Just checked some statistics for my blog and for the last 30 days 114 countries has been represented among my visitors. That’s HUGE! Back when I only wrote about photography in general and other SD SLR’s (SD9/10/14) I had something like 35 countries on that list. Last on was Zambia - now just waiting for someone in North Korea to get hocked up. :) - Most visitors comes from US and A - second on the list is China third is Japan. But, on the other hand I have nothing to compare to. Only my own statistics.
Sigma will come out with a easy to use solution within SPP itself or by firmware, until then we can do it our self’s in Photoshop (or other software such as Gimp).
Soon I will participate in a photo fair here in Sweden and for this I now have two DP1s - Trying to make the most out of this I connected them via the screw mount in the bottom via a small wooden (chop)stick. Then I started movie mode on both cameras (Not important to be sync). When finished I imported both files into the same sequence into Final Cut Pro and rotated both videos (each video different way) and placed them beside each other. Very very simple. Then I synchronized via my voice. Extremely easy. Took 15min all in all.
I’m sure that a nice day BEFORE sunset would make very cool videos like this. It’s so simple. :)
I felt for some time that the DP1 have much better battery life than I expected or felt at first - mainly due to the fact that my initial shooting habit changed some with time - my interest in zooming into every single detail in every image has now matured and I can relax more.
I decided to make new test.
I turned off the LCD, turned on full AF and put on the external view finder. In order to take as many shots as possible I also turned on continues mode. Three pictures was taken each time. (95% of the time). ISO100 used on the first 400 - then ISO400 after that. I restarted the camera 30 times in a row to make test more real. I shot some indoor and some out door. It does take some energy to take as many shots as I did. :D In one day.
Alright. I took a deep look into my growing DP1 video library and made a music video out of it. Upsized to 640×480.m4v (which is the iPhone format). Some quality is still lost but I think you get a feeling for what the DP1 can do. It’s not a HD killer cam - but useful! :D - Also remember that DP1 video format is 320×240 to begin with I made it bigger using Final Cut.
Stopped the car and brought my little buddy out in the winter night. It’s cold he said and asked me to make it quick - I thought to myself - ISO800 could work. He looked at me with his big black eye - scared that I would go all the way to 15s but I smiled and said I would make it painless. 8s later I took him into the warm car and we drove home.
I love the control over the picture that the DP1 gives me. I’m the King and the DP1 my slave. Just as I want it to be. :) Now, last morning I woke up with snow outside - I live in Sweden and normally this is normal - but years have become warmer and snow a rare sight. I took some shots more or less to test how nice bokeh the DP1 have - walking the dog.
Btw, as someone said at the forum already - turning off quick preview makes the DP1 faster between shots. And I also tested a normal SD card that came with another camera - it’s SOOOO SLOW! It really takes ages. So please. Use fastest card you can find, it’s a huge difference!
Timed save times RAW (light blinking):
SanDisk Extreme III 4GB: 2.5s
Canon SD SDC 32MB: 10s
Time before you can take another shot (single mode):3.8s and quick preview off.
(As soon as it start to save to your card, you can take another shot) but you can’t change exposure etc during the “save” time so fast card is very important for the overall feel. If you try the camera make sure you have a fast SD.
Have you ever tried taking two images with the same everything except position? Moving the camera so that the second shot is as far away as your eye is to each other. :D Now these are my first test with the DP1. Enjoy.
The middle one is 2.5s exposure. :) Click each for full size.
Just came back from Skagen in Denmark - a beautiful village famous for it’s history of painters - with small harbor and very special beach. Lots of dunes and special wild life. I saw seals and one dead wale. Here the two oceans Skagerrak and Kategatt meet and waves comes from two different directions (btw, Skagerakk is named after Skagen). I will post more images as I process them - these two as the first. Click on each for full size.
What does a 320×240 resolution DP1 video look like when upsized to 480p and 720p? That question has been on some peoples mind and one reader took action and made two versions of the above video. Resized by Dik Hoek with something called “super-resolution”.
“Super-resolution” is a term for a set of methods of increasing image or video resolution. All these methods are based on same idea: using information from several images to create one upsized image. These methods try to extract details from one frames to reconstruct other frames. This approach differs a lot from some sophisticated image upsizing methods which try to synthesize artificial details”. - To get your hands on a 30 day trial version of the software doing this - Click here!
And I can just say, Wow! It really works and it does look awsome! Sure, pixalation etc but it looks very cool indeed and using this you can cut together movies much easier in software such as Adobe premiere and Final cut without coming out with lower resolution video. (useful to take away the hi pitch “cut” sounds) I use the video-part of the DP1 quite often and results are very good. I really love the feeling it gives - something super8 like. :)
He’s another DP1 user that doesn’t come from the world of SD-cameras. He is a professional photographer and journalist - he’s mainly using his Canon 5D but been waiting for something to replace his Ricoh GX100. Said is now an DP1 owner and reading his blog is very interesting as it gives a little different view then the one from me. :) - But maybe best of all, he’s really good with the camera.
Photo and copyright: Said Karlsson
And more from the east: Euyoung’s Soliloquy..
We have a Ricoh GR fan site that have tested the DP1 against the Ricoh’s - it’s in Chinese but interesting. Especially the part where they compare out door, real life images between GRD2 and DP1. Go, check it out. (The good and bad thing about visiting a Ricoh fan site is that they’re really not trying to hide any flaws. :)
Now, there are some things that I’d like to add to this video - that didn’t find it way into it. And that is some things that I’d like to be altered / changed in future updates / firmwares.
The first one is that while you’re waiting for a picture to save then I can’t change settings / exposure. I’d like to be able to do that so I’m ready for the next shot. Sure, it’s about seconds but life’s short. :) Secondly I’d like a tilt able LCD so that I can easily view from above when I shot kids or whatever. I’m getting used to this P&S shooting style and the live view thing. Makes me want more! LCD should also be better. OLED or something. (Very thin panels, colorful and bright) :D Current one works - but I want more! Video! I want MORE! The current one is looking so good so future revisions MUST have more! My appetite for APS sensor video is just starting.
[updated] It’s time for the first RAW pack! I think it’s an interesting selection of handheld shots (mirror image on tripod) that shows the ability of the Sigma DP1 in different environments. Make sure you have the Sigma Photo Pro 3.1 (mac) or Sigma Photo Pro 2.4 (PC) installed. The new DP1 raw format is different from the SD14’s. Photos taken in all different ISO speeds and different light. Good for SPP training. :)There is a video out where I play with these shots as well as others. Go to video.
Sound level is HIGH! Unless you LOVE my voice turn down your volume! This movie shows how I work with DP1 raw files in SPP 3.1 on a Mac. If you wanna try this at home, download some of the raw files to get started. Step two? Get the camera!
I’m currently trying to upload to youtube - resolution will be much worse but faster to load and divided into two parts. This movie is 500×375px, 128MB small and 16 minutes long. Download it for local playback using VLC or other flash player.
People has been asking about mixed light shots so I took some of kids playing. This room had fluorescent light and daylight coming in from widows at roof level. So more daylight than fluorescent - (= Good mixed light)
Both ISO400 first 1/25s second 1/40, both has been slightly altered in PS.
I decided to see how good the battery was and how much juice I could squeeze out before dead - It’s not a perfect test but a real world sort of version. I manual focused more or less 99% of the time - I did try some AF shots but decided that manual focus was a bit more cool. I’m sure that AF + no LCD would give you lots and lots of more shots.
I turned off the camera very often. I’m not sure if that’s draining or some, but I guess that there is a good sleep mode that could have worked instead. Of course I looked and showed everyone around me so lots of peeking done.
Result? I have a total files of 182. Among those is 26 movies, 3 audio recordings and 151 RAW files. No Jpegs. Sorry, have a hard time getting used to the ability to shot JPEG’s since my early days with the SD9/SD10.. :) And camera is fast with RAW so there is no reason not to use it.
Movie clips direcly from the DP1:
Now to some of the images: All hand held. Click for full size.
Recent Comments