Initial impressions Sigma dp2m

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Well, it looks like I finally get home on Saturday. That means a trip to either b&h or adorama (if open) to get the dp2 Merrill. Excited.
 
Ok, my initial impressions (which could be totally wrong) based on a "roll of film" (36 exposures) I made today.

Dynamic range appears to dwindle quickly as ISO goes up. Quicker than any of my other cameras. I only went as high as ISO 800.

Converted B&W files look really good.

Sometimes it is too sharp... minute details get funky in small photos, they look great at 100%.

SPP sucks. Just too minimal for my taste. TIFF it will be for me.

Not a camera for chimpers due to long write times (which I happen to be when I'm doing still life).

Wow, the battery dies quick!

AF is better than I expected... but I wasn't expecting much.
 
Think of one battery equals a 72 shot roll before u go out shooting and then bring an extra one just in case. I am averaging around 96 shots per charge. A little longer if I don't chimp.. I current leave LCD on always and have a ovf for times I need to hold it more stead for shot.

Yep basically a 100-400 iso camera. At 100 to 200 I am not sure there would be very many cameras that can beat it.

Now u know why the monochrome thread was stared :D

Gary
 
I may need to buy a third battery... since I like chimping. I do see that this camera will be worth the hassle though. Too bad it is now winter and it is dark when I leave for work and dark when I come home. I had to photograph during lunch today just to use the camera.
 
I'm back. It was pea soup weather most of the time, not really great for shooting, but some images from that time are almost as satisfying as the vacation itself.

Glad to see the interest is continuing/growing.

A very strange thing: MF allows focusing past infinity. What is the point of this "feature"?

I was using a CV minifinder, so it is great to come back home and find the VF-21 waiting for me. Very compact size, and as a backpacker I really appreciate the potential dual use as a magnifier emergency fire starter!

I'll post some photos to the image threads after I get back on top of work.
 
noimmunity said:
I experimented with deliberately using high ISO to capture the mood. Will play around with it this weekend and report back if anything passes muster.
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I found too much banding at high ISOs... but I was also using it in situations that were rough for its limited dynamic range at high ISOs. I'm thinking this is a sunny day camera for me (like my leica) and I'll use my Fuji for high ISO.
 
jsrockit said:
I found too much banding at high ISOs... but I was also using it in situations that were rough for its limited dynamic range at high ISOs. I'm thinking this is a sunny day camera for me (like my leica) and I'll use my Fuji for high ISO.
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Yep... Sunny days or put it on a tripod and set it for timer releaee. Iso 400 is the max for normal color work.

Gary
 
GaryLH said:
Iso 400 is the max for normal color work.
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I never thought I'd use a camera that had worse high ISO than my Leica M8, but the Sigma does. I hope it pays off in the low ISO range (like Leica does) eventually. Looks like good weather in NYC this weekend, so I'll use the Sigma for extensive amounts of time finally.
 
jsrockit said:
I never thought I'd use a camera that had worse high ISO than my Leica M8, but the Sigma does.
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Hahaha! Know whatcha mean!

Just got some new batteries rated at 1500mAh. Charged the first one up and used it for an incredible-by-DP2M-standards 270 shots -- and I did a lot of focusing and refocusing, chimping, the whole deal. Wow!
 
noimmunity said:
Hahaha! Know whatcha mean!

Just got some new batteries rated at 1500mAh. Charged the first one up and used it for an incredible-by-DP2M-standards 270 shots -- and I did a lot of focusing and refocusing, chimping, the whole deal. Wow!
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Which battery? I'd like to buy one.

More initial impressions. This camera can be too sharp... especially in very contrasty scenes. Also, the dynamic range feels worse than all of my other cameras (fuji X series and Leica M8). You really have to be careful with this camera in order to get the best out of it. Meter seems very sensitive too. Haven't figured out the best metering mode.
 
jsrockit said:
Also, the dynamic range feels worse than all of my other cameras (fuji X series and Leica M8). You really have to be careful with this camera in order to get the best out of it. Meter seems very sensitive too. Haven't figured out the best metering mode.
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I have been using the exposure compensation more on this camera then any other to dial in the exposure better. Sometimes I use matrix eval other times I have had to go to spot. Have not tried average yet. But once I get the raw converted, my standard tools in aperture so far have been good enough in most cases to get the picture where I want it.

Gary
 
Yeah Gary, I suppose it is me just having to learn the camera. It was my first real day out with the camera. Also, I may have to do a hybrid SPP / Lightroom pp workflow. I've been just converting as is in SPP and doing everything in LR. Perhaps it would be beneficial to spend a little time in SPP and then export to Tiff.

For those who are exporting to TIFF to work in another raw processor, what are your export settings?
 
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