Hi all, you probably wondered where I’ve been hiding – some of you know about me moving and trying to build a new home (repairing that is) and it’s taken more energy than I hoped for. Now – one bright light lately have been the Dp2. I will be making this very short and let pictures speak loud – as the camera that I used isn’t the final production unit.
Click on picture for “large” flickr size.
Click “original” for full resolution version.
Original. Not sure how Sigma makes this possible but this insane 24,5mm F2.8 lens wants to be used wide open. And working in monochrome white balance in Sigma Photo pro is just a joy! Look at these tones! (and yes, that’s my grand mother!)
Original. Another shot wide open. Not sure you understand how useful and cool this is. Look at rendition of the fabric and her skin. And how sweet isn’t the bokeh? and and and..
Original. Strong spring sunlight ISO100, wide open. :)
Original. The blue “sky” is water – and this is a good example of the new color modes within the DP2. To get the very best color dynamics Sigma created different color modes that really brings life into every shot. Of course these color modes can be changed later in Sigma Photo Pro if RAW is used. This particular picture is slightly overexposed but I think it managed this bright sunlight well. Oh, and slight hand shake included! :)
Original. Please take a closer look. admit it’s a really insane lens!
Original. 15 second exposure. Trying those color modes. I do have a “real” looking shot with correct white balance and another color mode but I liked the look of this one. It came out way dark and that’s why 100-200 ISO (was shot at ISo50) – Also my only picture with tripod used.
Original. Bokeh / close up test. And this is F5.6 and ISO50 which does burn highlights if not careful. Amazing detail even at lens corners. Here’s a recent post with more DP2 ISO50 shots and comments.
Original. The Dp2 now has a ISO1600 and 3200 mode – which I think should be considered monochrome modes as they don’t really look good in color. But as soon monochrome white balance is selected in Sigma Photo Pro they really come to life!
Original. Just processed. ISO200 and F2.8. And NO, no saturation added, only the magic Landscape mode. ;)
Ok, main pointers.
- Faster operation! Now very useful in studio as shot to shot is much improved! Also for 360 panoramic photography. Wait is now over. :)
- Color Modes! For color maniacs such as myself I really like this. Will get back to this in more detail later.
- Lens. 24,5 (41mm) at F2.8. One word! Wow! There is a slight distortion but none has been taken care off in the above shots – it’s really no issue.Just look at that Bokeh and how well it handles tough light etc. jaij!
- TIME LAPS function! From 30s to 24h (and options in between) – Will make something fun using this. :D
- Sigma Photo Pro 3.3 is now speedier on Mac. :)
- ADDED! ISO1600 and ISO3200! Not perfect for color but very very nice for the unique monochrome setting available in Sigma Photo Pro.
- ISO50 looks fantastic!
And negatives? Well, I’ll get to those later as well. First I need to get my hands on a “real” production unit so I don’t give you rubbish. UPDATE! But a little something is now made with both good and bad. Link to High ISO.
Wow Carl! Those look great! I always go to your site and look when I need a bit of inspiration.
Your making the DP2 very tempting… I was planning on purchasing one anyway but not until I get my finances straight. And your not helping!! haha
Anyway, How do you like the focal length compared to the 30mm? Have you seen a fair improvement in the 400-800 ISO range yet?
Congrats and good luck on your new home and thanks for sharing these.
-Chris
Hi Carl! Nice!! Thank you for posting. What’s the whole color mode thing, anyway? Hope all is well.
Best,
tjh
Carl… what can I say you really know how to bring out the character of the technology… You have a master hidden within you
:)
Thanx for posting and review. This seems to be a first that someone publishes photos from a pre-production unit.
Carl,
Great shots, mini-review! Mmm..makes me think more and more about getting a DP1, perhaps if Sigma offers it with a TRUE II processor.
Take care
Rich
ny
Wow those are some amazing photos! Thanks for posting these. Have long been quitly lusting afer a camera such as this. The DP1 seemed to be a very interesting camera but with to many annoying compromises. From the specs I’ve seen, and now from your pre-view, many of the quirks of its predecessor seem to have been adequately addressed. The DP2 lens is also more usefull fore my style of shooting. I like to take pictures of people and 41mm equivalent is probably as short as I’d want to go on a camera with a non-changeble prime. For wider lanscape photos i can alwas stich later! Your right about the colors and bokeh, simply gorgeous. Very pleased to see your sample at 3200. Many of my portraits are indoors in available light, and if your B&W sample is representative of the production version I would be more than happy with that. One thing I’m curious about is build quality. I can be quite rough on my possessions (due to being a lazy slob) and have been spoilt by the excellent sturdiness of my Pentax K20D and K10D. Being so small I’m sure this would be with me almost anywhere I go.
Again, Many thanks
Geoff
This could be the ultimate digital street shooters camera (besides a M8 of course)…at an affordable price. 41mm is perfection for street shooting. I cannot wait for the final release of this gem.
Negatives? well I’ll get to those later???? Why??? you are promoting the good?
The DP1 received too many complaints on many fronts for me to consider it a contender to my pocket, despite how much I wanted it to succeed. It seems Sigma have actually listened to their customers and improved just about every aspect of the camera with this DP2.
Seeing your ISO3200 B&W shot almost made me cry with joy. The quality is similar to that of my APS-C DSLR! Looking at the “original” size I can see a quite pleasing “grain” pattern, and am happy that Sigma decided to let the images be sharp by letting luminance noise be free while presumably restraining chroma noise. I hate smudgy high-ISO B&Ws, and the DP2 does too; that’s good!
I think applying some minor noise-reduction would improve the IQ of your ISO3200 shot, but to be honest, I think it’s great as it is. The B&W ISO200 shot of your Granny is creamy beautiful in its tones–I don’t know how else to describe it.
Looking forward to reading the rest of your review when you get a final production model in your hands.
Cheers,
–M.
Carl… You’re truly on the top of your game again.. Love what you’ve done with the DP2 and it really just hurts to know I’ll somehow have to muster up the money needed for that thing. Beautiful.
TJ, the color mode thing is a way to make colors look better when shooting landscape vs people. I know from past experience with the foveon sensor that it’s extremely sensitive for colors and therefore it could in some cases be tricky to get the right skin tone. So fixing that and suddenly you don’t have the amount of colors that would make a nature scene blast – what to do? Color modes! – Something like that. :)
Don, It’s mainly is about how to reach magnifier (two clicks now), how to see exposure while in magnified mode and minor issues that might be down to the unit I’m using. I will get back to this. I have no “You can’t write anything bad” deal. But I want to be fair.
So how much faster Carl? The RAW write times were a bit of an issue on the DP1..so what’s your estimate on a RAW capture with the 41mm version?
Thanks and – as usual – excellent images.
Hi Stills, Actually my initial response was that it felt very much the same as the DP1 – on daily basis you don’t normally think of the Dp1’s speed as an issue.
But in the studio where I tried the DP2 the other day I know that DP1 was problematic and the DP2 shot to shot speed didn’t feel like an issue at all. I’ll get back to this with timing as I did none what so ever.
Also the startup time is a bit improved.
Yummy, looks like the camera I’ve been waiting for. Glad to see it coming to fruition.
Btw, has the video mode been improved upon from the DP1? That would be sooo sweet!
Carl, the pictures look promising.
Hope they will get that camera published before summer vacation will come.
Greetings
Klaus
Those are just awesome, the detail, and color are just amazing! I ordered my DP1 about a week ago from Amazon, it should be here shortly (I hope)…looking forward to maybe getting my hands on a DP2 in the nearer future…..
Carl, have you tried if the red blotches problem (IR-filter reflection) in direct (sun)light is delt with in the DP2?
Oliver, Video is more or less the same as with the DP1 but you now have a few more options with AEL (button pressed) and also full manual focusing can be done before starting the recording – which is VERY welcome. Also sound is better – no clipping so far. Will post video too soon.
Oh, filming at wide open (or at least close to) looks really cool! Too bad you can’t change focus on the run.
Ulf, the funny color thingi is gone I think (I must say that it DID improve many shots with it inside!). At least I haven’t seen it yet.
Thats really good news, Carl! And if you ever want to spice up your images with some red blotches surrounding the sun, just use your DP1…
“Seeing your ISO3200 B&W shot almost made me cry with joy.”
If you dig back in the archives, you’ll see that Carl posted ISO 3200 B&W SD14 and DP1 photos that look just as good. It’s always been high ISO color where Foveon sensors have a weakness. High ISO B&W is a strength. The DP2 ISO 3200 looks just like DP1 ISO 800 pushed two stops.
Hi Carl!
Great pictures! Where do you find Sigma Photo Pro 3.3? The only one I find on Sigma’s site is 3.2…
Anyone knows any rumors about x3f coming to Aperture?
Amin, you’re correct! The Dp1 can take the same BW quality it’s just a bit more complicated to do so. :)
Martin, The 3.3 or whatever will be the final number is needed in order to read these new X3F RAW files. The added color mode is now an option that you can change inside Sigma Photo Pro. The new SPP will probably be out shortly.
Ah…I’ve been wondering why so quiet and why no news on DP1 + SD15. Until I checked your site. DOH.
I recently put the DP1 to good use in Cuba. Very very pleased how it performed in both colour and pushed to iso1600 in BW.
Check out my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glass_and_tubes/tags/dp1/
DP2 looks promising esp the shallow DOF and the fix to skin colour and infared funny problem.
What’s going on with the window/door panes of the red house? That looks horrible even for digital over exposure. Otherwise the cam is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. Let’s hope Olympus doesn’t ruin the party with their coming retro micro four thirds.
Hi J
That’s overexposure that comes with the usage of ISo50, it’s not the perfect condition for a such low ISO but gives very creamy color on the rest. Well, I’ll add some ISo50 shots where there is no blown highlight. :)
Clinton! Great stuff! :D
Thanks for the review, Carl!
Regards,
Holger
Hi Carl,
Could you give us a sense of the usability of ISO400-800 in general with the DP2? To me a good ISO640 coupled with 2.8 should give decent exposure times for most general lower light situations
Hello Carl Rytterfalk,
very interesting fist look of the new sigma compact camera. Years for years i was waiting for a camera, to replace my Rollei 35 T and now, perhaps i have found it.
Good look to you.
titus
Hi Carl,
Thanks for the nice test. Perhaps you’ve mentioned, but are these photos converted from RAW files?
Oh crap. I was thinking I could have given the DP series a miss but after seeing what the DP2 can do I might just have to give it some consideration at some point in the future. Nice to see that sort of bokeh in a compact.
Carl – I still prefer 28mm to 41mm but would LOVE Dp1 mk2 with the faster processor/firmware fixes. Any idea if one is on the way? Or at least, will they release the firmware (with fixes) to current DP1 users?
Looks absolutely stunning! Love the pics.
Why don’t you come down here and play? :)
Thanks for this review Carl. The DP2 appears to be a wonderful tool in your hands. By the way, your grandmother is an absolutely beautiful subject.
Hi Ed, To be honest with you I don’t like the way Sigma Photo Pro handles higher ISO when in color. As soon as you turn over to monochrome mode then everything looks fantastic! I written Sigma about this and hopefully they’ll come out with a fix on the new SPP. What happens is that “Sigma Photo Pro” right now applies too heavy noise reduction when using higher ISO’s. Some will most likely like it, but I’m more of a noise loving guy. ;)
My favorite “Raw Developer” has no native support yet for DP2 and there you can fine tune noise reduction to your own taste.
Chia-Chen, yes, I’ve always enjoyed the RAW thing but the DP2 actually cranks out very nice looking JPEG’s too. :)
Anton! :D My man! I always wanna be there and you know it. I miss you guys so much!
Hallo Mr.Carl,
First i like to say,your web site is great.
I am impressed with Sigma DP2 camera particularly with sharpness.I am interested to see raw file from that camera and just curious how big can i print when translated in Tiff file?
I hopeyou will be willing to help me!
Best regards and have a good light,
Srecko Krasan
Tivat, Montenegro
Srecko Krasan, If you like, take one of these high quality JPG’s and print at A2, A1 or even A0 and see what they look like. I’m sure you will be impressed with what you get!
Mr. Carl,
Thank you for informations, i will try to print a bigger!
DP2 can be a nice camera for street photography!
Best regards,
Srecko Krasan
Tivat, Montenegro
사진 색감 좋습니다.
내공도 뛰어나고요.^^*
Wow DP2!!! Thank you for informations
…인 척했지만 정말 잘봤습니다.
Thanks for the opportunity to download your raw photos.
My DP2 has arrived in Ireland but I have not yet got delivery. It was great to have an opportunity to play with your photos and they are indeed great. I have a DP1 but I am delighted to see that the “Reds” have been fixed. Lovely to be able to get a great Bokeh out of the DP2 lens.
Keep up the good work,
Cheers,
John cox
Dear Carl,
The Foveon sensor certainly gives fine results in your hands. My questions are about viewfinders and shutter response.
I like to shoot in the documentary style – people especially. I like to look through an optical viewfinder. Have you tried the add-on finder for the Sigma DP1/2? Can you rely on autofocus when you do? Is framing a problem?
And how fast does the camera take the photo after the shutter is depressed? Is it almost instantaneous after having depressed it halfway in advance of finally plunging it to take the exposure?
Keep up the good work … Stuart
Hi Stuart Cryer,
If you use the thumb wheel to focus (see pictures of camera to understand) then there is more or less no lag – shutter response is instant. A good thing about the thumb wheel is that it has distance marked so if you turn off display and decide to shoot on 1m, just roll it and you’re good to go with whatever viewfinder you have. There is plenty of brands – old and new that fits and works with sigmas DP cameras.
Hi,
As soon i knew about the f2.8 41 mm dp2 i wanted to
see it´s bokeh!!!!
Thanks a lot Carl!!!
Sweet dreams are made of great bokeh and small cameras.
Enzo
Thank you Carl. I really enjoyed reading your review and appreciate the sample photos.
Thanks Carl for posting these images.
This could finally be the first compact camera that I’m tempted to buy – I would really like to see some ISO400 and ISO800 colour shots – OK so the RAW noise processing is agressive – would still be interesting to see the results at these ISOs if possible.
Hi, thanks for the photos and the great review. Looks like a very promising camera.
Is the XF3 file format of the DP2 the same as that of DP1? It’s an important question for me, since I want to process the files in Lightroom and Photoshop and I don’t want to wait for an upgrade.
Regards,
Wolfgang
Very nice pictures! I already own the DP1 wich is also inpressive, but 28 mm has never been my favorite. For a compact a 35 or 40 is the classic way to go. The DP1 gives beautiful pictures, there is no match in compact land. The reds need some ajustment, I always shoot in RAW. I can live with the DP1, I can imaging not everybody could. The beautiful lens on the DP2 is for me the main reason to going to save the money to buy it.
Wolfgang Kuechle: CS4 latest versions process XF3 for the DP1. I also would like to know if this is the the same for the DP2.
Hi Carl,
thanks for sharing your experience about the DP2 with us.
I read the DP1 has a complicated way for setting the exposure compensation and is loosing the adjustment after switching off the camera. How does the DP2 handle this?
Regards, Michael
Hi Carl,
Thanks for your site! I have just posted the first installment of my DP2 review on my own blog here: http://www.camera-blog.net/2009/05/27/sigma-dp2-an-in-depth-review-part-1/
This is an interesting little camera, and it is great to see what you’re accomplishing with it.
Michael, exposure comp etc is very easy to achieve now – it’s more or less a click away (press right or left arrow) and everything is back as you left it when turned off. Not sure I had any problems with this with the DP1 either. Perhaps with older firmware?