28mm lens (DP1) question

I work with artists that sell their artwork at art shows and I shoot their artwork with a D700 and macro lens. When I travel to art shows, I shoot display images for artists with a 28mm lens. In trying to travel lighter, I'm considering the DP1 as a high image quality pocket camera solution so I can leave the D700 kit at home.

What do DP1 users think of what I'm considering? I'd be using the DP1 at base ISO on a tripod set on either manual or aperture priority.

How does the 28mm lens compare to a DSLR with 28mm lens? How prone to flare is it? I would get a lens hood and I always carry a reflector that could be held over the lens when shooting in the direction of the sun.

Thanks.

--
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com

Hi Larry,

Larry Berman said:

I work with artists that sell their artwork at art shows and I shoot
their artwork with a D700 and macro lens. When I travel to art shows,
I shoot display images for artists with a 28mm lens. In trying to
travel lighter, I'm considering the DP1 as a high image quality
pocket camera solution so I can leave the D700 kit at home.

What do DP1 users think of what I'm considering? I'd be using the DP1
at base ISO on a tripod set on either manual or aperture priority.

Click to expand...

DP1 definitely can do the job here, base on the setting you describe.

Larry Berman said:

How does the 28mm lens compare to a DSLR with 28mm lens? How prone to
flare is it? I would get a lens hood and I always carry a reflector
that could be held over the lens when shooting in the direction of
the sun.

Click to expand...

You can get the HA-11 with hood especially for DP1 and sounds like you already know how to take care not to get flare. Flare will happen if you shoot directly into the sun but with reflector/umbrella or even a piece of artist picture can shield the sun if unavoidable.
28mm of DP1 is excellent (17mm).

Larry Berman said:

Thanks.

--
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com

Click to expand...

good luck,
S
--
'Life is fragile, too short, and flys by
If you let it
So choose what you want every day
and go get it'
-Anonymous

Well, assuming you have stray light under control (using the lens hood and reflector as protection against flare), you will be pretty much set to go. I think it will do the job nicely, and your expectations will be met.

I don't know how much you'll need a shallow DOF, though. Coming from a full-frame D700, you might be used to that film-like DOF you get from big sensors and larger than 35mm film cameras.

With the DP1 you'll have a 16mm f/4 lens projecting on a APS size sensor, so be aware that a shallow DOF will be harder to achieve under certain conditions compared to your Nikon.

Other than that, the DP1 is the ideal tool for your job, I believe.

I use a D700 and a DP1 too - it's the perfect mix from both worlds. The lens is pretty much like a 28mm prime on a FF (only not as bright). Optically there is nothing to complain about.

The lens is much better than the average semi-pro zoom and image quality is pretty much in the same ballpark as long as you use iso 100 and custom WB :
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=31358005

Both cameras uprezzed to 12MP
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=31361391

O.
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ollivr/
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ollivr/popular-interesting/
http://seen.by.spiegel.de/ollivr-1

Just a thought Larry.

The DP1 sounds like the perfect tool for the job to me.
However, it might give you a problem or 2 in the beginning.

Sigma hasn't nailed the auto white balance, yet. So for your type of work you might want to bring along a gray card, or an expo disk.
Even then you might have to tweak the colours while processing.

In addition, In some lights you'll find a fair amount of Yellow noise.

I understand that some people use a Blue filter to correct this situation. Although I haven't been in the situation to try it.

Those are the only 2 glitches I can think of, which might effect you.

If you get one I'm looking forward to seeing your results.
--
The masterpiece is created by the artist, not the camera.
http://www.bcscenicwonder.com

http://studiostu.bcscenicwonder.com/

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. I always carry a Digital Calibration Target for difficult lighting situations. Though I almost always shoot auto white balance, I've always been able to control white balance (color) with a quick Curves adjustment during my post processing, choosing a neutral or white area in the image. Most artists use neutral gray or black display panels and white mats on 2D artwork so correcting color afterwards is usually easy. What's more difficult is indoor displays where there are two or three different color and light intensity variations on each display. That's where I use the Digital Calibration Target and have the artist turn out their directional spot lighting in the booth and shoot using the overall building light. I just shot some display images last week with the GRD and they came out fine. I'm looking for higher resolution in the images.

$445 ($500 with hood and extra battery) is not a lot to pay for a single purpose camera.

little laker said:

Just a thought Larry.
The DP1 sounds like the perfect tool for the job to me.
However, it might give you a problem or 2 in the beginning.

Sigma hasn't nailed the auto white balance, yet. So for your type of
work you might want to bring along a gray card, or an expo disk.
Even then you might have to tweak the colours while processing.

In addition, In some lights you'll find a fair amount of Yellow noise.
I understand that some people use a Blue filter to correct this
situation. Although I haven't been in the situation to try it.

Those are the only 2 glitches I can think of, which might effect you.

Click to expand...

--
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com

There is very minor distortion with this lens.

PTLens works on it.

--
'To see, not with, but through the eye.' [William Blake]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22905474@N06/

IMHO there is less distortion with the dp1 than with some dslr esp. compared to their zoom lenses. a simple paper filter for a coffee machine (melitta in europe) is fine for custom wb. so go for it, it's nearly perfect for your aim. reinhard