I was asked by several readers why I continue to hold onto the Sigma fp when I have other "better" cameras. Well.... Let's take a stab at it.
I think this one is a Fuji X100V shot. We were all over the camera map that day.
You are all able to go find all the specs for the fp all over the web. It's a 24 megapixel camera with great low light/high ISO capabilities and it's tough as nails. But so are a lot of other cameras. What are the unique differentiators? Why do you hang on to a slow to focus, un-ergonomical little brick of a camera?
I could ramble on about the video capabilities of the camera but truth be told I got bored with video before I got around to shooting anything bold, interesting or even workmanlike with the fp. I had high hopes for raw video until I realized how much more work it would entail to get it into Final Cut Pro.
Nope, I like the fp for really only three reasons. I like the diminutive form factor (but then I end up many times using it with the giant goiter finder (seen below) which tosses this rationalization out the window. I really like the (overused term) color science that Sigma seem to have shoved into this little guy --- along with a state of the art, low light/high ISO sensor. It's really good. As good as anything I've played with in the Leica camp. But mostly I like it because its clumsy haptics and lack of a workable and streamlined EVF provide just enough operating friction to make working with the camera both a bit more challenging and, I'll admit it, weirdly fun.
When I went out one early morning to capture images of "mechanical" grape harvesting at a central Texas vineyard I had every intention of using the Leica SL2 camera. I brought the fp along as a "play" camera. I thought I might just use it as a "behind the scenes" camera and take pictures of random stuff during my downtime. Of course, it didn't hurt that the fp uses the same lenses as the Leica SL cameras...
For some unknowable reason I pulled the fp and the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 out of the camera bag first thing. I guess I was just in the mindset of re-familiarizing myself with the camera at the start of a long day. It stayed on my camera for most of the rest of the day because....the photos kept looking good to me. I will say that cameras these days, at least where quality is concerned, are all more than good enough and that the photos at the very end of this blog post (the people) were done with a Fujifilm X100V. Another interesting but uniquely flawed camera. But not flawed in a good way like the fp.
Wherever you come down on brands the goal with any camera is that you enjoy using it and that it returns good images reliably. The Sigma has been ultimately reliable. I have owned this particular one since the very day the first new fps arrived in Austin. It's never frozen or crashed. Never locked up. Never looked at me askance. It just sits at the end of its strap looking dorky and doing a very nice job taking photographs. I've even gotten over my initial distain for the giant loupe for the rear LCD panel. Now I just laugh as I screw it into the back of the camera.
fp as configured for most of the grape harvest photos here.
Sunrise in the vineyard. A giant machine that's made just to harvest grapes is fired up and made ready to go up and down the rows, straddling the grape vines and sucking the grapes right off.
Grape juice poured into giant plastic cube-tainers which will be trucked over to
a co-op wine making facility for pressing and being processed into wine.
This frog shot is a crop of the center of a large frame. Maybe 20 % of the full frame.
The harvesters try not to harm the frogs. Crickets, locust and grasshoppers don't get the
same kind treatment. But that's mostly what the local chickens are for....
Skimming off the grasshoppers as they break the surface of the grape slosh.
Yeah, they're driving this thing down the highway to the next vineyard.
Itinerate grapes pluckers. But not to worry, it can achieve speeds of up to 10 miles
per hour. Not an aspirational sports car.
Everybody gets nicks and scratches. Goes with the harvest. The only thing we
really watch out for are the rattlesnakes. They're not wine aficionados but they
can make for an unpleasant field experience.
In love the camera but I splashed for the EVF accessory. Nice one and it changes the whole haptic universe. Still ungainly but easier on the eye. Love the color. Great shots btw.
ReplyDeleteI have the fpL, also with the EVF which I consider a 'must.' As you say, the camera does put up a fight, especially when compared with everything else I have, but I keep using it and the prints make it all worth while.
ReplyDeleteMy feelings, I think, are similar to yours. It's intangibles. Currently I am traveling with a Sony a7Riii, a camera brand you are not fond of, and its lens kit, and a Pany GX8 with the "consumer grade" Pany 14-140. Many seem to avoid the GX8 for reasons I never seem to experience. On screen photos from the two and without zooming or extensive cropping and with my LRc edits, are very similar, despite the 2x difference in MPs. I just like the feel in the hand of both. For a while I owned a Leica Q, but sold it because, while I loved its image quality, I found I like the feel and the options for changing zoom compositions and changing lenses more that come from the GX8 and a7Riii. It's intangibles that cause folks like us to use cameras that make others wonder why.
ReplyDeleteWell said Mike.
ReplyDeleteNice photos, all of them. But my favorite is that of the gentleman near the bottom wearing a baseball cap. His face looks a little like a gnarled road map... of what? Routes taken, detours, stops at filling stations for refills and then just a lot of miles driving. Such a great image. The camera and lens are obviously pretty good, too, but somehow it's the image that remains in the back of my mind.
ReplyDeleteMike Marcus's comment also resonated with me, and makes me remember the feel, in hand, of the GX8 that was my only camera for several years... and how enjoyable it was to see the world through it. Truly a camera that made one want to pick it up and go somewhere... just to see what it might see.
“ Wherever you come down on brands the goal with any camera is that you enjoy using it and that it returns good images reliably.” Done.
ReplyDeleteI once dabbled with one of the Sigma Foveon cameras, the SD Quattro if my memory is correct. It produced color like no other other camera I've used, just mind-boggling. Its main drawback? You could only shoot at ISO 100; otherwise the noise was so bad the photos were unusable. You had to use Sigma's clunky software to process the raw files, since neither Adobe nor anyone else could do so. The output was a DNG that could then be processed normally. The camera itself was ungainly and felt like carrying a large brick. It certainly had a lot of "friction" going for it! I eventually sold it, but wish I still had it for the occasional outing.
ReplyDeleteKirk, about the X100V you said: " Another interesting but uniquely flawed camera. But not flawed in a good way like the fp." Could you briefly expound on that. That camera interests me for a lot of reasons I can't articulate. Thanks.
ReplyDelete