If you know to use it it will amaze you.

This camera has a very weird and interesting learning curve. I picked one up from eBay for the cool price of $440 dollars. I shoot full-frame sony and really love that system. I was a little bored with the process. I would go out and snap a bunch of RAW photos. Maybe Upload them into Lightroom and edit away.

I wanted to slow down without having to shoot 35mm film. This camera was the perfect answer. It is slow to write, slow to start up, slow to shut down but, as many of the reviews will say it takes AMAZING photos. It does. I will confirm that. At its core, it is a purist's camera. No frills, unique, and produces some serious magic.

Okay, so the magic is sort of a luck of the draw. I'm also going to assume that it is part of the learning curve. There is no viewfinder and the LCD screen seems to be a little unreliable with whats in focus and how the true colors are. The post-process can be a little frustrating with the sigma pro software but if you are patient and love the sweet sweet gold that will come out at the end then this is the camera for you. This is not a camera you go and run around to capture fast action. This is a "take your time, don't be in a rush" camera.

Currently, I am bidding on a DP1S and will continue to build my collection of sigma cameras. They really hit the nail on the head with the Foveon sensor and its image quality.

Know not now! -_-

"Light travels faster than sound...That's why some people appear to be bright until you hear them speak"

Priceless ...

rick decker wrote:

Congrats on your DP2M and your projected purchase of the DP1S. I just purchased a DP1s and got it a few days ago. I have the x model and a DP1s and DP2x. The DP1 and DP1s have an older and less sophisticated user interface and not all the choices of the newer models (1x, 2x, 2, 2s, and 2x) most obvious being the color settings (vivid, ntr, std etc). The original DP1 locked you out while it was processing. In comparison to the DP2M, these models are abour 2-3x faster. And SPP is light years faster. the DP2 was a recent addition a few months ago although I had all the older models at one time.

here's two shots from the 1S:

ISO 50

And a 3-shot pano from the deck

there are more samples on the PBASE site:

https://pbase.com/sigmadslr/sigma_camera_gallery

Lovely photos. I actually just won my bid on the dp1s. I got it for $204 dollars with a bunch of extras. Are you editing in sigma pro, turning it into a tiff, and doing the rest in Lightroom?

A big reason for my purchase was the rear focusing wheel. I think its genius. I'll post a review after I get a few photos done.

There is an unedited photo.

Mike Gerstner wrote:

Hi Rick......Nice photo. Not a big "plant" aficionado but fascinated by that flower, nicely captured. what kind of plant is that?

thanks, Mike

The Angiospermae kind

Congrats on your purchase. I have all 3 Merrills I shoot mostly b&w so don't have to deal with much of the quirks. Got them for 1 030 € which I consider a bargain (though I missed an even better one).

The IQ is stunning: acutance, seemingly total lack of noise (at ISO 100 anyway). The biggest problem I have with them is the fixed screen as I rarely shoot eye level. Looking for a suitable way to attach a hinged mirror to the tripod mount or maybe there is a better way?

The histogram on my DP3M is totally nuts. I've even found myself consulting sunny 16 to see if the exposure is in the ballpark. Guess I will just go with the meter and add compensation according to subject. Chimping is the only place where the slowness gets annoying so better just bracket. Usually the exposures turn out just fine.

Have read that the Sigmas have low DR but I find the files quite flexible. I use SPP only to make sure  the wtong highlights don't blow and other minor tweaking of lightness, rest in PS. That way it's not particularly time consuming. Can often batch process (it pays to try getting reasonably consistent exposure). I find the controls and menus very well thought out. Though I love the minimalistic design, I have added an L bracket+grip to each one.

The FL range is rather limited, particularly the 2 and 3 are a bit close together. Wonder if there's a decent tele converter. I know there's a Ricoh wide converter that gets the 1 down to about 19mm equivalent IIRC.

rick decker wrote:

I don't use lightroom as I don't like having to intergrate the catalog.

That's why I quit Adobe! After up-grading to Elements 7 the scheissen Catalog brought my XP computer to it's knees and slowed it to a crawl ...

... and then I bought a DP2 Merrill and installed SPP 5.5.3 - deja vu ...

Abbazz wrote:

rurikw wrote:

The biggest problem I have with them is the fixed screen as I rarely shoot eye level. Looking for a suitable way to attach a hinged mirror to the tripod mount or maybe there is a better way?

Check the Flipbac:

http://flipbac.com/angle-viewfinder-about.htm

It's a hinged mirror that attaches directly to the LCD screen via removable adhesive strips:

I have one that I used on a Sony RX100 mk1 to shoot from the hip. It's been on the camera for a few years without any issue. I have now passed the Sony to my daughter and she still uses it regularly.

Cheers.!

Abbazz

Thanks!!! That looks great.

rurikw wrote:

Congrats on your purchase. I have all 3 Merrills I shoot mostly b&w so don't have to deal with much of the quirks. Got them for 1 030 € which I consider a bargain (though I missed an even better one).

The IQ is stunning: acutance, seemingly total lack of noise (at ISO 100 anyway). The biggest problem I have with them is the fixed screen as I rarely shoot eye level. Looking for a suitable way to attach a hinged mirror to the tripod mount or maybe there is a better way?

The histogram on my DP3M is totally nuts. I've even found myself consulting sunny 16 to see if the exposure is in the ballpark. Guess I will just go with the meter and add compensation according to subject. Chimping is the only place where the slowness gets annoying so better just bracket. Usually the exposures turn out just fine.

Have read that the Sigmas have low DR but I find the files quite flexible. I use SPP only to make sure the wtong highlights don't blow and other minor tweaking of lightness, rest in PS. That way it's not particularly time consuming. Can often batch process (it pays to try getting reasonably consistent exposure). I find the controls and menus very well thought out. Though I love the minimalistic design, I have added an L bracket+grip to each one.

The FL range is rather limited, particularly the 2 and 3 are a bit close together. Wonder if there's a decent tele converter. I know there's a Ricoh wide converter that gets the 1 down to about 19mm equivalent IIRC.

I really am starting to love the dp2m. I'm not sure if this is a sigma thing or not but the LCD doesn't reflect correct exposure if it's in Manual mode. I can shoot on f16 and it will look like f2.8 on the lcd. I'm already thinking of getting the sd Quattro and start playing with different lenses. I bought one of those eye viewfinders and may try and justify the cost of a Voigtlander 40 mm viewfinder.  Have you tried any long exposures?

rurikw wrote:

Abbazz wrote:

rurikw wrote:

The biggest problem I have with them is the fixed screen as I rarely shoot eye level. Looking for a suitable way to attach a hinged mirror to the tripod mount or maybe there is a better way?

Check the Flipbac:

http://flipbac.com/angle-viewfinder-about.htm

It's a hinged mirror that attaches directly to the LCD screen via removable adhesive strips:

I have one that I used on a Sony RX100 mk1 to shoot from the hip. It's been on the camera for a few years without any issue. I have now passed the Sony to my daughter and she still uses it regularly.

Cheers.!

Abbazz

Thanks!!! That looks great.

Agreed! I'm going to snag one this week.

TN Args wrote:

Mike Gerstner wrote:

Hi Rick......Nice photo. Not a big "plant" aficionado but fascinated by that flower, nicely captured. what kind of plant is that?

thanks, Mike

The Angiospermae kind

Seriously...? Do you think you could get just a little more general than that?

It's a member of the Plant Kingdom, for example.

TN Args wrote:

Mike Gerstner wrote:

Hi Rick......Nice photo. Not a big "plant" aficionado but fascinated by that flower, nicely captured. what kind of plant is that?

thanks, Mike

The Angiospermae kind

Chuckle