ROGERSexhibiting some nerve

The truth and the chaff

It is interesting when you are scouring on the web for the newest thing™—be it the RED camera, or anything else—that so many reviews are now done by new owners writing on their own blogs. Some of them write excellent appraisals, some of them don’t. “Traditional media” reviews can be much the same; but usually more space limited in publication, so they are not as in-depth or obsessional as the non-traditional media. The key difference between mainstream reviewers and bloggers is that they don’t actually own the thing they are reviewing. Bloggers usually have used their own money.

So when you read blogs about the latest big thing, in my case recently, the Sigma DP1, you are usually getting the opinion of someone who really, really wants this thing to be good. Even if it is not.

The DP1 looks like a marvel on paper. The (Foveon) sensor is giant-sized amongst its rivals, which means it should be less noisy, and have better dynamic range than most. By all accounts, it seems to. The optics seem reasonable. It is quite a capable camera. People are comparing them to SLRs, and suggesting the DP1 is more like an “affordable” digital rangefinder. The wheels start to wobble when you find out that the focal distance (minimum 16cm) is quite limited and the lens is only f/4.0—especially when compared to rival cameras. Image-wise, it should be better than its rivals, but it doesn’t seem to be significantly better, and new images would suggest that it is amazingly better. But some things are pretty disappointing, like the very slow write times. Up to 12 seconds a shot… perhaps less with a faster card.

But everyone wants it to be good.

Enter Carl Rytterfalk, blogger. You can’t say that he isn’t enthusiastic about the DP1. His posts cover a range of excitement, disappointment, workarounds, and excitement again. Luckily, he is posting informative stuff on the camera… and some entertaining videos (he also blogs about the Sigma SD14, similar sensor but in an SLR body). The nice thing about his reviews are that he is unapologetic in his enthusiasm, but he doesn’t ignore the problems:

Btw, as someone said at the forum already - turning off quick preview makes the DP1 faster between shots. And I also tested a normal SD card that came with another camera - it’s SOOOO SLOW! It really takes ages. So please. Use fastest card you can find, it’s a huge difference!

Timed save times RAW (light blinking):

SanDisk Extreme III 4GB: 2.5s

Canon SD SDC 32MB: 10s

Time before you can take another shot (single mode): 3.8s and quick preview off.

If you look at his site, you’ll see he’s thorough. He even compares it (somewhat tenuously) to the RED Mysterium sensor.

It is also worth considering that so-called “bloggers” could be paid shills for whatever company they are promoting. Ever wondered how some of these guys get their hands on stuff way before everyone else? On the other hand, now that bloggers “get there first” with reviews, you have to wonder at the number of posts that are less to do with reviewing and more about soothing buyers regret. People like Carl Rytterfalk, excepted.

And the camera? Its quirks guarantee it will be a cult hit.

More reading.