DP2 almost here

Wow! The color and bokeh are sweet! Love it… and can't wait until it hits the market.

Production sample photos now posted at DP Review. Perhaps nothing spectacular, but three encouraging observations nevertheless:

* The lens is very sharp, even wide open.
* Reds, in these photos at least, don't look odd (only the photographer knows for sure).
* ISO 800 performance doesn't stink.

http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/sigmadp2_preview/

To sum up: compared to the DP1 you get an extra stop with the lens plus a higher usable ISO range–perhaps meaning two-stops of enhanced low-light performance. For those wanting a "normal" focal length, this lens does the trick. Best US price seems to be $650. Those teetering on the precipice may want to await Oly's µ4/3 June rollout, but Foveon fans can jump now.

Cheers,

Rick

New models too often too soon :)

i settled atm on an Olympus 420 for trip i expect to do nice photos.

but so many temptations

weight gain with the new Fuji compact , an LX3 or a sigma DP
better photos and stabilisation with the olympus 620 for a small weight increase

in fact i hope ill get both with the micro4./3

Ugh. Those samples at DPReview are pretty horrible. You'd think the guy doing it would have at least a semblance of photographic talent. Or failing that, an ability to focus correctly would help.

Hopefully other users shots are better than those, because they are not very inspiring (in contrast to the excellent pics I've seen from the DP1).

Are there no photographers working at dpreview?!!

Ashley
You seem to be in a grumpy mood of late…
I was actually quite impressed with those shots, both for color accuracy ( at least what I see on my monitor) as well as sharpness and linear distortion control.
Not 100% sure on the reds but as noted they are more natural (to me) than with the DP1.
Those shots are not meant to be award winning photographs, they are there to illustrate how the camera behaves under different light situations and covering a variety of subjects. Note the numerous shots with lots of grid lines on them.
Franco

LOL. Not grumpy. But I do need a holiday. =-)

I realise the shots aren't meant to be artistic, but either that lens is soft (unlikely) or the guy taking the pics wasn't terribly careful about the focus. I've only looked at a couple in detail (limited bandwidth here at work) but the one with the leaves seems out of focus, and the one with the woman looking to the left of the camera isn't very sharp. (And as an aside, even if he wasn't trying to be artistic, just a little nod towards pleasing composition would be nice… it is a photography site after all.)

I've just been across to the dpreview forums (Sigma) and it seems that most people there are in agreement. A number of DP1 users are unimpressed by the samples.

Anyway, time will tell.

Will try to make my next post especially cheery. =-)

Cheers, A