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A Message From Mr Yamaki

Who is Mr Kazuto Yamaki? He's the Chief Operating Officer over at Sigma. What has got to say then? Well, finally an update on the DP1, a camera I personally was very excited about. I get the feeling it will do what Ricoh's GRD was supposed to do, but without the drawbacks (such as the terrible noise issues). Anyway, Here's what he says (taken fromhere) :

"Dear Valued Customers,

Over one year has passed since we announced the DP1 and showed the first concept prototype at photokina 2006. At the following PMA in March, 2007, we showed some redesigned engineering samples of the DP1. Since then, we have not made any announcements on the DP1. I apologize for this lack of information, and I would like to give you an update on the development status of the DP1 now.

After PMA, we reached the pre-beta product development stage early in the summer. During this pre-beta work, we tried to optimize the image quality, but we found it was difficult to achieve image quality as good as in our other SD cameras. The images looked okay, but they clearly did not have the special image qualities that we see in our SD cameras: delicate, refined and 3-dimensional images rendered in fine detail. After a careful evaluation, we found that the image processing pipeline we had developed for the DP1 was not ideal for achieving the best image quality as it was intended for the faster image processing speed, and we needed to make major revisions to it. At that time we had a choice between compromising image quality and moving forward or taking a different path. After long and sometimes intense discussions, we finally decided to change the entire image processing pipeline.

When we decided to change the entire image processing pipeline, we also decided to return to the simple and original product concept of "a camera with the best still image quality in a compact body" and dedicate all of our DP1 development resources to that concept. Because of this change, we had to change some of the specifications that we had announced. (An official announcement with the final specifications will be made at the appropriate time.) However, as far as I can judge from what I see in the current version of the DP1, I am convinced that the camera is moving in the right direction now.

I would like to inform our community of loyal and prospective users that we have now started the next major phase leading towards production. At the beginning of November, we began alpha testing of what we feel will be the final design. Unless we encounter serious unforeseen problems, we now think that the following development steps will progress well.

We are very aware of the many discussions in the Internet about the length of time we are spending on the development of the DP1. We have also read about the disappointment of many prospective users who wanted this camera very soon after the announcement. Although we know that many people would like to know when the DP1 will be available for sale, we honestly cannot say at the moment. Much will depend on how smoothly the next development steps go. Also, we feel that it is much more important to get it right than release it early.

We have also noted the many different ways people want to be able to use the DP1. This is heartening. However, we hope that prospective users look carefully at the finished product in light of how they intend to use it. Like our previous digital cameras, this will be a tool for photographers who value excellent image quality above all else – this time in a smaller package. It will also be a good camera for people who would like to see this quality in their own results. And, finally, we are also sure that creative users will find many uses for the DP1 that we have not even thought of.

Again, I deeply apologize for the length of the time you have been holding out for the DP1 and appreciate your patience very much. I know it is difficult for some of you to wait a little more time, but we’re working very hard to deliver a camera that we think will be worth the wait.

Thank you very much.

Kazuto Yamaki
Chief Operating Officer
SIGMA CORPORATION"

Plug.

Freebies.

At work this morning one of our regulars came in and handed me a bag full of cameras and whatnot.
Among other things a Canon QL17.
Review on that in a bit. This may see a resurgence in my street photography.

Conversation about street photography.

stephee says:
im not really sure how i feel about street photo in colour anyway so i would probably predominantly shoot bw anyway untill i got confident enough to use colour

Good Tom [do the whirlwind] says:
when you factor in colour, it adds another element which you have to concentrate on. which really doesn't work when street is about reacting.

stephee says:
yeah excatly

stephee says:
im sure it can be done but its not an aspect id really want to have to throw in with everything else

Good Tom [do the whirlwind] says:
or you could just go mad and shoot positive. because you have so much freedom to worry about perfect exposures.




Sorry it has been so long since I posted.

Unphotographable

Does anybody read Unphotographable? I think we can all understand why this website exists. Of all of the thousands upon thousands of photographs that have been taken, how many haven't? We've all had at least one supreme "If only I'd had my camera" moment that is that shot that we'll never take again. I don't think I've not had mine yet.

Anyway, a recent entry on Unphotographable to whet your appetite:

"This is a picture I did not take of a woman in fitness workout wear; running shoes, shorts and an active top; standing by herself in a deserted aisle of a flourescent-lit supermarket, her arms crossed in front of her chest, tears smearing her cheeks while she unwaveringly stared at the store's selection of baby diapers."

Imagine it.




http://www.unphotographable.com/

Ricoh 800 EES

So, recently I purchased a Ricoh 800 EES for the princely sum of £5. Came with a strap, UV filter and half an ER case.



I decided to take it out for a whirl the other day, so I put a roll of Superia 400 through it.
I thoguht I'd got myself a dud when it arrived, but then I realised that it was one of these rather annoying cameras that requires batteries in them to even go through the motions. It takes PX640's. Fortunately I had a couple in my Hi-Matic F.
Anyway, I went out and shot my test roll, and the first thing I noticed was that it has a vertical RF misalignment.

If anybody has any clues as to how one would go about doing this then I would much appreciate any pointers.

My second gripe was that it did note cope well with the strong sunlight that day, and also a lot of shots came out with a grey sheen, but I think that this may be to do with the UV filter that came attached to it.

Thing is, when it works, it works very well:



However, there are less brilliant results too. As I say, I'll try a roll without the UV filter, and see if it makes any difference.




More over on my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=rico...37662049%40N00