ON THE ROAD WITH THE SIGMA DP2BUY ONLINE
A photographer’s quest for incisive, hi-res art images using the formidably adept Sigma DP2 and the amazingly intuitive Tiffen Dfx digital enhancement system.
By Jason Schneider

As most visitors to this website are well aware, the Sigma DP2 and its able stable-mate the wide-angle DP1 are the cameras that sparked the latest trend, now taken up by Olympus, Leica and others, toward compact digital cameras with large image sensors. However, the consumer-DSLR-sized (20.7x13.8mm), 14-megapixel Foveon X3 sensor in the DP2 (it’s also used in the DP1 and in the Sigma SD14 and forthcoming SD15 DSLRs) is what really makes the DP2 unique. Its ability to capture full color information at each image point results in extraordinarily beautiful, exquisitely detailed images that have a different look and feel from those taken with conventional Bayer-pattern image sensors. Many have described this team as looking more “film-like” and I agree—DP2 images have an almost tactile quality that reminds me of Kodachrome film, now sadly departed.

The other thing that sets the Sigma DP2 apart is its high performance single focal length lens, a superbly corrected, extraordinarily sharp multicoated 7-element, 6-group 24.2mm f/2.8 lens with two molded glass aspherical elements that provides a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 41mm. Its semi-wide-angle coverage is very flexible for general shooting and more convenient than a true wide angle for close-ups and portraits. The f/2.8 aperture offers operational advantages in low-light shooting and lets you use shallow depth-of-field to diffuse the background, thereby focusing the viewer’s attention on the main subject. When assessing the real-world performance of this optical jewel, comparisons with some of the stellar optics from Leica and Carl Zeiss come to mind.

Opportunities to put the Sigma DP2 through its paces came in the course of my motorcycle peregrinations to three of my favorite places in this great country—Fairfield, Iowa, a small town of 9,200 in the southeast part of that state, Catskill, New York, about 120 miles up the Hudson river from New York City in the northern Catskill mountains, and Moab, Utah, site of the magnificent Arches National Park and, despite being a tourist Mecca, still managing to evoke the ambience of the Old West. Considering my space-challenged mode of two-wheeled transportation (a Kawasaki Ninja 650R sport bike pressed into service as a long-distance tourer) the DP2 is the ideal tool of choice— a robust, elegantly compact camera of elemental simplicity fitted with a very high quality single-focal-length lens and a big sensor, an unobtrusive no-frills camera in its simplest and purest form that’s clearly been optimized to deliver excellent image quality.

Now before I launch into the specifics of each of the four pairs of images shown here, let me say something about my general shooting parameters. Essentially these were all what used to be called “grab shots,” that is, pictures taken in the course of poking around with no particular aim in mind. Also, all four original images were shot handheld in natural light at ISO settings of 100 and 200 for optimum image quality—the camera performs well at ISO 400, and satisfactorily at ISO 800. The auto focus system was very accurate in the shooting I encountered, but autofocus in low light or with very low contrast subjects can be hit and miss. Fortunately the DP2 does have an excellent and very convenient manual focusing system that can display a magnified image on the LCD for more precise manual focusing.

All the pictures shown here were taken at moderate apertures in the f/4 to f/8 range with the camera set to RAW mode. When I’m on one of my “art quests” I generally set the camera to “A” (aperture priority) mode to control depth of field, and let the camera select the proper-exposure shutter speed, and that’s exactly what I did here. Shutter speeds were in the 1/125-1/250 sec range except for the Wagon Wheel, which was shot handheld at 1/30 sec. The commendable crispness of this image is a tribute to the DP2’s super-smooth, predictable shutter release, something you can think of as a “primary image stabilization system.”

Okay, let’s delve into the circumstances of each shot.

Apples (before): I found this engaging group of apple baskets while wandering around a farmer’s market in upstate Catskill New York. I deliberately composed the picture off center to add some dynamic tension, and shot at f/4 to diffuse the background a bit. I am quite pleased with the un-manipulated version as it came straight out of the DP2, but I thought it had more possibilities if I tweaked it a bit.

Apples (after using Tiffen Dfx Standalone version): Is this how Cezanne would have presented it? In this impressionistically enhanced version, the apples look more like peaches or nectarines, but the image really glows with life and artistic expression. Here’s the quick-cooking Dfx recipe: Apples Image

Apples Image

1. Rotate image 90 degrees from horizontal to vertical – 10 seconds
2. Create a mask using EZ mask for background area of image – 40 seconds
3. Apply Black Vignette to background area of image – 5 seconds
4. Add new layer, copy mask, select “invert mask” to apply filter to foreground and apply Halo Effect – 15 seconds
5. Add new layer, copy mask and apply Faux Film Effect – 10 seconds
6. Save information as Dfx Set-up for later use – 10 seconds

Total: 90 seconds

Train (before): I call this picture “The End Of The Line.” Taken at a disused railroad siding in Fairfield, Iowa it conveys a surreal post-apocalyptic feeling just as it was recorded with literal precision using the DP2. The red reflections in the train windows really unify the composition and help it to make a statement, but I thought it could be made even more compelling, and the Dfx enhanced version proves that I was (ahem) on the right track.

Train (after Dfx enhancement). This symphony in red really sings—it’s a lot more graphically compelling without being overstated or untrue to the original concept I had in mind. Remarkably, this transformation was relatively quick and very easy to achieve with the Tiffen Dfx Standalone version, even for a non-computer-geek like me. Here’s how it was done:

1. Create mask using EZ Mask – 60 seconds
2. Invert mask for sky, select Dual Grad (Blue-Red) filter, then rotate grad 90 degrees for left to right effect – 15 seconds
3. Add new layer, copy mask to layer and invert to apply filter only to foreground – 10 seconds
4. Apply Temperature Warm #7 Effect – 10 seconds
5. Add new layer, create new mask for windows of train using EZ Mask – 60 seconds
6. Apply Sunset Effect from Color Looks  – 15 seconds
7. Save information as Dfx Set-up for later use – 10 seconds

Total: 180 seconds

Wagon Wheel (before): This 19th century relic sits forlornly outside a local eatery in Moab Utah in mournful tribute to the hardships of the Old West. I took pictures of the dilapidated wagon from all angles, but this is the one I like best. You can’t argue with the superb technical quality of the original un-manipulated image that faithfully records the details of the weathered wood and rusted iron, but overall the picture falls flat.

Wagon Wheel (after Dfx enhancement): Now that’s more like it! The ho-hum picture has been utterly transformed into an icon of the Old West, and while the feeling is more akin to a lithograph than a photograph, it is clearly on higher level as a work of graphic art. Here’s what was done in Tiffen Dfx to achieve a memorable statement in a trice:

Wagon Wheel Image

1. Apply Defog #8 Effect to image to increase contrast and color saturation – 10 seconds
2. Adjust image using Ozone Effects to selectively control color by zone – 90 seconds
3. Save information as Dfx Set-up for later use – 10 seconds

Total: 100 seconds

House (original): A typical Iowa “handyman’s special” cottage, it has its own rustic charm and it just barely fit the frame when I shot it from the only possible shooting position that allowed me to crop out extraneous details. It’s exquisitely sharp just as it came out of the camera, but it cried out for a less literal interpretation to convey its inherently iconic quality.

House (after Dfx enhancement): This is the art image that I had in my mind’s eye when I was taking the shot—something you might find leafing through an old photo album from the turn of the last century. It’s yet another example of a good shot made even more memorable in post-production, and it was remarkably easy to achieve using the Tiffen Dfx Standalone version. Here’s the quick and easy down home recipe:

House Image

1. Apply Antique Look from B&W Looks – 10 seconds
2. Add new layer and apply Red Enhancer to increase warmth – 10 seconds
3. Add new layer, select Vignette Effect Parameter setting to create custom vignette color, adjust size and look – 30 seconds
4. Save information as Dfx Set-up for later use – 10 seconds

Total: 60 seconds

For more information on Tiffen Dfx and free trial download click here.

For more information on the Sigma DP2 Camera click here.