Using Leica glass on Sigma DPM's?

Someone opened a similar thread about a year ago.. Anyway.. Given the current rumor about a csc sigma, I would rather hope for that.. Back in original thread, the biggest question was that since the dp lenses were so well designed for the camera sensor, how well would they behave on other lenses? I think others were also wondering about the outfit doing the conversion.

Gary
 
I am a bit puzzled over this entire thing. It appears that some people will do anything to get the Leica name on something. Silliness!

From what I can tell on the DP2M, why would anyone think the Leica glass would be better than what is there now? A bit of hubris I suppose to believe that Leica can improve what may arguably be the best image quality out there already.
 
Good point Pioneer.. Some general comments below..

Actually, while the site and ad was oriented to Leica lenses, the main point for me at least was the ability to not have to go to sd1m to get some focal length that is not 28-45-75 fov or faster than f2.8, which is why the attraction to the rumored Sigma csc.

The lenses on the Merrill are perfectly matched to the sensor on the dp series and the iq is so good that I have found they beat the equivelent lens on the SD1m.

I have a 30f1.4 art for my sd1m and at the same f stops, the dp2m beats it, but it is not a f1.4..and I can't use a 70f2.8 macro on a dp camera.

The lenses for the sd1m were made to work w/ Canon and Nikon dslrs, so were never optimized for the foveon sensor. A Sigma made csc (not this hack), would have lenses specifically designed for the foveon sensor. I am looking forward to new Quattro dp2 btw and if they were to announce a sd1 or a csc at photokina this year, I would be quite happy..

Gary
 
The issue with these conversions is that they don't work well with the majority of lenses. The Foveon sensors were designed to focus at f2.8, and using one with a lens stopped down (or any lens with a maximum aperture smaller than 2.8) will result in a dark, almost unusable image on the LCD. Conversely, using fast lenses in bright light will overwhelm the sensor and return a washed-out image. There are no focus aids, so manual focus will also be challenging, even with enough light hitting the sensor.

Also, it seems that using short register lenses will result in enormous falloff on the DP cameras, much worse than the corner color shift with other mirrorless bodies. I haven't used one myself, but according to the samples I've seen most RF wides are entirely unusable on the DP bodies, because the falloff will look like a black circle around the image.

I don't think sigma has worked out how to use a X3 sensor with short register lens systems, and have designed the DP cameras to work with special, slow lenses, which is likely why we aren't seeing a Sigma ILC. A shame, though, since I would love to have one.
 
But of course, you could use such a body exclusively for long register lenses (Canon, Nikon), but that sort of defeats the entire purpose...I suppose a telephoto body could also work, A DP hack/75mm combo might be nice.
 
YYV_146 said:
The Foveon sensors were designed to focus at f2.8, and using one with a lens stopped down (or any lens with a maximum aperture smaller than 2.8)
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Click to expand...

This could be true of the dp series converted to an ilc because those lenses and the sensor were a matched design specifically for a dp type setup. The lenses used in the sd1 Merrill series are slr types and work fine w/ their sigma f1.4 counterparts wide open. Thus f2.8 requirement is not inherent just because it is a foveon sensor. If Sigma comes out w/ a csc, the design will account for the different requirements. The dp type design will always be better because of the matched design and factory calibration of the pair.

Gary
 
As the article states the "Merrill have been hacked by the Chinese to use an M Mount". Sigma optimally matches the lens to sensor in the DPM series, so presumably the conversion alters (worsens) image quality (other things equal).
 
Legacy lenses can sometimes be passable on regular bayer or xtrans sensors, but from what I understand about the Foevon sensor the sensor itself is "thicker" due to the multiple layers of photo sites. That means in theory the Foevon sensor will suffer much worse image degradation when used with sensors that have a retrofocal design than even even normal CSCs, most of which don't do that well anyway.

It'd be great if they brought out a DP with a microlens array to compensate for retrofocal lenses, and made the sensor full frame to reverse the crop factor, but like the others said realistically sigma makes incredible lenses already.
 
Pioneer said:
I am a bit puzzled over this entire thing. It appears that some people will do anything to get the Leica name on something. Silliness!

From what I can tell on the DP2M, why would anyone think the Leica glass would be better than what is there now? A bit of hubris I suppose to believe that Leica can improve what may arguably be the best image quality out there already.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing, but I guess some people might not want 'better', but just different. A 50 year old Leica lens sure as hell isn't 'better' than what's on a Sigma, but it might look nicer to some people's eyes.
 
Since I own no Leica glass, the brand doesnt concern me so much as the idea of using M-bayonet or LTM lenses on a wonderful compact camera with the glorious Foevon sensor :)
Of course I have no problem with the way my DP2M renders images as it is. I am considering the DP3M. I just love this camera.
 
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