Sigma FP-L

[intermediatic]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Now that the Sigma FP-L is here, I thought I'd start a thread on its use and quirks. It's certainly a well built and interesting camera. I'm finding automatic focussing to miss a lot of the time and it is unusable under LED lighting indoors due to the rolling shutter strobe effect. 

Here is a sample. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

I've found that the camera is excellent for photographing flowers and other plants low to the ground since it has the tiltable EVF and is much lighter than my SL-2.

Its incredibly annoying to have to take off the EVF to charge the battery.  

Edited May 14, 2021 by intermediatic

[Alan Friedman]

1 hour ago, intermediatic said:

Now that the Sigma FP-L is here, I thought I'd start a thread on its use and quirks...

Its incredibly annoying to have to take off the EVF to charge the battery.  

You'll want to get an external charger and several additional BP-51 (Panasonic branded version works fine as well) batteries. They don't last long. Fortunately they are lightweight and inexpensive. 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Alan Friedman]

First impression of the EVF - very nice addition and should be a game changer for this camera outdoors. Changes the ergonomics of the camera that will take some getting used to. Also will take some time to customize the settings as I've had them and gotten used to them for the fp. Camera with heavy version of the Summilux-50 Asph, just under a kilo without the EVF - half camera, half lens. With EVF. 1100 grams. Feels bigger with the EVF attached. Not sure how I'll feel about the security of hanging the load with a strap attached by the EVF. Glad I made a second grip for my original fp. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Alan Friedman]

Looking at the first fp-L exposures, it appears that noise in the DNG files is more noticeable than on the fp (expected) but that banding in artificial light might be better handled. I took quite a few shots in my LED lit studio space and could find no evidence of banding at 1/60 or 1/125. 1/125 is hit or miss in this space for the fp. I did not dive more deeply into shutter speeds - expect higher speeds indoors would continue to be problematic. More to follow.

[intermediatic]

I have a Leica M to L adapter on order. Do they pass lens info to the Sigmas? 

I took some more shots but am likely too sleepy to upload. Ok, there's one below. 30 seconds worth of processing. 24-70mm Sigma DC DN Art lens at the full 70mm. Wish I had a macro lens for this camera. 

The connection between the EVF and the camera seems pretty strong. I wouldn't worry about using a strap with it. That said, the connection is fickle and it took me a while to get the EVF working today. I've ordered a battery charger, which seems like a major omission from the EVF bundle. FWIW, the Promaster DMW-BLC12 battery works fine with the camera.  

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by intermediatic

[Alan Friedman]

46 minutes ago, intermediatic said:

I have a Leica M to L adapter on order. Do they pass lens info to the Sigmas? 

I took some more shots but am likely too sleepy to upload. Ok, there's one below. 30 seconds worth of processing. 24-70mm Sigma DC DN Art lens at the full 70mm. Wish I had a macro lens for this camera. 

The connection between the EVF and the camera seems pretty strong. I wouldn't worry about using a strap with it. That said, the connection is fickle and it took me a while to get the EVF working today. I've ordered a battery charger, which seems like a major omission from the EVF bundle. FWIW, the Promaster DMW-BLC12 battery works fine with the camera.  

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

The L-M adapter will not send M lens info to the fp. 

[jdlaing]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

6 minutes ago, Alan Friedman said:

The L-M adapter will not send M lens info to the fp. 

You’ve almost got that right. The fp-l won’t receive it.

[intermediatic]

Warning, the EVF is a design disaster. Mine has broken after two days, which is really stunning. I have never broken a camera in 35 years of photography.  It’s far too easy to get the EVF misaligned and then, without knowing that, tighten it down, bending the connectors. I can see that the USB-C connector is damaged and I suspect one of the pins is too. I am hoping this is only on the EVF. I’ll have to send it to Sigma. Luckily I have accidental damage protection via my credit card. Still this is preposterous. There absolutely should have been a battery charger or pass through USB C port on the EVF. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by intermediatic

[steveBK]

Sorry to hear, that's crazy.

Puts me off a bit adding the EVF to my FP-L..

Or at least getting an external battery charger so I don't need to pop the EVF on/off a lot.  

Wow.

[Alan Friedman]

I hope you are able to have it replaced without hassle. 

As mentioned in various reviews, the EVF is not a speedy on/off, nor does it offer the robust experience that we are used to in Leica products - or the Sigma fp for that matter. It looks and feels like an accessory to be used when needed much like the original OVF for the fp. It is certainly more compact than the OVF but it still increases the small and secure footprint of the fp-L body in a way that makes the camera harder to pack and harder to carry around. In use, I find it satisfying - bright and sharp. The on/off switch takes some getting used to as does implementing the touchscreen functions for focus area and magnification, which still function on the rear screen when the EVF is active. The EVF is ready for use very quickly when switched on - faster I would say than the sensor activation on my Leica SL (601). I expect I will leave the EVF attached to the fp-L and continue to use the fp without. 

I did some shots at home last night under LED lighting. My first thoughts were overly optimistic. Images at 1/60 and 1/125 appear to be free from banding, but large multiples of 60 were no good. Bring a fast lens for indoor shooting. 

[Alan Friedman]

3 hours ago, steveBK said:

...

Or at least getting an external battery charger so I don't need to pop the EVF on/off a lot.  

Definitely a must. I had forgotten, until I opened the package yesterday, that the fp shipped without a battery charger too. The BC-51 and a couple of extra BP-51 batteries (or Panasonic equivalents) need to be purchased separately. I don't charge the fp directly from the USB port but I do on occasion download files from the camera this way. With the EVF mounted to the camera, the memory card will need to be removed to transfer files. 

[Alan Friedman]

Playing, experimenting... uploaded lens firmware for the Sigma contemporary lenses (24 and 45) makes a difference for auto-focus. Setting settings. Screen blackout on shutter release is a noticeably longer pause in DNG+JPG than on the fp. Here are exposures utilizing the crop zoom at 1.00 and 1.53 (aps-c)... Sigma fp-L + Voigtlander apo-lanthar 50.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Alan Friedman

[Alan Friedman]

A bit of the image below at 100% size, unprocessed DNG, saved as jpeg. ISO 2000.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

from this one:

Edited May 15, 2021 by Alan Friedman

[cboy]

 

[LocalHero1953]

How does the ease of attaching the EVF compare to the hotshoe attachment, which I use with the fp without problems?

Edit: OK, I've done what I should have done before posting: watched the video. Yes it's different.

Edited May 16, 2021 by LocalHero1953

[Chris W]

The EVF price just seems ridiculous to me. The same as a decent used Fujifilm camera.

You still can't use it with the original FP.

Seems like something as basic as an EVF should be more affordable as it makes the original FP much easier to use as a stills camera.

[Boojay]

3 hours ago, Chris W said:

The EVF price just seems ridiculous to me. The same as a decent used Fujifilm camera.

You still can't use it with the original FP.

Seems like something as basic as an EVF should be more affordable as it makes the original FP much easier to use as a stills camera.

Of no interest to me whatsoever, but was surprised by your statement as I thought the new EVF was compatible with original fp, as quoted below.

 

Sigma has announced this new fpL along with the new EVF-11 accessory. This add on EVF will work with the original fp camera and the fpL. In fact, the fpL is not a replacement for the fp, but an addition.

 

[BernardC]

35 minutes ago, Boojay said:

Of no interest to me whatsoever, but was surprised by your statement as I thought the new EVF was compatible with original fp, as quoted below.

 

Sigma has announced this new fpL along with the new EVF-11 accessory. This add on EVF will work with the original fp camera and the fpL. In fact, the fpL is not a replacement for the fp, but an addition.

 

There will be a firmware update to support the new EVF on the fp.

[intermediatic]

The video is completely different from the piece of paper they give you with the evf. Insane. All this would have been avoided if they had shipped a battery charger. Once I attach I no longer need to detach. It’s just goddamned madness. Following the video mine now attaches easily, it just doesn’t display anything. 

Edited May 16, 2021 by intermediatic

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Alan Friedman]

11 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

How does the ease of attaching the EVF compare to the hotshoe attachment, which I use with the fp without problems?

Edit: OK, I've done what I should have done before posting: watched the video. Yes it's different.

The video is very helpful to understand the attachment, which involves many fingers and doesn't offer a lot of sensory confirmation that you've got it right. Bending the rubber  USB protective cover back correctly so that it seats in the hollow created for it in EVF is important. If this little flap were removable, like the HDMI cover, it might have made things easier and more intuitive. 

10 hours ago, Chris W said:

The EVF price just seems ridiculous to me. The same as a decent used Fujifilm camera.

You still can't use it with the original FP.

Seems like something as basic as an EVF should be more affordable as it makes the original FP much easier to use as a stills camera.

A little more expensive than the Leica 020 Visoflex - an unusual place for Sigma to come in vis a vis Leica. Still, to me it seems fairly priced for the resolution, backwards compatibility (still to be able tested) in the world of Leica where a lens adapter costs more than a grand (Leica R-L).