Sigma DP2s - Hands On Review

Hey all,

I had the pleasure of doing a Hands On review of the Sigma DP2s if anybody is interested It's about 18 minutes total including both parts.

In this know holding back, “Hands On Review” I will go over the Sigma DP2s from a practical real world point of view. I’ll show the good, the bad, and the ugly on this extremely powerful Pro level point and shoot. Please check out both videos for the full review

Part 1>>


In this Part we will go over the Sigma DP2s photos I took in Adobe Lightroom 3. I took a variety of images in a variety of conditions and will critique the camera’s performance on pretty much all fronts. Please continue with the Sigma DPS review Part 2 video Below:

Part 2 >>

Best,
Jay

Cliffs?

adamo99 wrote in post #11893218
Cliffs?

get a t2i and a pancake lens.

adamo99 wrote in post #11893218
Cliffs?

Sorry it's a video tutorial. However, I would not buy 1.

Best,
Jay

I don't think I hear "Foveon" once in the videos. I have a G11 and my Sigma produces better quality images than it.

Also, I think it's "no holding back".

Just wondering about the lens cap drama, does the orientation of the Sigma name matter on how easy it is to take off? I mean, if it can only be put back on with the Sigma logo horizontal, maybe the lens cap will come off easier that way? (just wondering)

Also... you seem really excited about the pop up flash, I lol at how excited you seemed about that.

EDIT: About the second video... "bokeh'n"... really?

Thanks guys for the bashing

Jay

adamo99 wrote in post #11893218
Cliffs?

Tony-S wrote in post #11894422
I don't think I hear "Foveon" once in the videos. I have a G11 and my Sigma produces better quality images than it.

Also, I think it's "no holding back".

Thanks for the grammar correction though

I don't have a G11 but I do have a G3 and a G9. I did not mention the Faveon, because coming from a pro user that is not really important to me. The camera doing the Post Processing is not part of my normal workflow. I pretty much only shoot raw. That being said I did mention how good the Layla portrait came out as far as the skin smoothing ect.. when I did use jpeg mode. In fact I encouraged the user to check them out further as I was impressed with them.

I do appreciate the feedback guys, but please this is coming from my perspective and first impression. I think I was pretty accurate on that and I'm sorry if your I bashed your camera on a few features ect.. no offense intended!

Best,
Jay

I'm not offended, I just figured a little criticism will help you more than a meaningless "Cool, I watched it" comment

And just to clarify, is "bokeh'n" a pro user term?

themadman wrote in post #11894963
I'm not offended, I just figured a little criticism will help you more than a meaningless "Cool, I watched it" comment

And just to clarify, is "bokeh'n" a pro user term?

All those slang terms I like to use are all "Pro" terms What I was saying was you get a nice Bokeh and .... by the way.

Best,
Jay

jason324 wrote in post #11894795
Thanks guys for the bashing

It's not bashing. If you're talking about Sigma cameras, then you need to talk about the Foveon sensor. It is what makes them unique compared to all other (Bayer sensor) cameras.

jason324 wrote in post #11894891
Thanks for the grammar correction though

You're welcome.

Then it really isn't a review. Review articles are comprehensive and to leave out the most important aspect is a rather important oversight.

Did you edit the Foveon raws in Lightroom or Sigma Photo Pro? Lightroom's ability to handle Foveon raws isn't the best. It is much better at Bayer files.

Rendition of skin textures is where Foveon images excel. Same with snow (you mentioned this in your video as well). Foveon sensors appear to have greater dynamic range than Bayer sensors, though I have not seen any quantitative data supporting this.

I don't think you bashed the Sigma at all, but I do think you left out some very important aspects of the camera. Sigma cameras are not for everyone - they are slow to process images (inherent with Foveon technology), limited in their optics, their software is slow, their cameras are feature-poor relative to others and their high ISO performance isn't very good (but low ISO is amazing). But their images can be very, very nice. In addition, all of Sigma's cameras use 1.7x APS-C sensors, which are much larger than sensors found in most PaS cameras such as the PowerShot series. That's why the bokeh you see with the DP cameras with f/2.8 apertures are far superior to other PaS cameras.

Maybe you should do a part 3 - the Foveon sensor. It's going to change the game when the SD1 arrives. Medium format-quality images from a small DSLR.

Fair enough Tony I thought emphasizing the size of the sensor, and saying it was incredible was enough. I probably should have mentioned that the sensor is a "Proprietary three-layered Foveon X3 direct image sensor".

Best,
Jay

Probably should have done considering that the Foveon sensor is the only reason anyone would want to buy a DP1s or DP2s....

Sample photos seem to say more about the user's ability than the camera's. Sorry

Fair enough. Thanks for the comments

It was my first review so I definitely have major room for improvement. I really appreciate your guys honest feedback and look forward to my next review!! I'll have a lot more notes this time

Best,
Jay