Sigma FP-L

[SrMi]

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18 hours ago, intermediatic said:

Powerextra makes a USB dual battery charger that I bought on Amazon. It’s nice that it avoids the whole 120 at home vs 12V in car mess and I’m sure we all have USB chargers littering our houses and cars. It’s nice and compact and only cost me $10. Probably the best buy for any camera charger I’ve ever owned. 

I got my Powerextra charger (with 2 batteries) yesterday, and it seems to work well. The Powerextra batteries seem to work well.

[Alan Friedman]

Apologies to repost this file but I thought it might be interesting to show a quick look at the definition possible with a sharp lens (here, VM Apo-Lanthar 50) combined with the high resolution sensor of the Sigma fp-L. I don't recall if this was taken at f2 or f2.8. Full frame field of view contrasted with a full resolution crop. Color and shadows have been adjusted - no sharpening or other processing applied. DNG converted to jpeg.

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

[intermediatic]

20 hours ago, SrMi said:

I got my Powerextra charger (with 2 batteries) yesterday, and it seems to work well. The Powerextra batteries seem to work well.

Yes, I saw that they have that on Amazon and I bought a second charger with two batteries for $20. They work fine. $20!!! Incredible compared to the price of the SL2/Q2 batteries.

[intermediatic]

A brand new EVF came in the mail from Sigma and since I complained about the need to remove it to charge a battery, they gave me a free battery charger. Kudos to them. Now I have an unused FP-L and brand new EVF that  I will have to put on eBay.

Edited July 8, 2021 by intermediatic

[bags27]

13 minutes ago, intermediatic said:

A brand new EVF came in the mail from Sigma and since I complained about the need to remove it to charge a battery, they gave me a free battery charger. Kudos to them. Now I have an unused FP-L and brand new EVF that  I will have to put on eBay.

Did you decide suddenly that you don't want the camera?

[intermediatic]

Since there was no way to buy a new EVF in May and my damaged EVF had to be sent to Japan and back, I bought a second FP-L with EVF so I could use that EVF. Now I have an unused FP-L and a brand new EVF plus a battery charger. Time to sell that. I don’t need a second FP-L.

[andrewteee]

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In regards to the EVF, do you use it only when shooting or keep it attached most or all of the time?

It adds a bit of bulk to the camera and I'm not sure I want to throw the fp L in a bag with the EVF attached--that feels fragile. But it's a little fiddly to attach, so prefer to keep it on as much as possible.  

[intermediatic]

I can’t imagine using the camera without the EVF. I wish it was integrated into the body. But hey, that’s just me.

Edited July 11, 2021 by intermediatic

[andrewteee]

Agreed the EVF is indispensable. And oh my the fp L files are oh so fine. 

[intermediatic]

I thought I should mention that I put the second, thoroughly unused FP-L in the classifieds section of this site. 

[Taki8888]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for posting. Hope you could answer a few questions.

Does the rolling shutter cause issues with indoor fluorescent lighting?

Since the FP is contrast detect only, is the AF similiar to a Leica CL or worst?

If you install the apc lens like the Sigma 30mm contemporary, what is the crop factor and final resolution? AF is worst?

The FP L looks great for still camera but pricey vs. the FP. FP L having huge megapixels and phase detect, worth the price difference?

Thanks

 

[intermediatic]

I don't use fluorescent lighting but the FP-L is unusable with indoor LED lighting. The lack of resolution on the FP is a deal-breaker for me. The resolution on the FP is fantastic and pairs well with the Sigma primes. 

[Alan Friedman]

On 7/29/2021 at 4:15 PM, Taki8888 said:

Hi Alan,

Thanks for posting. Hope you could answer a few questions.

Does the rolling shutter cause issues with indoor fluorescent lighting?

Since the FP is contrast detect only, is the AF similiar to a Leica CL or worst?

If you install the apc lens like the Sigma 30mm contemporary, what is the crop factor and final resolution? AF is worst?

The FP L looks great for still camera but pricey vs. the FP. FP L having huge megapixels and phase detect, worth the price difference?

Thanks

 

The electronic only shutter on the fp and fp-l will make indoor photography challenging. I find the response similar in both cameras... banding is controlled at 1/60 shutter, less so at 1/125 and very strong at faster shutter speeds. While the camera can perform well using 1/60 second shutter with LED or fluorescent lights, the hard part is remembering this limitation when working indoors. It's a drag to shoot and discover the banding only when you review the pictures later on. 

My experience with auto-focus is limited... I tend towards using manual focus lenses. I've not noticed a dramatic difference with hybrid auto-focus on the fp-L. The implementation of sensor cropping brings with it some complex responses of the fp-L to resolution, dynamic range and also hybrid auto-focus. It is worthwhile reading up on this via the on-line technical reviews if you intend to work in the crop-sensor mode. I've found that the ability to crop in post processing a nice advantage of the new fp-L. But the fp is a wonderful camera - plenty of resolution for most applications and some of the best low light performance of any L-mount camera. I carry both, though I am using the fp-L most of the time. When I can get an EVF for the fp, that might change.

 

 

 

 

[Alan Friedman]

Boy tormenting ducks.

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Sigma fp-L + VM Apo-lanthar 50.

 

[Taki8888]

Thank you Alan. I ended up with an FP. I only use it for Still mode. 

What do you use to judge for accurate exposures before taking the shot?  I found using Auto ISO, LCD always stays bright regardless of closing down the aperture or using fasted shutter speed.

When I use fixed ISO, even if I adjust aperture/shutter speed for 0 EV, it sure seems the image recorded is much darker than what is shown on the LCD display in playback mode.  I am trying to get use to FP but cannot seem to nail in the exposure I want. The image on the LCD is wow, I like this shot, then playback is like, what happened? 

So I have only shot indoors with 5600K LED light. Using a tripod and ISO 200. Best I can describe, my shots don’t look natural or realistic as what I’ve seen with other’s FP photos. I don’t know which are raw/post processed or out of camera so that does not help.

Am I expecting too much from the FP in OOC jpgs? 

BTW, you have some amazing shots and great collection of lenses. 🙂

Edited August 9, 2021 by Taki8888

[Alan Friedman]

15 hours ago, Taki8888 said:

Thank you Alan. I ended up with an FP. I only use it for Still mode. 

What do you use to judge for accurate exposures before taking the shot?  I found using Auto ISO, LCD always stays bright regardless of closing down the aperture or using fasted shutter speed.

When I use fixed ISO, even if I adjust aperture/shutter speed for 0 EV, it sure seems the image recorded is much darker than what is shown on the LCD display in playback mode.  I am trying to get use to FP but cannot seem to nail in the exposure I want. The image on the LCD is wow, I like this shot, then playback is like, what happened? 

So I have only shot indoors with 5600K LED light. Using a tripod and ISO 200. Best I can describe, my shots don’t look natural or realistic as what I’ve seen with other’s FP photos. I don’t know which are raw/post processed or out of camera so that does not help.

Am I expecting too much from the FP in OOC jpgs? 

BTW, you have some amazing shots and great collection of lenses. 🙂

Congratulations on your new camera! As with all new equipment, there is some learning curve. When you are shooting in Manual with auto-ISO, you are really shooting in an automatic mode. The camera will choose the ISO to properly expose the photo so you will not see a lightening or darkening when adjusting the aperture or shutter speed. You'll need to use exposure compensation to force the camera to overexpose or underexpose with this setting. (I'm sure you know this, but adding just in case). 

I did shoot out of camera jpegs sometimes early on but now almost never do. I generally find the exposure of the DNG files to be very good, with quite a bit of latitude to adjust highlights or shadows as needed. Perhaps if your desire is to work in OOC jpegs it would be best to find a setting that gives the exposure result you are looking for and save it as a custom setting. There are a ton of settings and adjustments possible. My biggest problem is making a change (EV, for instance) and then forgetting to set it back. 

Maybe post some results and we can comment further?

 

[Chris W]

I almost always shoot raw. There is an onscreen histogram. So I would judge exposure on that rather than the way the image looks on the screen.

[vikasmg]

On 5/15/2021 at 10:27 PM, cboy said:

 

Also take a Lok at this video!

 

I wouldn’t have the confidence to do it myself, but…

[vikasmg]

On 5/16/2021 at 3:09 PM, Alan Friedman said:

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Add about 85 grams for the SL2-S.

Well it’s definitely lighter but in terms of size it doesn’t seem to be as much of an advantage relative to the SL!

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[vikasmg]

On 6/9/2021 at 3:51 PM, Alan Friedman said:

I don't know what it is about encountering a deer in the cemetery that get's my attention every time. Here the cropped section compared to the orginal... and another local creature going vertical - all shot using the Voigtlander apo-lanthar 50.

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Good shots - the colour and B&W !