Sigma announces DP2

All those who stubbornly refused to see that the DP1 had plenty of room for a faster lens, go eat humble

pie now:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0809/08092305sigma_dp2.asp

 

Not only is the lens a whole stop faster, it's also longer at 24.2mmm, having the same angle of

view as a normal 41mm lens in 135 format.

 

Now this is a contender at last.

Looks excellent. The FOV and lens speed were my two original concerns when the DP1 came out. The concern that came later was how long it took to write a RAW file and be ready to go again.

 

Those three together (combined with the high price kept me out). Any ideas whether the new processor is quicker?

 

Also, any views as to where these will fit in once the Olympus M4/3 hits the street?

I would have wanted a Pentax like 31mm lens at f2.8 as a compromise. A lot of people are not into standard length lenses as their only fixed lens.

Is it going to take as long as the first one to actually be available?

Well, it is faster but at a less extreme focal length. That isnt quite the same thing.

 

Interesting day of releases today - the Leica "large sensor" DSLR, the DP2 and the Oly M4/3rd body... good stuff :)

 

Vandit

None of those cameras seem to be even vaguely available. It was an interesting day for vapour.

>That isnt quite the same thing.

 

That's the whole point. It's not a Leica M8.2, you know.

>It was an interesting day for vapour.

 

Were you also one of those guys who insisted the Zeiss Ikon was vapour-ware?

"All those who stubbornly refused to see that the DP1 had plenty of room for a faster lens, go eat humble pie now:"

 

I like pies but not today. Small fast normal lens is much easier to do than small fast wideangle.

This is certainly more interesting to me with the 41mm equiv lens, If the handling and speed are improved too.

<i>Were you also one of those guys who insisted the Zeiss Ikon was vapour-ware?</i><P>No. What does that have to do with any of these announcements?

hmm, i think i'd prefer a shorter FL for street/doc

I guess the reason why DP1 was slow writing RAW

(its principal drawback in my view) was due to compression overhead.

Maybe the improved "True II image processing engine"

will help here.

Now the DP2 has a faster lens, and it's not wide enough. No availability date announced yet, so it must be

vapourware.

 

 

Funny, I don't recall people complaining about the Rollei 35's 40mm lens being too "normal" or "easy to make."

Hack, it sold a ton without having a rangefinder and still fetches decent prices.

 

Even if a future DP3 sports a GR21-like lens, there will still be people whining about the increased price and/

or size because it's "harder to make", or too much light fall-off from the super-wide AOV, or too much cropping

is required to isolate the subject, or the perspective is too exaggerated (which will surely be called

"distortion" even if straight lines remain straight.)

Anyone who said the lens could not be faster without being much larger was talking about the lens at that focal length.

Note that still remains true, in order to make the lens faster it's less wide. No magic here folks, Sigma obeys the laws of

physics in this house just like everyone else.

 

It will be interesting to see what other imrpovements come to the camera, and how soon it arrives... one would hope

before Crristmas but Sigma operates at a more deliberate schedule than most camera makers.

Very good strategy from Sigma. 28 is very good for landscapes where slow operation is not that critical. The biggest problem with the DP1 is that it is slow. Slow to focus, slow to operate, slow to take more than one photo. I would expect improvements in all these fields on the new model. If they had made another, improved 28 equivalent model, they would not be able to clear the existing stock of DP1s. New model with longer lens would surely appeal to many DP1 owners as a second body and some DP2 buyers may want another one with a wider lens and could then still buy the DP1. They can keep both models in production for quite some time, at least until competitors get their act together.

>Anyone who said the lens could not be faster without being much larger was talking about the lens at that focal length. Note that still remains true, in order to make the lens faster it's less wide. No magic here folks, Sigma obeys the laws of physics in this house just like everyone else.

 

Then the 135-format Nikon 28Ti and Ricoh GR1 series must have defied such laws. Or is the large lens barrel on the Sigma with multiple, much thicker sleeves subject to another set of laws?

[[Then the 135-format Nikon 28Ti and Ricoh GR1 series must have defied such laws.]]

 

This has been addressed over and over and over again in other threads. Of course, why should pointing

this out be of any help, you clearly have no interest in actually learning.

"Then the 135-format Nikon 28Ti"

 

You mean the one that used film and so could accept light with much steeper angles?

 

"and Ricoh GR1 series"

 

You mean the cameras that have a sensor a tenth the size of the DP-1?

 

"must have defied such laws."

 

No. They obey the rules too. You just haven't cracked open the rule book.

Focus isn't so critical with a 28mm equivalent, and you can easily guess distance and use the manual focus dial along with depth

of field. No problem pre-focusing that way shooting street. With 41mm that will be a bit more challenging, but still possible. Might be a

tad more appropriate for auto focus casual portrait type situations.

Illka, you are right about the Sigma strategy being a good one. It is not new, either.

 

For many years Fuji produced a 645 AF 120 MF camera with fixed lens. You could get it with a 60mm lens (40mm equiv) or a 45mm (30mm equiv).

So, you could choose which one appealed more for you, slightly wide or real wide angle.

I had the 60mm. Bet lots of people bought both. It was a good performer.

Joe, I have the 60 mm Fuji and I have been waiting for a similar digital for a long time. It has been an excellent travel camera. The DP1 is the closest to it, and not a bad effort although a bit too slow in its operation.

llkka,

Perhaps the DP2 will be the DS (Digital Son) of our Fujis

(which, I notice, you still have!)

As I recall, the only thing I didn't like about the Fuji was the non-defeatable auto film advance. While the shutter was quiet it was followed by "whhirrr!" which made close candids tough.....

well, more than one anyway.