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| Photo by Jack Howard |
| Click photo for more images. |
The newest version of Sigma Photo Pro (v2.4/Windows, v3.1/Mac) ships with the camera and is needed to process your DP1 X3F files. (The older versions of Photo Pro will launch thumbnails of X3F files, but cannot process the DP1 RAW data.) As of today, Sigma's Photo Pro is just about the only program that can handle the DP1's X3F files -- and we're talking about both standard RAW converters and HDR programs that process and merge RAW files into high-bit images.
The interface is basically identical to the previous versions, with the biggest change being DP1 support for RAW processing. Clicking an image folder launches thumbnails, and clicking an individual thumbnail for a RAW file launches a larger version for RAW cooking. The combined 100% magnification loupe and color meter is a very nice touch, and on the PC version is the only image magnification option. Mac users can zoom in all the way to 1600% on the image preview.
That's not the only difference between the Mac and PC versions. Curiously, the Windows and MacIntosh versions of Sigma Photo Pro output different file sizes. A DP1 X3F file processed in Windows SPP v2.4 as a 16-bit TIFF as a Large (13.9) output file yields a 79.9MB file (4573x3048px). The same X3f image processed on a Mac in Sigma Photo Pro 3.1 as a 16-bit TIFF as Double Size will yield a 106.3MB file (5280x3520px). Weird, huh? But just because Macs get bigger files, don't think you'll see a major gain in resolution -- that comes from the capture data, not the post-processing interpolation. A quick side-by-side comparison of actual pixels from a Mac-processed and Win-processed X3F file shows the same degree of fine detail.
Conversion can be applied using the X3F (in-camera), Auto (self-explanatory), or Custom Setting with preview. Exposure, Contrast, Shadow, Highlight, Saturation all have separate sliders. There is only one slider for Noise/Sharpness control. The X3 Fill Light slider appears to function similar to an HDR Local Operator and too heavy a hand with this slider can result in an overly processed, artificial looking image. But with a light touch, it can really help pull in some detail. Other adjustments include a color picker for one-touch balancing or a color wheel for pushing and pulling color manually and input/output adjustments on the histogram. Files can be also batched with any of the three settings without a preview, but a Custom Setting must be first saved in order to be applied to a batch.
The initial processing of the thumbnails may take several seconds, and, particularly with higher ISO shots, is curious, as the image gradually gets crisper and sharper as the progress display ticks by. Saving the image as either an 8- or 16-bit Tiff or JPEG feels significantly faster than the Save time for SD14 RAWs with the previous version of Sigma Photo Pro.
A few words on Automatic Exposure Bracketing, HDR, and the Sigma DP1
On the second page of the MENU list is Automatic Exposure Bracketing, and it'll go up to three stops for three shots in 1/3 stop increments. And of course, this can be combined with +/-3 Exposure Compensation (also in 1/3 stop increments) for a ton of exposure control. Depending on the exposure mode, it may change both the shutter and aperture, so HDR photographers are advised to keep it in Aperture-priority mode, which only adjusts the shutter speed during an AEB burst. And it will grab three shots (RAW or JPEG) in just about a second. Oh yeah, and it is well balanced with a flat bottom, so it can easily be set down on a table when you don't have a tripod but have the HDR bug.
As of today, none of the HDR programs natively support the DP1's X3F RAW format, so it's necessary to convert the images to a more common filetype . We suggest converting the images to 16-bit Tiffs in Sigma Photo Pro, using the "X3F" (default camera settings) conversion to keep the captured data as unmodified as possible before HDR merge. Using the "Auto" or "Custom" conversion methods may cause results that are unpleasant or "creative" depending on your personal HDR vision.
In any event, that's a pretty amazing AEB range in a pocket camera, potentially shooting from -6 to +6 in just two bracketing sequences. And throw in manual focus, which will keep the camera from switching focus between the two sequences, and this may be a very serious pocket camera for HDRI. Our initial experiments with a single AEB burst yielded nice results (in both the subtle and surreal genres), and we'll be revisiting this topic in greater detail once the full lab test is completed.
To the Lab!
As I write this, the Sigma DP1 is headed to testing. I'm very curious to see how this big-sensor compact performs. Check back in a few weeks for a full lab report. For now, here's a sampling of images shot with the Sigma DP1 around New York City. All shots were captured as RAW and converted to Large (13.9MP) 16-bit Tiffs in Sigma Photo Pro v2.4 for Windows (except for slide 32, which was processed with the Mac version 3.1) and converted to JPEG for the Web in Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended. 100% pixel views are saved at Maximum quality with no Unsharp Masking applied.
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