processing.

Did you use a special pano head and adjust the camera to the nodal point, etc?

I used the camera mounted on the tamrac zipshot tripod with 2 second timer. I usually do an overlap of half of the previous frame (by guestimate). I average 180 shots per battery. I have 5, but never exceeded 2 on an outing. Sorting thru 180 to 250 pics in the sigma software takes a lot of patience.

zipshot on youtube:

You Tube

You Tube

[ivoire]

Woah, cool! Does this mean that the Merrills have a weak/non-existent IR filter? I gotta try this!

About these cameras, I agree with most of the points you laid out above, barondla, but there are a few that aren't true with my camera. Maybe because of the lens?



I've never had an issue with exposure except in situations that would mess any camera up, like strong backlighting.



Is it really true that ISO 200 is base? While ISO 100 images are pretty much perfectly clean (except in deep shadows), grain and even some banding is not hard to spot at 200. I also slide all the noise settings to the left in SPP, but I'm starting to think I should maybe let SPP handle the banding.

Regarding JPEGs: yes, they're bad. They have an odd, smeary look, like they've had some heavy noise reduction applied to them. You certainly won't get the all the sensor's glorious detail out of a JPEG from this camera.

Regarding the lens... well, of course my conclusion is different from yours, because I have a different lens! The 30mm on the DP2M is eye-popping wide open, as the heavily-cropped shot below illustrates. At f/5.6, it's simply unbelievable. Contrast improves, vignetting disappears, and it's sharper than any picture-taking machine I've ever seen before.

Regarding batteries: I'm not sure why, but I consistently get more than 100 shots per charge. On the 4th of July, I got a little less than 100 on one battery, but many of those shots were long exposures, which are murder to any battery. I haven't bought any more batteries to supplement the two Sigma includes with the camera yet, and I haven't regretted it yet. Then again, I haven't been on any vacations with this camera yet...

Speaking of power, I took this on Saturday night. There was a storm off to the east, and I managed to get some lightning while looking out over the power plant across the street from me. How fitting.

DP2M, ISO 100, f/2.8, 6 sec.

Love this one!

[ivoire]

Tried the Sigma with an IR filter. My first attempt. This was at Dilliard Mill in Missouri. One of my trips with FF man. He was having a hard time with the fact I took three cameras - all mirrorless ( Sigma DP1Merrill, K-01(yellow), and of course the Q(black).

thanks
barondla

Great shot! I hadn't thought about using it for IR

One with the Sigma DP2 and closeup lens

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9264738811/]bee crop[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[scratchpaddy]

One with the Sigma DP2 and closeup lens

Nice! I've been waiting for bvg or MediumFormatPro to stick a macro lens on their cameras and show us some pictures, but I don't think bvg has any macro yet, and MediumFormatPro was banned for spamming the forum with three-year-old articles about the K-5's initial sensor stain issue. I never saw any pictures from that guy, anyway.

I've been very impressed with the DP2M at its minimum focusing distance, which really isn't that close. It somehow picks up details that a Bayer'd camera is completely blind to. I never thought of using a close-up lens. But just imagine, that lovely 105mm macro on an SD1...

Speaking of the SD1, I've read that the IR filter is just screwed in between the lens an the mirror. All you have to do is unscrew it, and hey presto!, you have an IR camera. No risky $500 surgery necessary.



If I ever "jumped ship" from Pentax, it wouldn't be to Canon, or Nikon, or even Fuji. It would be to Sigma. My favorite lens of all time is a Sigma, anyway. They're coming out with so many awesome lenses... hey, I just realized something. All these fast lenses they've done, like the 24mm f/1.8, 30mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, and that crazy new 18-35mm f/1.8: maybe it's because their own camera is so dismal at low-light performance?

[ivoire]

Nice! I've been waiting for bvg or MediumFormatPro to stick a macro lens on their cameras and show us some pictures, but I don't think bvg has any macro yet, and MediumFormatPro was banned for spamming the forum with three-year-old articles about the K-5's initial sensor stain issue. I never saw any pictures from that guy, anyway.

I've been very impressed with the DP2M at its minimum focusing distance, which really isn't that close. It somehow picks up details that a Bayer'd camera is completely blind to. I never thought of using a close-up lens. But just imagine, that lovely 105mm macro on an SD1...

Speaking of the SD1, I've read that the IR filter is just screwed in between the lens an the mirror. All you have to do is unscrew it, and hey presto!, you have an IR camera. No risky $500 surgery necessary.



If I ever "jumped ship" from Pentax, it wouldn't be to Canon, or Nikon, or even Fuji. It would be to Sigma. My favorite lens of all time is a Sigma, anyway. They're coming out with so many awesome lenses... hey, I just realized something. All these fast lenses they've done, like the 24mm f/1.8, 30mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, and that crazy new 18-35mm f/1.8: maybe it's because their own camera is so dismal at low-light performance?

I sold my Pentax gear and switched to M4/3 for the size reduction and lens selection. But ever since the DP2 arrived all cameras are gathering dust

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9264780953/]bales[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[IMG] [/IMG]

and vertical pano

[IMG] [/IMG]

and a few from a trip to Traverse City MI

[IMG] [/IMG]

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9270756778/]tied off[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9267992337/]stone steps[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9268006935/]sky light[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9268017117/]park lighthouse[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9270819864/]light house[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9270833750/]low wire walker[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9268060193/]growth[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9267005123/]two with dew[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[/url] [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/donscreation/9264612007/]down the road 2[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/donscreation/]2Deye[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[panoguy]

tied off by 2Deye, on Flickr

That's what I'm talking about.
With the right processing, the Sigma Foveon images just look like film, in the good way. Highlights are kept, shadows are dark, and color is found in every last detail... no mushiness!!