I need something different - should I buy a Sigma DP_M

BillN

Hall of Famer
Location
S W France
Name
Bill
I'm mainly "into" birds and close ups of small insects etc., - using a Nikon D700/D7100 and longer lenses, 300mm up to 600mm ……. I get quite a bit of use out of the 105mm f2.8 for portraits and my general "walk around" lens would be the Nikon 70 200mm f2.8 VR , OK I know it's big for a carry around… with the 50mm f1.8 in my pocket …… using the D700 …………. I only tend to use the D7100 for birds ……… I use the V1 + FT-1 + 300mm for close ups

I use my M8 occasionally mainly with Zeiss 28mm …….. but it can be a bind as i wear glasses ….. but I am "used to" Leica RF's so most of the time I can just "guess"

The M4/3 stuff gets used now and again, but for compact I use a Nikon V1 as it fits with the Nikon DSLR's that I use especially with the FT-1 and batteries …….. and the Canon S95

Some days I "change direction" and go slightly "off message" ….. trying to be creative, (difficult for me), with a DSLR

I just feel that I need a (complete) change, (not the Paul aka pdh kind!) ………. should I get a Sigma DP1, 2 or 3 Merrill to use when I get into one of my "must be creative" moods

I know the difference between the models is the lens …… 28mm up to 75mm …….. I'm tempted to go for the DP3 as I quite like the more "tele" end when walking around …. but it is not stabilised and higher ISO's are not supposed to be good on the Sigma

prices look good, I know it focuses slowly and is a "slow" process camera……. that does not worry me

B & W does interest me more and more

what do you reckon - should I give it a go?

Your advice and comments would really be appreciated as i have at least £500 credit with my wife who bought a load of "fashion" wear for a wedding that we have just attended
 
I'd definitely recommend a DPM option.

I started out in digital, then maybe a year in picked up an old all manual film camera. It wasn't until shooting with that camera that everything sort of made sense to me.

Now several years later I buy a DP3M. Not quite the same aha moment, but in my limited time with it I am quickly appreciating being forced to slow down, compose properly, and at least try to take a good shot. It has been a nice wake up call. And the images it produces are as good as the hype would lead you to believe.
 
you have a big dslr, an m8 and m4/3 and youre still not 'juiced'. do you really need advice? for the life of me, i dont know how, having all that great gear, a camera without a vf will 'juice' you, but thats not my call. i say do it, whats the worse that can happen? you resell it and continue the quest.

my 2¢ on macro: like you ive had loads of gear, all different formats. the rx1 with evf is by far THE best macro cam ive ever used or seen used. just my opinion.
 
TBH hoping that a new camera is going to change the way you see is a bit like the tail wagging the dog. I found that giving myself a project helped me move forward and see/interpret the world differently than I had been. And I'm not talking about a picture a day project kind of thing which can be fun but may or may not move you forward photographically, but rather a project in the sense of investigating an idea and thinking about ways to visualize and photograph that idea. It could be a photo documentary of a person or a place or the exploration of a concept (mine is currently to document/visualize the intersection of man and nature).

Once I started with a project and an idea and a need to try to interpret/capture the world through that project, it turned my camera gear into tools not trinkets and I became much more discerning about what I needed and what I simply wanted.
 
TBH hoping that a new camera is going to change the way you see is a bit like the tail wagging the dog. I found that giving myself a project helped me move forward and see/interpret the world differently than I had been. And I'm not talking about a picture a day project kind of thing which can be fun but may or may not move you forward photographically, but rather a project in the sense of investigating an idea and thinking about ways to visualize and photograph that idea. It could be a photo documentary of a person or a place or the exploration of a concept (mine is currently to document/visualize the intersection of man and nature).

Once I started with a project and an idea and a need to try to interpret/capture the world through that project, it turned my camera gear into tools not trinkets and I became much more discerning about what I needed and what I simply wanted.

Different camera/lens combos do influence the way I see things or (record) things
I usually have a specific subject in mind when I go out shooting and take the appropriate equipment

looking at the extremes - from the D700 + 600mm to the M8 +28mm to the V1 plus zoom
I seldom use wide or look at landscapes …….. indeed my normal "landscapes" are usually taken with a 300mm f2.8
Any portraits I take, and I never post them publically are taken with the 105mm f2.8 VR or the 70 200mm f2.8VR

The DP_M will add a new subject interest and way of working … and take me away from my usual subjects ….. but I am tending to favour the DP3M … so maybe not, as I believe it is a good close up on a tripod nature lens

Look at my Flickr to see the range of images that I take

Many of my shots could only be successfully taken with a specific camera lens combo
 
I have a few, but I cannot be bothered with film anymore

Leitz.jpg
 
Hi Bill

One is a llla and the other a lllf

my ll is in France, serial number 1935 to 1937 Range …. but the lens that came with it is earlier, the 50mm f3.5 Elmar is 1933, inscribed in mm's rather than cm's, 50mm versus 5cm

You can still buy film and have it developed in the local supermarket in France
 
Care to elaborate on this point, i.e., how might the DP3M influence your picture taking vs. the D7100/50mm 1.8 or D700 + a 75-85mm prime?

Just a quick answer - I have been looking at textures lately (in nature) plus the more abstract images - I believe that the Sigma will give strong and more effective, unusual ones

It also seem to produce stronger colours in certain situations, particularly when focused on (close) shots with dominant objects

I realise that it will also have many disadvantages in it's UI and it will be best to use a tripod because it is best at it's (low) native ISO

I also mentioned B & W ….. again I believe that the contrast will be more interesting with the Sigma ……. even if I use SEP in PP with the Nikon

My daughter has also started to print some of my images and is interested in the more quirky (abstract) kind …… again the use of the Sigma may give me some different effects.

The Leica, so far has been best at achieving some of the above, and I can buy a DP3M for a third of the cost of a Leica 75mm lens

i am not a creative photographer, I tend to take mainly "record" shots most of the time as part of the process involved in my love of nature., i.e. of Birds and Dragonflies etc.

I don't look at a bird or dragonfly in the same way as I look at a door or a church or a piece of wood or indeed a group of people

My "most" used lens is probably the 300mm Nikon primes with TC's ……. now moving towards the 600mm when conditions are "right"

I suppose the sensible thing would be to get a D810 and 24 70 f2.8!!! …….. but I want a change, now and again, from carrying "big lumps" of equipment … but I have just ordered a black rapid strap so that should help

BUT at around US$500 for the DP3M is worth a go! …. just need to decide which, 1, 2, 3 ………all for different purposes IMHO………. at the greatly reduced "street" price v list price they seem something that it is worth trying
 
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