|
Sigma DP1 14MP Digital Camera | 
 enlarge
| Brand: Sigma
Category: Photography
List Price: $899.99
Buy New: $624.95
You Save: $275.04 (31%)
New (8) Used (1) from $599.99
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 11732
Media: Electronics
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Monitor Size: 250
Optical Zoom: 1
Digital Zoom: 3
Connectivity: AV
Display Size: 2.5
Maximum Focal Length: 16.6
Minimum Focal Length: 16.6
Maximum Resolution: 14
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 5.4 x 3.5
MPN: DP1
Model: DP1
UPC: 085126924997
EAN: 0085126924997
ASIN: B0013DCOZC
Release Date: March 18, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Features:
| • | 14-megapixel resolution; SLR-sized image sensor | | • | 16.6mm F4 lens designed exclusively for the DP1 | | • | Large, 2.5-inch LCD; 3 metering modes and 5 exposure modes | | • | JPEG recording format for convenience plus a RAW data (X3F) recording mode | | • | Capture images to SD/SDHC cards and MMC (not included) |
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The DP1 is a completely new type of camera offering the full specs and high image quality of a DSLR in the body of a compact camera. It is powered by the 14-megapixel Foveon X3 direct-image-sensor, which can reproduce high-definition images rich in gradation and impressive three-dimensional detail. It is possible to record images in RAW or the widely used JPEG in four resolution modes. It offers five Exposure modes and three Metering modes as well as being equipped with a built-in flash with the Guide Number of 6, hot shoe, neck strap and 2.5-inch TFT color LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 pixels. The DP1 has the high resolution and functionality of an SLR, plus adaptability in terms of accessories, all built into a small body.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
Eccentric camera with amazing dynamic range. Awesome camera. December 18, 2008
P. Carney (San Diego)
I received this camera two days ago and have been playing with it constantly. I sold my 20d (back up) camera and replaced it with the DP1. The camera is very well built and functions very smoothly; I especially like the manual focus and external view finder option. Yes, the camera is a bit slow when it comes to processing each image (2-3 sec in RAW with San Disk Extreme 3), but the images are amazing! The dynamic range really gives my 5d a run for the money... As far as subject matter goes, this is NOT A SPORTS CAMERA, but functions great for commercial photo work and landscapes. I'm going to put my pocket wizard on it and test it with my studio lights soon... I'm excited to see the results. The lens isn't the fastest, but the prime factor makes it insanely sharp (as good as my 24 f1.4 L) and is very compact. In conclusion, don't buy this if you aren't comfortable with manual exposures and manual focus, or if you're an impatient shooter. BUY IT if you need awesome quality in a tiny package and enjoy setting up shots manually.... If you're a Leica fan, you'll enjoy this camera for sure. No, it's not a leica... it's in it's own category and is a bit eccentric. For me, it's an awesome tool. I highly recommend this for pros and advanced amateurs.
 Sigma DP 1 December 12, 2008
Klaus Paukstadt
The camera does one thing: It allows a knowledgeable photographer to produce great pictures.
And that is it. Sigma squeezed a DSLR size sensor in a fairly small body and combined it with an excellent lens.
Is it slow? Oh yes it is painful slow. But I don't care. Because the result, the image is all that counts.
In the past I owned a Canon G9, a Panasonic LX3 and other small compact digital cameras. These are beautiful cameras but the small sensor cannot compare to photos from a DSLR.
I purchased a DP1 after I looked at a lot of reviews. I wanted to see it for myself.
I liked the simplicity of the interface. No green idiot mode button, no scene modes. The "Zoom" buttons (A joke for a none-zoom lens) can be re-assigned and programmed to use for other functions.
The LCD is small, grainy and has a small resolution. Just like a 5 year old budget digital camera.
I took the camera out for some test shoots (RAW). I used Sigma's software to convert them to tif files. The version 2.5 for Windows is simple , fast and powerful.
When I checked the final results I was surprised. The photos were stunning (Not because I am such a good photographer).
The sensor and lens combination produces very impressive images.
I have a Nikon D200 with some expensive lenses, so it takes a lot to impress me.
The picture quality from the DP1 is just beautiful.
This is not your typical point and shoot and the price should be a hint to that.
It is a picture taking machine for a thinking person.
My congratulations to Sigma for producing such a fine camera.
And to all the whiners and complainers: Learn the basics of photography, forget about all this 'smile-detection" and scene mode auto-everything garbage.
 Just misses. November 30, 2008
Mark Twain
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I--like many others--had high hopes for this camera. A (nearly) DSLR sized sensor in a compact body is a very attractive concept, and it is one that I hope and assume will be developed and improved upon by Sigma and other makers. Having such a large sensor means that noise--the primary problem with compact digital cameras--is vastly reduced and effectively neutralized as a negative issue. I have personally verified that this camera achieves this point, and that of course is laudable. Noise handling is phenomenal with this camera. In addition, chromatic aberration is virtually nonexistent, which again for a compact digital camera is phenomenal and again laudable.
Regarding the speed of the camera which has been a topic of extensive criticism, I must say that either I got a freak fast unit or my standards of speed differ from the mainstream. The speed is not remarkably slow, and if no one had ever said anything about the speed I would not have noticed at all one way or the other. The speed is the approximately the same as other point and shoot compacts that I have used. If you are in that much of a hurry, then you need to either slow down or get a DLSR that can rattle off 5 frames a second. Seriously, the speed is a non-issue to me and I am normally a DLSR shooter used to being able to churn out a "spray" of frames.
Size: it is larger than I expected, and frankly almost too large to be considered a compact point and shoot. It may have just barely crossed the line in this respect.
Ergonomics: excellent, and I did not experience the same issues with accidentally moving settings that other people seemed to have experienced.
Last but certainly not least: the MP issue, and it is a biggie. It is such a biggie that my rating went from 5 stars to 3.5 stars. I think the camera generally gets close to 5 stars on everything except the MP issue, which for me gets 1-2 stars. It's that bad.
Folks: you have been lied to. There is just no nice way to say it so I'm not going to sugarcoat it. This is a 4.7MP camera, and Sigma should list it as such. This is not--I repeat not--a 14.0MP, 14.06MP, or 14.1MP camera. It is a 4.7MP camera. What Sigma has done--and I applaud, frankly--is to make a sandwich out of three translucent sensors (4.7MP each for red, green and blue) which helps deliver a great picture quality in terms of color handling/saturation, low CA and most importantly noise levels. That's great, it really is, but this is still a 4.7MP camera. When you open the file with Photoshop and click on image size, the pixels come to 4.7MP, not 14MP. This is all that matters at the end of the day. I don't care if Sigma wants to sandwich 10,000 sensors together or just use 1. It is totally irrelevant to me. The actual pixel output is the only pertinent number. I am outraged that this company thinks it is O.K. to market this camera as a 14MP camera when it is actually a 4.7MP camera.
This is a problem on two levels. It is a problem for me in principle because I think the company is being misleading. It is furthermore an operational problem because 4.7MP is not enough for most of my shooting. It would have been a few years ago but this is not a few years ago. This is now, and 4.7MP doesn't cut it. No, I have not drank the MP Koolaid. I know that MP aren't everything and in fact when used to excess can degrade image quality (i.e. G10, 50D, etc.). That being said, I need at least 6-8MP. 4.7MP is simply too small. The average post-cropped picture will end up being just over 4MP. This is big enough for an 8x10 and that's it. If you only shoot for 8x10s then maybe this camera is for you. I simply can't be held to that size because too often I need larger sizes.
Not to beat a dead horse but again please understand that I only mention this because the company misleads about the MP size. If they advertised that it was 4.7MP then how could I complain that it was only 4.7MP? I would not have bought the camera in the first place, frankly, if I had known. I did extensive research on the internet prior to purchase and somehow this important fact nugget eluded me. Consider yourself informed. If 4.7MP is enough for you then this camera is a home run, otherwise it is just a valiant but ultimately insufficient effort to put a larger sensor in a compact camera. Frankly, at the current retail price it is more than insufficient. $600-$700 for a 4.7MP camera in 2008? This value would make even Leica blush.
good camera November 4, 2008
rolceron
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just read all reviews here at amazon and I'm glad more buyers were happy about their DP1. I actually pre-ordered my DP1 from amazon a few months ago before it was released. I was not so happy with it at first until after 2 weeks of using it. (I don't know if I'm actually happy or I just got used to it after 2 weeks.) I understand that it is made for Making pictures and not Taking pictures. But I still believe that I don't deserve a slow lens, slow focus, slow write speed, slow start up and an ugly LCD with a price that much. With an f/4, it would have been appreciable for it to have a VR/IS/OS. It loses the essence of being a hand held pocket camera just because at f4 you will need a tripod to make it steady.
It's 2008/2009! Ever heard of HSM? OS? 920K LCD? F/2.0?
Honestly, I'm just torn. I love it on daytime and hate it at nighttime. I just wish that this category/camera will find competition very soon from the big guys so they wont slack on their product development.
Recently they have announced the DP2. I wonder if i could continue to support/spend ridiculous amount of $ on Sigma if their improvement is just minimal considering Olympus & Panasonic has announced the MICRO FOUR THIRDS System. This system will be very very small SLRs with interchangeable lenses. And from what I read, it maintains the same quality as the existing four third cameras.
I check for firmware update from Sigma's website everyday. And my DP1 is still my official camera to date. It is well accessorized with sigma and hoya products, but I don't know for how long will I be able to use it... since I just bought it barely 7 months ago.
Image Quality makes this a 5 star for me October 10, 2008
Ann Chaikin (Bellingham, WA United States)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
You may have read reviews that complain about some of the old fashion aspects of this camera - it's slow, its display is hard to read in the sun, it doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles. But when it comes right down to what matters most, image quality, this camera has all of the other small cameras beat by miles. The combination of large size sensor and foveon technology makes this camera a winner for me. If you are a point-and-shooter I wouldn't buy this camera because it lacks many features of the usual point-and-shoot camera. But if like me image quality is what you seek, you'll find it in this funky little camera. I love mine and have taken over 6000 pictures with it. I took it with me to Italy and got some great photos. I shoot raw and use the Sigma software to process my photos. It's slow to use but handles dynamic range really well.
|
|
|
Site Map |
Contact Us |
Disclaimer
© Copyright
Digital Camera Comparison. All Rights Reserved | |
