fed up with the SD14 and its finicky low light autofocusing

I was shooting +EV way back when, years ago with the SD9 also and
that took care of all the yellow skin and noise. By the time the SD10
came out they finally fixed all the SD9 problems. It will probably be
the same with the SD14.

Fill the histogram I used to say, and I used to drum it in over and
over and over so I know what you mean.

One issue with shooting +.7 ev at iso 800 is its almost like shooting
ISO400 at +0 EV so why not shoot a little faster lens and at ISO 400
in that case.
Personally I like to use centera area metering on the SD14; the matrix metering just seems to give me underexposures, since I do so much work with skies (outdoors, landscapes) I had my exposure techniques pretty much down pat with the SD14 with firmware 1.05 and 1.06.. but now I need to see if firmware 1.07 changed the metering tendencies in the cam.. haven't had much chance yet. In Norfolk this week I will be able to take lots of photos I hope (husband's in a conference, I'm tagging along for photos in a different locale than home..) Now the weather needs to clear

I use Seng's rule-to-live-by shoot the lowest possible ISO for the best image quality. As I said, adding +EV and using different ISOs don't work out exactly the same, I can't really explain it, you need to experiment for the optimum settings in your situations.
There are just a whole lot more better balanced camera systems out
there right than the SD14 that carry just as much detail and have
good color balance.
IF I were doing mostly indoors, weddings in dark churches and fast moving action, be it wedding or sports, sure there are other cameras, undoubtedly easier.. But the weight of what I personally do is landscape, architectural, and I can live with my struggles on the indoors and action.. Try bagpipers in a dim cathedral (last weekend, yikes...) But I can't shoot the SD10 there, the SD14 is marginal and the DP1 was better than both.
I really dont understand why Sigma doesnt stop screwing around and
build a top shelf camera.
"Top shelf camera" is a moving target, remember. That's a really important point.

I think the Sigma engineering R&D development emphasis was first on the SD14 (remember too it's a new sensor, new architecture, new... thus adjustments..) and the SD14 really did add ISO capabilities and other functions. Then of course we now have the DP1 which truly is groundbreaking. Now Sigma executives have mentioned we may have further news at the Photokina timeframe (autumn 2008). If anything, the SD14 seems to be a DSLR work in progress. I've often written that my SD14 was good when it was shipped in March 2007, but it's better now with the firmware updates.
Best regards, Sandy
[email protected]
http://www.pbase.com/sandyfleischman
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandyfleischmann
 
+EV does work, but I shoot manual when I use flash, and i'm not sure how the flash (Sigma EF-530) meters the scene and fires accordingly? even if my foreground subjects are not noisy, the ambient scene outside of the flash will be... I try to generally shoot at 1/60 (to avoid ghosting) and f/2.8 which likely underexposes the ambient scene by a few stops in most cases at iso 400, rendering noisy background subjects especially with all those suits & tuxes...

I think if I was able to shoot at iso 1600, i could almost match the ambient light with the flash rendering a more natural and pleasing looking image...
 
I think the Sigma engineering R&D development emphasis was first on
the SD14 (remember too it's a new sensor, new architecture, new...
thus adjustments..) and the SD14 really did add ISO capabilities and
other functions.
From what I understand the real problem, (and that was part of what caused the long delay) was that Foveon gave the FW and SPP developement to Sigma for the SD14 and they were way over their heads.

Frankly from what I have seen from the latest FW1.07 and SPP2.5 color its still over their heads.
Then of course we now have the DP1 which truly is
groundbreaking. Now Sigma executives have mentioned we may have
further news at the Photokina timeframe (autumn 2008). If anything,
the SD14 seems to be a DSLR work in progress. I've often written that
my SD14 was good when it was shipped in March 2007, but it's better
now with the firmware updates.
If its better now with F1.07 then I would have really been mad with the original software.
--
http://www.troyammons.com
http://www.pbase.com/tammons
 
I think the Sigma engineering R&D development emphasis was first on
the SD14 (remember too it's a new sensor, new architecture, new...
thus adjustments..) and the SD14 really did add ISO capabilities and
other functions.
From what I understand the real problem, (and that was part of what
caused the long delay)
not really per my understanding, but what do I know ;-)
was that Foveon gave the FW and SPP
developement to Sigma for the SD14 and they were way over their heads.
well, the SD14 is a new and different camera from the SD10, a lot of electronics are different, in addition to the sensor of course
Frankly from what I have seen from the latest FW1.07 and SPP2.5 color
its still over their heads.
It's an interesting problem of balance now... the tweaks for DP1 might have done things to the SD14 RAWs... I'm not sure.. I sense differences, but I'm not a techie or software person. Some of Chris R's analysis (spectrographic photos? is that what it's called?) showed me I wasn't imaging things though.. http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=27567700 note the photos don't show on the top post, but they're in his gallery and posts discuss; other posts relate to that discussion too.

I've done some color posts and questions and comparisons recently too. I'm juggling the two cameras DP1 and SD14, trying to get them to play nicely together (and similarly) in the same software...
Then of course we now have the DP1 which truly is
groundbreaking. Now Sigma executives have mentioned we may have
further news at the Photokina timeframe (autumn 2008). If anything,
the SD14 seems to be a DSLR work in progress. I've often written that
my SD14 was good when it was shipped in March 2007, but it's better
now with the firmware updates.
If its better now with F1.07 then I would have really been mad with
the original software.
SPP3 was really slow for me; but some SD14 still prefer it, per posts. Firmware 1.02 and 1.04 changed 'color' and metering I think; 1.05 added the ISO50, which is great for its particular applications. Read the notes about ISO50 on the Sigma site. In some ways in super bright light though, I think I get 'richer' files from ISO100. ISO100 is my default, center area metering, sunlight white balance.
 
Hi Ray,

I'm not a Sigma owner, but look in from time to time to see how the DP-1 is looking before I made a move towards that unique cam.

I have the E3 and some nice lenses, but I was asked to do a wedding recently of some friends of ours and so bought a Fuji S5 and a couple of inexpensive but high quality Sigma lenses. Reason for this being that I know the Fuji will cope with high ISO shots with little noise, and it has the high DR capability. I daresay the E3 would do the job and I have a fast f2 35-100 lens, but that area of work just isn't its strong point.

The S5 prices have dropped considerably now, and maybe that could be an option for you, while using your S14 when the light is good.

Regards,
Rich Simpson
 
Hi Ray,

I'm not a Sigma owner, but look in from time to time to see how the
DP-1 is looking before I made a move towards that unique cam.

I have the E3 and some nice lenses, but I was asked to do a wedding
recently of some friends of ours and so bought a Fuji S5 and a couple
of inexpensive but high quality Sigma lenses. Reason for this being
that I know the Fuji will cope with high ISO shots with little noise,
and it has the high DR capability. I daresay the E3 would do the job
and I have a fast f2 35-100 lens, but that area of work just isn't
its strong point.

The S5 prices have dropped considerably now, and maybe that could be
an option for you, while using your S14 when the light is good.

Regards,
Rich Simpson
Hi Rich, i've been searching for an S5 all morning,the cheapest i've found is $1450 from us1camera.com but that seems like a bait & switch type operation so i'm skeptical... wasn't the original street price $1900 over a year ago? is there anywhere you know of that might be cheaper? the folks over at the Fuji Talk just pointed me to B&H, which is local to me, and not an option because of taxes for a expensive purchase...
 
Hi Ray

Before getting an S5 off an eBay seller, I looked through countless posts and threads on the Fuji & Nikon Forums and other places. I agree with you that one can find oneself inside a very low light church or other place on the day, and I don't want to have to use flash if I can at all help it - although I would have one ready of course.

The S5 with a few good lenses is a fairly low investment - which will give me the level of confidence & performance I need to cover the wediing I have coming up. Not to mention the skin tones and DR.

As I said in another post, I have Oly gear for normal use, but apart from the E3 frankly I would be very concerned over any limitations other cams such as the E510 say might give me for all sorts of reasons, and the last thing I want is the couple expressing dismay at low light, noisy shots I might have taken.

So I will use the S5 for the wedding, keep things very simple, keep the number of lenses to a minimum, and concentrate on getting the shots I want. If there are no more weddings then the S5 will be sold on, and I shall carry on with my Oly gear, as for me it is the best all-rounder. Similarly in your case, I imagine you would go back to your Sigma for non wedding work.

I supose all I am saying is that cameras all have their strengths and weaknesses, and I prefer to work with them, not against them. Very good luck!

--
Regards,
Rich Simpson
 
Hi Ray,

I'm in the UK, and the best price from a dealer here is £590 (see Fuji SLR forum thread) - which makes it about $1180? So $1450 seems a bit dear.

I see Adorama is $1700.
Have you been on the Fuji SLR forum?

Cheers
Rich
 
Hi Ray,

I'm in the UK, and the best price from a dealer here is £590 (see
Fuji SLR forum thread) - which makes it about $1180? So $1450 seems a
bit dear.

I see Adorama is $1700.
Have you been on the Fuji SLR forum?

Cheers
Rich
wow, that's a big difference and our $ is weak! wonder if there's any UK dealers that ship stateside while carrying a international warranty?

i have a thread going on the fuji forum, no help yet...
 
I supose all I am saying is that cameras all have their strengths and
weaknesses, and I prefer to work with them, not against them. Very
good luck!

--
Regards,
Rich Simpson
couldn't have said it better... i was unrealistic with what i wanted, i wanted a camera to do it all, well atleast i hoped for it... but now i've learned that it doesnt' exist... and that the SD14 is a very specialized piece of equipment...
 
Hi Ray,

I checked on a UK eBay seller who has the S5 at £650, but he won't ship outside the UK and Ireland. He says that his S5's are from liquidated UK companies, but do have a full 12 month Fuji warranty.

I've been looking through various UK sellers but no luck so far.
Maybe Euro sellers would?

Its crazy really - I keep looking at the US to get any pricy lenses from! eg the Oly ZD 300 f2!
wow, that's a big difference and our $ is weak! wonder if there's
any UK dealers that ship stateside while carrying a international
warranty?

i have a thread going on the fuji forum, no help yet...
--
Regards,
Rich Simpson
 
I've read most of the responses here but just bear in mind if you seriously intend working professionally you WILL need 2 x everything.

I would advise against pitching in with a camera where you can only afford 1 body...when things go wrong, which they do....if using say a s5 and sd14 you'll either lose the lowlight capability or be fumbling around changing lenses and miss shots.

Better to set your sights lower with cameras which will get the job done and move to better gear when the money starts coming in. Its what we...when moving to canon...did with the 40d's and they have proven to give excellent results, so much so we are not in any hurry to upgrade.
best
--
Geoff_R

'Always look on the bright side of life...'
 
I've read most of the responses here but just bear in mind if you
seriously intend working professionally you WILL need 2 x
everything.
I would advise against pitching in with a camera where you can only
afford 1 body...when things go wrong, which they do....if using say a
s5 and sd14 you'll either lose the lowlight capability or be fumbling
around changing lenses and miss shots.
Better to set your sights lower with cameras which will get the job
done and move to better gear when the money starts coming in. Its
what we...when moving to canon...did with the 40d's and they have
proven to give excellent results, so much so we are not in any hurry
to upgrade.
best
--
Geoff_R

'Always look on the bright side of life...'
I've thought about that, and my current plan is to start building a system based on the S5 pro, get 2-3 lenses to cover the ranges Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 ex, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, and maybe a Nikon 50 f/1.4... then when i start charging, where i'll need to produce, i'll purchase a 2nd S5 body and a 2nd flash... or if there's a better offering by that time, i'll purchase that and use the S5 as a backup...

expensive plan, maybe i'll get a raise at my day job soon... fingers crossed!
 
I checked on a UK eBay seller who has the S5 at £650, but he won't
ship outside the UK and Ireland. He says that his S5's are from
liquidated UK companies, but do have a full 12 month Fuji warranty.

I've been looking through various UK sellers but no luck so far.
Maybe Euro sellers would?

Its crazy really - I keep looking at the US to get any pricy lenses
from! eg the Oly ZD 300 f2!
wow, that's a big difference and our $ is weak! wonder if there's
any UK dealers that ship stateside while carrying a international
warranty?

i have a thread going on the fuji forum, no help yet...
--
Regards,
Rich Simpson
Thanks for looking out Rich, I think I might just take the plunge at $1450, tax free, and free shipping... since i've never really seen any UK dealers shipping stateside... probably because there's enough dealers in the US...

are lenses cheaper from the US? maybe from the exchange rate? I just know that last time I was in europe, 3 years ago, i could barely afford to eat!
 
You might consider getting a Fuji S5 and say a Nikon D300. Which is primary and which is backup will depend on the shooting situation but you share lenses etc.

Ken
 
I've read most of the responses here but just bear in mind if you
seriously intend working professionally you WILL need 2 x
everything.
I would advise against pitching in with a camera where you can only
afford 1 body...when things go wrong, which they do....if using say a
s5 and sd14 you'll either lose the lowlight capability or be fumbling
around changing lenses and miss shots.
Better to set your sights lower with cameras which will get the job
done and move to better gear when the money starts coming in. Its
what we...when moving to canon...did with the 40d's and they have
proven to give excellent results, so much so we are not in any hurry
to upgrade.
best
--
Geoff_R

'Always look on the bright side of life...'
Geoff,

Although I don't have the "giblets" to do event photography professionally, I wholeheartedly endorse your comment. I had this conversation a while back with my nephew who does "events on a budget" photography with a single DSLR. Although various among us can agree to disagree about what camera fits our individual needs, it's a big part of the reason I held on to my SD9 when I bought the SD14. Even for fun shooting. When I head out to the Indianapolis Speedway for practice next month, I'll take along both bodies and at least 2-3 lenses and will likely use both. But more important, if one should encounter problems of any kind, I won't "waste" the day without a camera.

Kind regards,
--
Ed_S
http://www.pbase.com/ecsquires
 
i have the same thing and works beautiful. i even use it on my stroboflip
 

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