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Author Topic: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences  (Read 615427 times)

Willow Photography

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #800 on: March 06, 2013, 04:31:40 am »

Hi guys

I was / am thinking about buying a tech camera for architectural and
landscape photography.
But I also have a Sigma DP2 Merrill.
Its a terrific camera and I wonder if it can be used with stitching in
those areas.

Whats the best thing do to to get it right
( panorama head, nodalpoint, software etc )?

Can it in any way replace a tech camera with rise/fall and shift?

Willow
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #801 on: March 06, 2013, 06:47:05 am »

But I also have a Sigma DP2 Merrill.
Its a terrific camera and I wonder if it can be used with stitching in
those areas.

Whats the best thing do to to get it right
( panorama head, nodalpoint, software etc )?

Can it in any way replace a tech camera with rise/fall and shift?

Yes, I believe that it can. For landscape the very short battery life of the DP2m will be a problem though.

You could start sitching with a really right stuff spherical pano head to see whether it meet your needs. Typically a 2 row x 3 images pano with a 45/50mm lens will cover the same angle as a 24mm lens with enough freedom to correct for perspective (that will adress rise/fall well).

I guess that you mention shift for those cases when you want to avoid camra reflections in a window,...? Well, that is more challenging, you are going to have to position the camera so as to avoid reflections in the first place.

Cheers,
Bernard

juan_amores

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #802 on: March 06, 2013, 06:48:59 am »

How about in this picture?  Banding in the beautiful blue sky?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnloves/8504075319/



In this photo I'm unable to see any band (will be my eyes?)  ???
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Pete_G

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #803 on: March 06, 2013, 08:06:36 am »

I don't think we should get to carried away by the banding issues on the DP2M, in my experience they are slight and certainly don't appear in most shots. All sensors can exhibit banding. Also banding can be an issue with monitors rather than the file. When I've had banding problems, with my Hasselblad CFV, it's usually down to rigorous LR adjustments, and most of the time, although the banding is visible on my monitor it doesn't appear in the prints.
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Aguirre

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #804 on: March 06, 2013, 08:07:38 am »

Juan, I see no banding within your color shot. I'm not a pixel-peeper, so I've never really peeped at other cameras; the only reason I'm scrutinizing is because I have a particular desire to print large, hi-rez, B&W landscapes with an emphasis on skies. I'm also trying to limit my PP for purist reasons; although I do thank Bernard for his recommendations for minimizing the banding.

I wonder if the DP1M has this issue; or the DP3M for that matter?
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TMARK

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #805 on: March 06, 2013, 08:41:51 am »

I've seen banding in almost all digi cameras after B&W conversion.  My theory is that too much of one value of a color is removed, thus banding.  The same frame in color will not exhibit banding.  Is that the case with the DP shots?  Or is in color as well?
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nuustt

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #806 on: March 07, 2013, 09:48:27 am »

Yes, I believe that it can. For landscape the very short battery life of the DP2m will be a problem though.

You could start sitching with a really right stuff spherical pano head to see whether it meet your needs. Typically a 2 row x 3 images pano with a 45/50mm lens will cover the same angle as a 24mm lens with enough freedom to correct for perspective (that will adress rise/fall well).

I guess that you mention shift for those cases when you want to avoid camra reflections in a window,...? Well, that is more challenging, you are going to have to position the camera so as to avoid reflections in the first place.

Cheers,
Bernard


For your information, I use a B+W 49mm CPL on my DP2m and it reduces reflection of glass and water significantly. However, it also reduces exposure by 2 stops. You may give it a try when shooting window wall of grand buildings.

Cheers,
Stephen
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Jim Funston

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #807 on: March 07, 2013, 09:20:07 pm »

I guess it could be my monitors but I don't see it on any of my MAC's or even my iPhone or iPad. Out of sight out of mind I guess. I just went all over some recent prints up to 16x20 and can't see any banding on them either.

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Hulyss

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #808 on: March 08, 2013, 02:38:04 am »

I come with a news for you, a firmware update >>

Quote
Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce that firmware SIGMA DP1 Merrill and SIGMA DP2 Merrill is available for download.
Benefits of the firmware update

SIGMA DP1 Merrill firmware [Ver.1.03] ・Adds the Face Detection Mode ・It is possible to create B/W images in RAW or RAW+JPEG mode.

・It corrects the phenomenon that transferring an image using a USB cable fails occasionally.

・It is possible that non-SIGMA external flashguns can synchronize at a shutter speed of 1/125 second or slower.

・It corrects the phenomenon that JPEG images are not properly displayed in the Adobe RGB color space.

SIGMA DP2 Merrill firmware [Ver.1.04]

・Adds the Face Detection Mode ・It is possible to create B/W images in RAW or RAW+JPEG mode.

・It corrects the phenomenon that transferring an image using a USB cable fails occasionally.

・It is possible that non-SIGMA external flashguns can synchronize at a shutter speed of 1/125 second or slower.

・It corrects the phenomenon that JPEG images are not properly displayed in the Adobe RGB color space.

SIGMA DP1 Merrill firmware Ver.1.03 is available for download at the following site. http://www.sigma-dp.com/download/dp1m-firmware.html
SIGMA DP2 Merrill firmware Ver.1.04 is available for download at the following site. http://www.sigma-dp.com/download/dp2m-firmware.html

I just hope it fix the colors to be in par with the DP3m output.
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capital

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #809 on: March 08, 2013, 03:37:51 am »

I do not own a DP but am interested.

According to Sigma, their DP1 Merrill is not compatible with the AML-2, has anyone mounted it on their camera anyways, what was the closest you could focus with it? Was image quality impacted?

Sigma list a maximum exposure time of 30 seconds, the manual states there is an interval timer yet the minimum time between shots is 15 seconds, hmmm okay, that will not be a seamless transition from one frame to the next, so I thought about a hack involving exposure bracketing to get a stacked "90 second exposure", so will the following work:

In manual mode, set the exposure at 30 sec and set the exposure compensation to +3 EV, set up auto bracketing mode, set the self timer for 2 or 10 sec delay, thus the camera will peg three exposures at the maximum allowed time (i.e. 30 secs) since it can't go above 30 secs and then fire them consecutively without any delay?


Finally, the camera manual states you can zoom into x12 when manual focusing, is x12 usable for obtaining critical focus or is the lens prone to under and overshoot the focus position because it moves in steps? Also, when AF focusing it is possible to have a magnified view of the in focus point (1of9)?

Thank you.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2013, 03:52:16 am by capital »
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palpman

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #810 on: March 08, 2013, 03:38:44 am »

I'm wondering what the benefits of shooting raw B&W can be?
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uvl

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #811 on: March 08, 2013, 05:42:32 am »

On long exposure stacking:
The DP Merrill camera uses dark field compensation to improve the signal noise ratio. Each long exposure shot is followed by a shot with closed shutter. The noise of the dark shot is subtracted from the actual picture. Using exposure bracketing overrides this behaviour. You get more noisy shots but you get them faster. To make it short: I can't imagine any improvement by stacking two exposures in the way you described.

On focusing steps:
Focusing works fine on my DP2M. The focusing steps of the DP2m are calculated with overlapping sharpness and sharpness can be seen on the screen very good if you use the 1:1 zoom mode.

Uwe
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capital

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #812 on: March 08, 2013, 02:09:15 pm »

Hi Uwe, thank you for your reply,

I understand exposure stacking of DP images might not be optimal from a noise reduction point of view, however for stacking 3 DP images with seamless blending of moving elements during the exposure, such as car lights, foliage moving, etc: I was curious if the method I expressed above would produce 3 seamless 30 second exposures for this reason.

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uvl

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #813 on: March 08, 2013, 02:48:53 pm »

There will be gaps in the light trajectories as the camera needs a moment to open and close the shutter. And maybe you will get a battery problem inbetween ;-(
Nethertheless there are good examples of long exposure traffic photos on flickr.
Uwe ;-)
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neways

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #814 on: March 08, 2013, 03:26:41 pm »

I downloaded the latest firmware and updated my DP2M, but when I put a Canon flash on the camera it won't fire. I thought the new firmware update will allow non-Sigma flash to work. Do I miss something here?

Thanks,

John
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juan_amores

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #815 on: March 08, 2013, 05:13:39 pm »

I'm very confused with the banding on my pics. Are there anyone with banding problems in their DP2M that have been send the camera to SIGMA?  ??? ??? ???
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Aguirre

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #816 on: March 08, 2013, 05:58:09 pm »

Juan, I perused some B&W DP Merrill shots on flickr and I did see some banding from multiple shooters; even some vertical banding. However, the banding was not always present; perhaps TMARK is on to something. Also, the banding seemed to be non-existent on shots with a lot of noise; speaking of which, the grain signature of this camera looks VERY good. You might want to search out some B&Ws yourself and see what you come up with. Good luck!
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mdijb

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #817 on: March 08, 2013, 06:17:21 pm »

I went to the Sigma download page for the DP1 Firmware update but cannot find the button to push  or link  to download.

HWere is it??

MDIJB
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aduke

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #818 on: March 08, 2013, 06:26:50 pm »

At the very bottom, of course! :)
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mdijb

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Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill Experiences
« Reply #819 on: March 09, 2013, 12:18:52 pm »

How does one do HDR with the DP2 files?  None of the processors handle these raw files.  JUST do the merges on the 16 bit tiffs from SPP?? or is there another option?

MDIJB
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