Sigma and Foveon resource (usage tips) and information thread.

Keith said:
It looks pretty good for the price IMO and probably worth a try ... if it doesn't work out I'll give you fifty dollars for it! :D

Composing with an LCD on a camera with this focal length is a recipe for disaster in poor light IMO and I use an accessory viewfinder so I can brace the camera against my head in situations where hand held is the only option. The finder I use is one of the old variable Leitz type that has parralax adjustment so I can get the framing extremely accurate with practise.

I have the overpowering desire to get out and use the DP3M today and it's raining cats and dogs! :p
Click to expand...

I would tend to agree that a camera w/o any stabilization, the longer the focal length, u need to either use a ovf to create a better three point hold or maybe even something like a hoodman... I think Jon was going to investigate this. I tend to go ovf approach just because it is smaller, but a hoodman can also provide a more accurate picture plus the three point brace. When u add the extra weight from a grip setup like rrs, it all helps.

I think the dp2m is the longest les u can get away w/ using the LCD handheld.

I tend to go a min. Of 2x the efov for the shutter speed. Since the efov in this case is a 75.. That would mean min. Of 150th. So I would use 250 as much as possible until I was forced down to 125th or 60th.

Gary
 
GaryLH said:
I would tend to agree that a camera w/o any stabilization, the longer the focal length, u need to either use a ovf to create a better three point hold or maybe even something like a hoodman... I think Jon was going to investigate this. I tend to go ovf approach just because it is smaller, but a hoodman can also provide a more accurate picture plus the three point brace. When u add the extra weight from a grip setup like rrs, it all helps.

I think the dp2m is the longest les u can get away w/ using the LCD handheld.

I tend to go a min. Of 2x the efov for the shutter speed. Since the efov in this case is a 75.. That would mean min. Of 150th. So I would use 250 as much as possible until I was forced down to 125th or 60th.

Gary
Click to expand...


I find that provided I can find something to lean on I'm fine ... standing and swaying is the danger because you don't even realise you're doing it! :p

I've had decent results from my D700 down to 1/8 sec.
 
When I was shooting night shots and iso 800 was max I had, it was pretty common to be wide open and shooting at 1/4 or 1/8.

I tend to look for light post or sign post or anything else that was anchored to the ground.. But normally would tend to place it against that object instead of leaning my body against that object.

Gary
 
I did some very interesting tests with the DP3M this afternoon. I was curious to see just how much detail this little camera can resolve in ideal conditions ... ie on a tripod at ISO 100 focused on objects around twenty kilometers away. (Brisbane city high rise)

The eye opener for me was how soft the lens is at f11 and f16 ... detail just disappears at f16 and is not a lot better at f11. It really starts to improve dramatically at f8 and appears to be sharpest at f3.5 and f5.6 ... I'll post some samples later.

Those two apertures are seriously not worth using if you're shooting landscapes from a tripod.
 
Keith said:
I did some very interesting tests with the DP3M this afternoon. I was curious to see just how much detail this little camera can resolve in ideal conditions ... ie on a tripod at ISO 100 focused on objects around twenty kilometers away. (Brisbane city high rise)

The eye opener for me was how soft the lens is at f11 and f16 ... detail just disappears at f16 and is not a lot better at f11. It really starts to improve dramatically at f8 and appears to be sharpest at f3.5 and f5.6 ... I'll post some samples later.

Those two apertures are seriously not worth using if you're shooting landscapes from a tripod.
Click to expand...

good to know, i wouldn't have imagined that it's noticeably worse at f11. i'm aware of diffraction at smaller apertures but f11 doesn't seem that small when you're shooting landscapes.
 
Eric T said:
The SD1m isn't bad at f/11. This was taken at ISO 100 at 18mm (using 18-250mm lens).
The site is Cedar Key, Florida, last Saturday night.
Click to expand...


I hate to seem picky Eric but that image is so big it's totally unviewable! :p
 
holy geeez that pic above blows this whole page out of proportions!! how is it even possible :confused:

anyways, some tips about working with SPP as raw pre-processor and in conjunction with LR. doing batch edits can become handy. link.

to apply automatic lens corrections in Adobe ACR/LR to TIFF's exported from SPP: link.

a Raw-specific lens profile can be "kludged" so as to be perfectly usable with TIFF, JPG etc - which is far better than nothing.

The way to do this is to make a duplicate copy of the profile (.lcp) concerned - changing its filename slightly to suit. Then in a text editor, in this copy, change the line which refers to "CameraRawProfile" from True to False. That's it!
Click to expand...

tried it with ACR and worked nice!
 
Can anyone provide any advice about ring flashes, or indeed any flash set-up when using the DP3M for macro type work - mainly outside, e.g. flowers and insects.

LouisB
 
I have to say I'm pretty un-impressed with the CV 75mm finder ... it's not accurate at all from left to right. Centre something in the finder and it's nowhere near centre in reality ... the fifty year old Leitz variable finder I've been using up until now is totally accurate in comparison.

I'll probably do some sort of adjustment to the mounting plate of the CV with a file to get it in line but that is pretty slack IMO.
 
As a folllow up to my previous post I realigned the 75mm finder today with a file and a lot of patience. I re-angled the front where it pushes up against the end of the hot shoe and angled the corresponding area at the rear to allow the whole thing to twist a degree or two then put a little packing in to keep it in place. It's important for these things to be fairly precise because when looking through the finder you're assuming the position of the focusing square and if the finder isn't right you're going to have a lot of trouble getting correct focus. Optically it's a great finder but obviously not enough care is taken with alignment .. at $140.00 I would have expected better from Cosina.
 
nothing earthshattering but i recently got the voigtlander 40mm optical viewfinder and it works very well on the dp2m. i wear glasses which causes my eye to be a little behind the viewfinder, which ends up giving very close to exact framing compared to the LCD. as others have mentioned it's nice having the confirmation light on top.

still waiting for the dp3m to drop in price in the US, i'm frankly astounded that it hasn't by now. and while i thought the price drops for the dp1m and dp2m were permanent (thought i read that somewhere), they're back up to original retail price.
 
thanks for the added info Gary.
Has anyone tried Iridient Developer yet?
I actually don't mind the slowness of SPP, I am so happy with the images and the b&w conversion that there's not much for me to do in LR. I find myself more intentional with my DP2M anyway. I merely consider it as a faster process compared to film developing and have rarely considered my film cameras since getting it.
 
Got the DP1m now a month and can't make up my mind. I get fabulous photo's and terrible ones at the same outing. Glorious colours and horrible ones in the same light. Great skin tones and blotchy red ones in the same settings. Can't get grip on it yet.

Could it be the lightmeter? When looking at the exif I see 1s&f8 at iso400 and 1s&f8 at iso 800 right after each other when I was testing the iso "look". Shouldn't be right.

Problem is, should I get a DP2 or DP3 while it lasts? :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top