DP-1 Update!

[Tedwill48170]

I have found that the response time with P&S cameras are way too slow compared to a SLR, dSLR, rangefinder or other faster shutters. The electronics in most consumer P&S cameras are not set up for fast action without a lot of "tweaking" ahead of time.

That's the beauty of the M8, the small size and the fast response times. But looking at Jim's photos of BB King with the DP1.. damn.. those are great.
--

Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn't go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

[spm]

Just got off the Sigma forum and learned that various owners of the
just released DP-1 have noticed green and/or magenta casts in some of
their images. Supposedly Sigma is aware of the problem . . . could it
be that Sigma is following the trend set by Leica and expects it's
new owners to become dedicated beta testers?

But what you failed to mention is the number of incredible images
that have come from the DP1. Mine arrived today and I am charging
batteries now.. hope to put it through its paces this weekend.

The casts you speak of seem to be a characteristic of the Foeveon
sensor under certain lighting conditions and do not seem to be the
major issue that the M8 initially had.

I guess it's wise to never purchase a camera when initally released.!

Hmmmm.... let's see. I bought the Canon D30, the Canon 20D and the
Canon 5D all site unseen and have no regrets... oh, I also bought the
Leica D-Lux 3 as well.

Because I bought all these cameras early on I got to shoot with them
while many others waited and waited and waited for theirs. I like
being an early adopter.

--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/sigmadp1
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

Jim, I was ready to purchase the DP-1 as soon as it was released
because of the many excellent images I saw on the Sigma forum. After
reading the various posts concerning the green/magenta casts I feel I
don't want to deal with a product that has been released "before it's
time". From what I read, Sigma is aware of the problem but released
the camera anyway.

I think you are wrong here, from what I read and gather that they are "Now" aware of the problem of the green vignetting at certain shooting condition. Like using Auto WB and under exposure and only effects small percentage of the pictures. I had close to 4000pics with dp1 and notice less than 10 pics that I will call green vignetting. Some was easy fix enough by just change WB to proper conditions that was shot under.

I also own the Canon 20D and have not had a problem with the camera
since day one. BTW, I purchased the camera when it was first released
and didn't have to resort to beta testing the new kid on the block.
Canon and Nikon seem to release products that are not half baked.

I supposed with this analogy, all the cameras that released and have firmware upgrades are all half baked, check and see how many firmware upgrades that Nikon and Canon had of their models?......there is a differents between a whole brand new concept camera and a camera that just have minor improvement from previous models. For example just add raw as a shooting option and is a brand new camera(does this ring the bell?)

I am not trying to defend Sigma here but I think there are many people just taking this out of proportion of the real isssue.

I'm truly looking forward to seeing some of your DP-1 images and hope
you don't have any problems with the camera. Of course you have the
option to return the camera if you find it doesn't meet your
expectations. :0)

Regards,

--
Digart

--

'Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.'

• Mark Twain

 

[markE59102]

I have found that the response time with P&S cameras are way too
slow compared to a SLR, dSLR, rangefinder or other faster shutters.
The electronics in most consumer P&S cameras are not set up for fast
action without a lot of "tweaking" ahead of time.

That's what I thought when I first began using my LX2. But then I realized all I had to do was use manual zone focus.

--

• markE

http://www.wingsoflight.com

'Good street/wildlife photography is a controlled accident,
a vision of preparation and surrender materialized.'

 

[markE59102]

This was taken at ISO 800 with virtually no noise..

This REALLY exciting, Jim! The gallery is impressive. Thanks very much for going through all the work. I hope you plan to update it as you continue to learn the nuances of this little gem.
--

• markE

http://www.wingsoflight.com

'Good street/wildlife photography is a controlled accident,
a vision of preparation and surrender materialized.'

 

[Tedwill48170]

That's what I thought when I first began using my LX2. But then I
realized all I had to do was use manual zone focus.

You're right there. Sometimes autofocus seems to have a mind of its own.
--

Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn't go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

[Rich Simpson UK]

Well, with the GRD II (or the GX-100) - the beauty is that access to the various controls is so quick. And so change to say ISO, or focus or meter options, or EV Comp say (or a multitude of other settings which can all be changed) - these can be done almost instantly using the push and rotate dial, so there's really no time to be spent ahead of shooting once you know the camera.

The usual AF delay is avoided by setting snap or manual focus mode, and the GRD II also has an excellent DOF bar that slides / expands depending on the f number and distance set.

A mid f number will give a DOF plenty large enough to cover the subject, and a pre-flight check will sort out exposure etc. So these cams do need a bit of forethought. The DSLR will of course grab the shot without a moment's hesitation ... but you still have to target a single AF point and re-frame - or at least that's what I do, and check EV and so on ... so both systems do need their attention!

Oddly enough, I found one of the best combinations to be the Leica R 135 f2.8 or R 90 f2 on the Oly E3. Bright, big OVF, and quick focussing without any zooming concerns, and exposure was always very quick to check and adjust.

And I can't afford the M8 .... ;-)

--
Regards,
Rich Simpson

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

Jim, I am very impressed! But I am curious to see what other folks
can do with DP1 (almost any camera in your hands can produce nice
photos!)
How is the size comparing to dlux3?

It is about 5% larger.. but it fits snugly in the same belt case my D-Lux 3 fit in. Also, to be honest, because it is a bit larger it is easier to hold in my hand. I always felt like I was going to drop the D-Lux 3.

--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dp1
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

This REALLY exciting, Jim! The gallery is impressive. Thanks very
much for going through all the work. I hope you plan to update it as
you continue to learn the nuances of this little gem.

I will add to it as I have done with my D-Lux 3 gallery. So now I get to post in four forums.. Canon, Leica, Sigma and Retouching.

--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dp1
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

 

[Amin Sabet]

With many of the newer compact cameras, response is close to immediate if one manually focuses, especially if one manually sets the exposure as well. With the little Ricohs, "snap" focus (sets focus to about 8ft thus getting just about everything in the DOF) along with a preset exposure (either by setting the values manually or by a half press in anticipation of the shot) is extremely responsive. This assumes that the photographer isn't relying on the LCD at the moment of the shot, since there is an LCD lag. One can either use an optical VF or use the LCD to frame and then look directly at the subject (away from the LCD) at the moment of shooting. From what I've heard, the DP1 also has virtually no shutter lag (

I have found that the response time with P&S cameras are way too
slow compared to a SLR, dSLR, rangefinder or other faster shutters.

--
http://www.seriouscompacts.com
http://www.flickr.com/groups/seriouscompacts/

 

[Jono Slack]

I'm impressed
glad the camera is a success, I'm almost tempted!

all the best
--
Jono Slack
http://www.slack.co.uk

 

[charlesh]

street shooting opportunities often DO happen by accident and good luck, and it takes a seasoned street shooter to seize upon the flleeting opportunities when they happen. The big issue for me is shutter lag, plain and simple, and lack of viewfinders in many p&s cameras. While theoretically you can use any camera for street candids(I've used a Mamiya 7), there are those cameras that are simply beter than others for the task. And p&s cameras rate pretty far down the list because of the shutter lag, EVFs, or no viewfinders at all.
--
charlesh

 

[Tedwill48170]

With many of the newer compact cameras, response is close to
immediate if one manually focuses, especially if one manually sets
the exposure as well. With the little Ricohs, "snap" focus (sets
focus to about 8ft thus getting just about everything in the DOF)
along with a preset exposure (either by setting the values manually
or by a half press in anticipation of the shot) is extremely
responsive. This assumes that the photographer isn't relying on the
LCD at the moment of the shot, since there is an LCD lag. One can
either use an optical VF or use the LCD to frame and then look
directly at the subject (away from the LCD) at the moment of
shooting. From what I've heard, the DP1 also has virtually no
shutter lag (
to test yet, but multiple reports suggest this.

I'll have to experiment with manual focus with the DP1. Also, does the optical VF have an actual connection on the Ricoh? With the DP1, it's nothing more than a 16mm plastic magnifying glass that simply mounts on the hot shoe. I felt so punk'd after putting it on the camera having spent 130 dollars on it.

Thanks,

-Ted

--

Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn't go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

[Amin Sabet]

I'll have to experiment with manual focus with the DP1. Also, does
the optical VF have an actual connection on the Ricoh? With the DP1,
it's nothing more than a 16mm plastic magnifying glass that simply
mounts on the hot shoe. I felt so punk'd after putting it on the
camera having spent 130 dollars on it.

No, neither the Ricoh OVF nor the Voigtlander OVFs have any connection other than sliding onto the hot shoe. $130 is slightly less than most others, but I have heard that the Sigma one is pretty low end.

--
http://www.seriouscompacts.com
http://www.flickr.com/groups/seriouscompacts/

 

[Digart]

Jim, I'm impressed with your initial DP-1 captures. The quality of the images are excellent. Can you tell me what WB presets you used for the various images, especially the berry image. Also, how do you find the slip-on viewfinder?

Wishing you many happy shoots with the DP-1!

Regards,
--
Digart

 

[alisD]

no product is perfect, all products are a work-in-progress, if a manufacturer tells you otherwise it means they are too lazy or unimaginative to improve their product. therefore, every user of every product ever invented before and after the wheel are beta-testers. welcome to the club

--
my makeshift collection of photographs:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nome_alice/

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

Jim, I'm impressed with your initial DP-1 captures. The quality of
the images are excellent. Can you tell me what WB presets you used
for the various images, especially the berry image. Also, how do you
find the slip-on viewfinder?

Since this was my first "real" outing with the DP1 I set WB to auto. I did no corrections in Photoshop, just cropping to 16:9.

I did not buy the viewfinder.. at $130 for a plastic viewfinder I will purchase something else of better quality.

I am completly happy with my results thus far. It produces some amazing photos but more importantly it suffers from none of the painterly aspects of the D-Lux 3 and the noise factor is virtually non-existant with proper exposure even at ISO 800. My D-Lux 3 begins to sink in noise at anything over ISO 200.

--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dp1
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

When the camera is set to manual and you have selected a hyperfocal point the capture is instant.

The write speed is determined by your memory card to a degree.. not a big issue but a slow card will cause you to wait while the camera writes... if you card is really slow.. say one of those $15 2GB cards you will be annoyed.. put in a SHDC card with high throughput and you will be happy.
--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dp1
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

An SLR like my 40D or my 5D are much better for street photography
than any P&S unless you're very lucky and get something by accident.

Sorry Ted, I have to disagree here. I have a 5D and don't find it good for street photography.. most people, when they see that beast become observant of where you are pointing it... on the other hand when I have used my little D-Lux 3 people seem to not even see it or me.. and if they do, they just think I'm a stupid tourist.. in other words, they dismiss me as just an average guy trying to take a picture with a point and shoot.... but with my DSLRs I then become a photographer and they keep a wary eye on me.

That being said, I think you can do a lot with point and shoot
cameras of high quality if you plan ahead.

Word! I absolutly agree.

--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dp1
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

 

[Digart]

Jim, I'm impressed with your initial DP-1 captures. The quality of
the images are excellent. Can you tell me what WB presets you used
for the various images, especially the berry image. Also, how do you
find the slip-on viewfinder?

Since this was my first "real" outing with the DP1 I set WB to auto.
I did no corrections in Photoshop, just cropping to 16:9.

I did not buy the viewfinder.. at $130 for a plastic viewfinder I
will purchase something else of better quality.

I am completly happy with my results thus far. It produces some
amazing photos but more importantly it suffers from none of the
painterly aspects of the D-Lux 3 and the noise factor is virtually
non-existant with proper exposure even at ISO 800. My D-Lux 3 begins
to sink in noise at anything over ISO 200.

--
Jim Radcliffe
http://www.boxedlight.com/dp1
http://www.boxedlight.com/dlux3
http://www.image36.com
http://www.oceona.com

The ability to 'see' the shot is more important than the gear.

Everything sounds very positive Jim. I guess B&H will be hearing from me shortly!

--
Digart