![]() ![]() I think the other three cameras are similarly specialized – the DP1M/ 28mm is probably the landscape pick the DP2M/ 45mm for general-purpose use, and the DP3M/ 75mm is of course good for portraits and still life work. Having had the chance to use any one of the three, I opted for the 75/2.8 macro-equivalent DP3M for two reasons: firstly, fixed long-lens cameras are pretty much unheard of, making the DP3M unique secondly, the very close focus distance made me curious to see how it’d stack up for product photography in the studio. (Of course, you are carrying and paying for several bodies, so for this to be a workable option, there are size and price constraints.) I’m actually in favor of this in practice for several reasons: the optical results are better you can optimize your camera setup to the focal length you’re using there’s redundancy and finally, there’s no need to fumble for lens changes when an opportunity presents itself. It’s an interesting solution to the lens problem: the optics are very well matched to the sensor, and even carrying three cameras isn’t that bulky. ![]() Casual experience with the other two suggests that there really is almost no difference in normal use. The cameras are almost identical, except for the lenses – you get 28/2.8, 45/2.8 and 75/2.8 macro equivalents. Today, all of the DP-Ms are priced between US$800-1000, depending on the lens. Even more so when prices started dropping for stock clearances I still remember seeing DP1x and DP2x cameras going around the US$300 mark, though they had the much older sensor. Lately, competition in the large sensor-fixed-lens-semi-compact market – I’m sure somebody will come up with a snappy acronym soon – has been hotting up in the past, the DPs had this market to themselves almost exclusively. They have significant compromises, but we should still give Sigma credit for innovating and sticking to their guns (though admittedly they do make some pretty lousy consumer zooms, and pricing of the SD1 was just insane). It’s important to take a step back and look at what the DP-M cameras represent as a whole: an alternative to the norm. It’s nowhere near as bad in the latest generation, but it still won’t be competing with a Bayer sensor for low light performance – more on this later. This of course results in higher than normal noise the early cameras – I used a first-generation DP1 – were basically unusable above base ISO, despite having very large photosites. If you’re thinking Foveon technology is too good to be true, you’ll be masochistically pleased to know there’s a catch: because of the layered design by the time light has been filtered through the first two layers, the signal from the final layer has to be amplified considerably. Sigma claims that the camera has the equivalent of 46MP (being 15.3 total MP x3 layers) – but this is really pushing it images upsampled this far simply do not have the pixel-level ‘bite’ of a good Bayer file. It’s difficult to determine precisely just how much resolution loss Bayer interpolation causes, but in my experience it seems to be around 50% or so. In a nutshell, the difference between Foveon and Bayer sensors is that the former records actual RGB values for each pixel, but the latter only records R, G or B, interpolating the other values from neighboring photosites. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, Sigma has been going their own way with the DP series of large sensor compacts all of their cameras now share the same 14.7 MP (effective) three-layered Foveon sensor, with a 4.99 micron pixel pitch and true color/ true resolution information across all photosites. I eventually caved to both pressure and curiosity, and borrowed the Sigma DP3M from master printer and good friend Wesley Wong – who has the DP Merrill in all three flavors. You’re probably wondering why this DP3M doesn’t look anything like the press release photos – my friend attached a RRS grip and plate to it, and rightly so without it, the camera is not very comfortable to hold. ![]()
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