Sigma Fp review and interview / Cinema DNG RAW

[Lars Steenhoff]

Yes its the small rig cage, I'm happy with it

I allows me to connect to the smallrig focus oled.

 

[thebrothersthre3]

1080p uncompressed RAW file sizes aren't too bad especially with 10 and 8 bit options. I don't know if I can handle no playback though. No tilt screen and micro HDMI outputs are also a bummer. Wish SDI was more common. Honestly being able to record full frame 1080p RAW is awesome. Its one of the reasons I don't really want the Pocket 6k as 1080 is cropped in RAW which sucks. 

[Lars Steenhoff]

the in camera raw playback will come this summer

[thebrothersthre3]

1 hour ago, Lars Steenhoff said:

the in camera raw playback will come this summer

Hmm thats a life saver. Custom flippy screen from third party maybe 

[Noli]

On 4/12/2020 at 4:31 PM, rawshooter said:

This is interesting, because on your copy it says 7.4 volts while the specification for both the original Panasonic BLC12 and the Sigma BP-51 is 8.4 volts.

If it's possible to power the camera with only 7.4 volts, then you could likely also connect the dummy batteries to Sony NP-F batteries (which have 7.2 volts) - and this would open up wholly new possibilities for using the fp on long shooting gigs.

But I leave it here, because at this point all this is speculative and we need to see whether and how it works in real life.

 

P.S.: Is this a SmallRig cage in the background? Does it work well for you on your fp?

I'm using a Baxxtar NP-F970 and it definitly works. So far I only got the battery and no charger, once that arrives I will test for how long it will run, continuosly recording.

[redepicguy]

Anyone seeing these weird purple artifacts around overexposure points? It doesn't look to be CA..it's something else entirely. This was shot around F8

 

12-bit CDNG 1080p. 

 

 

[Andrew Reid]

Is it coronavirus?

[redepicguy]

12 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Is it coronavirus?

I think so..it's gone savage! 

[rawshooter]

3 hours ago, Noli said:

I'm using a Baxxtar NP-F970 and it definitly works. So far I only got the battery and no charger, once that arrives I will test for how long it will run, continuosly recording.

How do you physically connect/adapt the NP-F970 to the Sigma fp?  (Highly interesting to me and likely others, since these batteries are widely in use and literally powerhouses for their price.)

[Noli]

44 minutes ago, rawshooter said:

How do you physically connect/adapt the NP-F970 to the Sigma fp?  (Highly interesting to me and likely others, since these batteries are widely in use and literally powerhouses for their price.)

Just a cheap chinese DMW-DCC8 coupler.

[rawshooter]

43 minutes ago, Noli said:

Just a cheap chinese DMW-DCC8 coupler.

Thanks for the info! - Doing further research on AliExpress, I saw that there are different DMW-DCC8 coupler clones sold in combination with NP-F battery adapters. This one here appears to be superior to others because it includes an 8.4 Volts converter (while other models just pass through the NP-F's native 7.4 Volts):

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32677818991.html

The basic NP-F adapter in this set is the same that SmallRig sells under its own brand for Blackmagic cameras - a good piece of hardware that, in my own experience, works very well.

[rawshooter]

Now that I have an DCC8 dummy battery clone, working just fine with the Sigma fp, a question to other camera owners:

Is there a way of safely and reversibly removing the battery compartment door of the camera?

[BTM_Pix]

40 minutes ago, rawshooter said:

Now that I have an DCC8 dummy battery clone, working just fine with the Sigma fp, a question to other camera owners:

Is there a way of safely and reversibly removing the battery compartment door of the camera?

Yes, just remove the two screws at the base of the hinge next to the battery and the whole door mechanism comes off.

And goes back on again.

[Devon]

https://www.e-infin.com/ww/item/4052/sigma_fp_mirrorless_digital_camera

Does anyone have experience buying camera bodies (not lenses, as the risk seems lower) from gray market sellers? They offer new cameras for about the same price (or better) than used condition cameras. So to me, if the Gray Market warranty is shoddy anyway, there wouldn't be one with a used camera anyway. So no benefits buying used in that regard.

The only thing that would stop me from buying the FP from the above link is that, Ken Rockwell states on his site "In the case of digital cameras, you probably won't be able to get software and firmware updates... (https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/gray-market.htm)"

Since the FP definitely relies on the update coming out this summer, I am a little hesitant. 

Did anyone buy their FP from gray market? Were you able to update the firmware? Does anyone have any insights to buying camera bodies (not lenses) from the gray market?

[padam]

32 minutes ago, Devon said:

https://www.e-infin.com/ww/item/4052/sigma_fp_mirrorless_digital_camera

Does anyone have experience buying camera bodies (not lenses, as the risk seems lower) from gray market sellers? They offer new cameras for about the same price (or better) than used condition cameras. So to me, if the Gray Market warranty is shoddy anyway, there wouldn't be one with a used camera anyway. So no benefits buying used in that regard.

The only thing that would stop me from buying the FP from the above link is that, Ken Rockwell states on his site "In the case of digital cameras, you probably won't be able to get software and firmware updates... (https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/gray-market.htm)"

Since the FP definitely relies on the update coming out this summer, I am a little hesitant. 

Did anyone buy their FP from gray market? Were you able to update the firmware? Does anyone have any insights to buying camera bodies (not lenses) from the gray market?

Complete BS (Ken wants you to use his affiliate links, and not buy it from somewhere else for potentially cheaper), the firmware will update on any camera, no problem. The only difference is with some brands, some languages and frame rates are not available (the fp is NTSC/PAL switchable, so no problem there)

[Devon]

7 hours ago, padam said:

Complete BS (Ken wants you to use his affiliate links, and not buy it from somewhere else for potentially cheaper), the firmware will update on any camera, no problem. The only difference is with some brands, some languages and frame rates are not available (the fp is NTSC/PAL switchable, so no problem there)

Thanks for the info @padam! Have you purchased any camera bodies from the gray market? Einfinity?

[padam]

4 hours ago, Devon said:

Thanks for the info @padam! Have you purchased any camera bodies from the gray market? Einfinity?

Yes, I have. Although I can get even better prices if I buy slightly used from ebay.

[Devon]

9 hours ago, padam said:

Yes, I have. Although I can get even better prices if I buy slightly used from ebay.

Have you had any issues with cameras from gray market? Are they perfectly fine? You think I’ll get updates for the FP if I buy gray market?

[Chris Whitten]

I bought my FP used, albeit from someone in my country.

I have already updated it once. The update is a free download from Sigma's site. Same with older Sigma cameras, I used to own second hand purchased DP Merrill.

I guess my major worry would be support if something went wrong with the camera. Grey imports don't come with local tech h support (generally).

I have found in the past, if you buy second hand, at least the local distributor will give you some help, or offer a repair at a cost. But they really don't want to support people who grey import.

[Andrew Reid]

On 4/25/2020 at 6:53 PM, Devon said:

Since the FP definitely relies on the update coming out this summer, I am a little hesitant.

It's a really great camera right now, feature packed. Yes, LOG would be nice and I am 99% sure it's coming, but I wouldn't be hesitant to use it in the V1.0 state it is in.