Featured: 'Some images from the DP3m in Japan' by Boid

Boid

All-Pro
Location
Bangalore, India
Name
Rajiv
For my walk around kit, I usually carry a Ricoh GR and the X100 in a nat geo canvas bag with two pouches.

I hugely enjoyed shooting with the X100 but I needed a wider field of view than 35mm especially for shooting architecture. So I bought a wide conversion lens for the Ricoh GR which takes it's native 28mm fov to 21mm (in 35mm terms).

And I replaced the X100 with the DP3M, because I needed a carry around that could shoot primarily portraits.

As an added bonus the batteries between the two systems are interchangeable, and since one needs a host of batteries to make the Sigma last out a day, this was great.

So far I'm really impressed with the IQ from the DP3m. And I'm finally happy with my setup. For now.

Here are a few images from the DP3m -


Handheld in low light, which the Sigma isn't very good at. ISO200, f2.8, 1/60th
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It does pretty good macros as well, which can be improved with a Marumi magnifier
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As a portrait camera in good light, I'm really impressed with the colors from the foveon sensor
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A 1:1 crop from the same image
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A portrait, I think even the blown highlights work for this image
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Makes great b&w images as well
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Sculpture at the National Museum of Modern Art
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If one respects the very narrow parameters that this camera works in, it's possible to make images that surpass one's expectations.

Needless to say, I'm a fan.
 
I really like the dark(ish) surroundings of the golden temple, they make it pop much more than most photos I've seen of it. Lovely portraits also - is that missus Boid? (Not the geisha obviously, the other lady :tongue: )
 
I really like the dark(ish) surroundings of the golden temple, they make it pop much more than most photos I've seen of it. Lovely portraits also - is that missus Boid? (Not the geisha obviously, the other lady :tongue: )

Wouldn't mind the geisha as the missus, though I'd imagine getting anywhere on time with her would get rather trying.

The portraits are of a colleague (fellow architect). This was an office trip to Japan. These trips work out very well for me, because I get to boss them around and pose for me. In particular there were complaints from this particular colleague that I'd never taken a good image of her.
 
Great images Rajiv - glad these were moved to the front page as I'd missed them previously. I had a DP1M for a couple of months in the summer of last year and was amazed by the detail in the shots, but didn't seem to care enough about it to prefer it to more rounded cameras like the Coolpix A or GR. And the bokeh in that 19mm lens was really busy and distracting. Was never interested in the DP3M because it seemed too short for portraits, but that's where all of that amazing resolution really matters - you can easily crop these images down to make them anything up to at least 150mm and still retain amazing detail. And the bokeh in these shots is much nicer.

-Ray
 
Great images Rajiv - glad these were moved to the front page as I'd missed them previously. I had a DP1M for a couple of months in the summer of last year and was amazed by the detail in the shots, but didn't seem to care enough about it to prefer it to more rounded cameras like the Coolpix A or GR. And the bokeh in that 19mm lens was really busy and distracting. Was never interested in the DP3M because it seemed too short for portraits, but that's where all of that amazing resolution really matters - you can easily crop these images down to make them anything up to at least 150mm and still retain amazing detail. And the bokeh in these shots is much nicer.

-Ray

Thanks Ray! I'm enjoying the camera so far. I pretend the batteries are film canisters that I have to change every 80-90 frames. I'm still learning the camera and it's a finicky beast. The ISO stays put at 100 and I'm on the lookout for a small tripod to carry around all the time (something like the ZipShot from Tamrac, but I think they've stopped production). Highlights get blown very easily and if you underexpose the image and try boosting the shadows some funky color noise creeps in.

I'm actually ok with the 75mm fov for portraits. I don't have to step too far back to take a picture. With only wider fixed lenses in my walk around kit, I missed being able to compress backgrounds. The DP3m does that nicely. I was still undecided about picking it up till the last minute, but an additional $100 off (down from $600) at Yodobashi Camera at Akihabara sealed the deal for me. I think the exchange rates might have been in my favor as well.
 
beautiful photos!
There's always something that fascinates me with good Foveon shots... the colours and contrast feel very natural and "non-digital" (like there's still a "hint of film emulsion" in there... :) ).
 
Great images, Rajiv. Am very tempted to pick up one of the DPxM cameras as the prices are really low right now. Literally half their original price. I've got the original DP1 and DP2, so I'm no stranger to slow camera operation and the 'joy's of Sigma Photo Pro. And if I get a DPxM, I get a spare battery that can also be used in my Ricoh GR!

How did you find the camera's operation speed when out shooting on the streets of Japan? How is shot-to-shot recovery speed?
 
Great images, Rajiv. Am very tempted to pick up one of the DPxM cameras as the prices are really low right now. Literally half their original price. I've got the original DP1 and DP2, so I'm no stranger to slow camera operation and the 'joy's of Sigma Photo Pro. And if I get a DPxM, I get a spare battery that can also be used in my Ricoh GR!

How did you find the camera's operation speed when out shooting on the streets of Japan? How is shot-to-shot recovery speed?

If you're ok with not reviewing your pictures, you can shoot away pretty rapidly while the files keeps writing to the card. I can shoot about 5-6 pictures in rapid succession without filling the buffer.
 
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