Cameras & Photography

[BFrank]

Day 2 - Americas Cup.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Yeah, that was rolled out in iOS 6 on both the iPhone 4S and 5 as well as the 5G iPod Touch, but not any earlier models, as those iPhone/iPod models do not share the same iSight camera system shared by the 4S, 5 and 5G iPod Touch. You can select Panorama from the Options screen when using the camera to access the panorama mode.

Fwiw, my Galaxy Samsung phone can take panoramic shots.

And, Scott, in case you've never been there, if you like mansions, there's a bunch of them in Newport, Rhode Island that you can tour. You probably already knew that but just in case you didn't. Pretty amazing houses. I have to say though, the most incredible mansion that I've ever toured was Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Crazy cool.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

I actually didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up.

Have you visited Biltmore?

I'm not sure I'm into mansions as much as I am the old school architecture. And Biltmore is brimming with it.

Never been to Biltmore. Definitley have to rectify that one day. Newport has several "cottages" as they were called in the 19th century. The Breakers, originally owned by the Vanderbilts, is the most impressive. Talk about old school architecture. Every one of the "cottages" has its own personality. Newport is a nice visit. They have some nice restaurants as well.

http://www.newportmansions.org/

[Coda]

Co-Co on burnt grass. There was not much rain this summer in Boston and my backyard grass is gone. I took this a few days ago and just converted it to B&W tonight. It's from the Sigma camera.

[Coda]

Winthrop, MA on a stretch of rocky beach.

[steve(thelil)]

Great stuff, Coda!

[Coda]

Thank you! It was just past low tide and not many footprints in the sand this day.

[Ron Thorne]

Here are some recent snapshots from our California trip.

[Ron Thorne]

HA! That hummingbird shot is worth its weight in gold!

VERY rare to capture one like that.

And I can tell you wasted no time snapping it. Nicely done!

Thanks, Scott. It was a fleeting moment, indeed.

California seagulls sure look a lot different than their eastern kin.

The differences in appearance are actually more subtle than you might think. The bird in my photo is not fully mature, which is why the plumage has so much gray/brown throughout.

[Coda]

I took this after a long lunch. It was a quick snap on the way back to the car. I got lucky.

[steve(thelil)]

I took this after a long lunch. It was a quick snap on the way back to the car. I got lucky.

'

What a wonderfully "rich" shot. nicely done!

[Coda]

Scott & Steve,

Thanks. I give most of the credit to the camera. This is from the Sigma #2.

I call it my brick. I also have a #3.
To really get a sense of how good this camera is you need to see the pictures at full resolution:

I'm not sure this gets you to the site, but here it is: http://www.adamlozo.com/Galleries/Foveon/28884812_p7xndZ#!i=2808716298&k=3hPNvXL&lb=1&s=O Chances are you'll need to find the 'original' size to see this as it was shot.

[BFrank]

Read good things about the Sigma cameras, but never used one.

[steve(thelil)]

Taken with iPhone 5 and edited with Picasa.

[Coda]

Hey Steve, I hope you don't mind me borrowing your picture. I wanted to see how much room the iPhone pic left for fiddling. I downloaded your jpeg and put it through Lightroom.

There is more data in this file - especially in the highlights where there is still some room in the blue channel. It's a noticeable improvement over my 4s. It looks like it's time for the smart phone makers to start offering the pictures in raw format.

Say the word and I'll take this down.

[Coda]

Read good things about the Sigma cameras, but never used one.

The new line of Sigmas - the DPMerrills - are really something special. They have a proprietary sensor technology called Foveon. It uses separate layers for the red-green-blue channels whereas the standard industry technology shares a single layer with alternating patters of RGB colors.

The Sigmas are finicky cameras. They only work well at base ISO, or 100. You can push it to 200 but it starts to lose the magic soon after. This means you need to use a tripod in most cases. It won't work well for fast moving pets or children. You need to work slowly and have subjects that don't move or you'll lose the micro detail in the image. The batteries suck. You need a battery for every 36 shots so carry them like they're film. The colors are sometimes funky - especially skin tones. You must use the proprietary SPP software to process these pics, and it's a real PIA. LR developers are working on a fix but it's a tricky technology that requires all custom algorithms so they made no promises on how long to wait. I expect it's another year or two out. You'll have to accept all of these shortcomings or you'll be frustrated and not like this line of cameras.

The rewards may be worth it to you. These are P&S size cameras that have an effective resolution of a 36 MP camera. It resolves better than the Nikon D800 and on par with medium format. The lens on the #2 and #3 are about as perfect corner to corner as you can get, wide open or closed down. Stitch images with this puppy and you can create wall size pictures without having to scale up. The micro detail is so impressive in prints that I find myself printing pictures that I ordinarily would not. If you've gotten tired of lugging around big gear and if you find you can take your time composing and if you work mostly with slow or no moving objects then this may work for you.

I own three cameras: The DP2M, the DP3M, and the Sony RX1. These are all fixed focal length cameras at 28, 77, and 35. The Sony is my carry around and I love it just as much as the Sigmas. It is strong where they are weak and vice verse.

[BFrank]

Read good things about the Sigma cameras, but never used one.

The new line of Sigmas - the DPMerrills - are really something special. They have a proprietary sensor technology called Foveon. It uses separate layers for the red-green-blue channels whereas the standard industry technology shares a single layer with alternating patters of RGB colors.

The Sigmas are finicky cameras. They only work well at base ISO, or 100. You can push it to 200 but it starts to lose the magic soon after. This means you need to use a tripod in most cases. It won't work well for fast moving pets or children. You need to work slowly and have subjects that don't move or you'll lose the micro detail in the image. The batteries suck. You need a battery for every 36 shots so carry them like they're film. The colors are sometimes funky - especially skin tones. You must use the proprietary SPP software to process these pics, and it's a real PIA. LR developers are working on a fix but it's a tricky technology that requires all custom algorithms so they made no promises on how long to wait. I expect it's another year or two out. You'll have to accept all of these shortcomings or you'll be frustrated and not like this line of cameras.

The rewards may be worth it to you. These are P&S size cameras that have an effective resolution of a 36 MP camera. It resolves better than the Nikon D800 and on par with medium format. The lens on the #2 and #3 are about as perfect corner to corner as you can get, wide open or closed down. Stitch images with this puppy and you can create wall size pictures without having to scale up. The micro detail is so impressive in prints that I find myself printing pictures that I ordinarily would not. If you've gotten tired of lugging around big gear and if you find you can take your time composing and if you work mostly with slow or no moving objects then this may work for you.

I own three cameras: The DP2M, the DP3M, and the Sony RX1. These are all fixed focal length cameras at 28, 77, and 35. The Sony is my carry around and I love it just as much as the Sigmas. It is strong where they are weak and vice verse.

Wow. With all of those issues, I don't see any advantage to getting one of these over a DSLR. Sure, it's pocket-size, but what you're sacrificing far outweighs that 'luxury.' It would ultimately be a VERY frustrating piece of equipment to use.......for ME, anyway.

Thanks for the detailed info, Coda!

[Dr Dave]

Take a look at these:

http://www.beforethey.com/tribe/kazakh

When I stop gawking at them, I wonder how the hell some of those mountaintop shots were taken.

[steve(thelil)]

Hey Steve, I hope you don't mind me borrowing your picture. I wanted to see how much room the iPhone pic left for fiddling. I downloaded your jpeg and put it through Lightroom.

There is more data in this file - especially in the highlights where there is still some room in the blue channel. It's a noticeable improvement over my 4s. It looks like it's time for the smart phone makers to start offering the pictures in raw format.

Say the word and I'll take this down.

Not at all. Very cool.Thanks for your interest!

[Coda]

This is a light show that the wife dragged me to tonight. It's on the Charles by the shell. This is right out of the camera with a little noise reduction and sharpening. Hand held 6400 ISO RX1

[Coda]

A look over to Cambridge MA taken from the Boston side of the Charles River. It's also from tonight.

[Coda]

Chicken Dinner. Yum.

[Coda]

MIT and Harvard in the distance

[steve(thelil)]

Very impressive and quite stunning.

[steve(thelil)]

Chicken Dinner. Yum.

WINNER, WINNER