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| Brand: Sigma
Category: Photography
List Price: $899.99
Buy New: $624.95
You Save: $275.04 (31%)
New (7) Used (1) from $599.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 1027
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
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| Customer Reviews:
Great image quality in a compact, take one. October 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although there are a number of widely varying opinions amongst the reviews on this page, hardly anyone says anything that I'd say is wrong. It's just a question of what priorities you have and what you want in a camera. If you're looking for the best all-around compact you can get, and are satisfied with perfectly decent image quality, maybe you'd be better off with something like the Canon G10 or Panasonic LX3, excellent cameras by all accounts. On the other hand, if you want a compact camera that has, hands down, the best picture quality of any compact digicam on the market today, and you are willing to put up with a slow, quirky, limited camera to get it, welcome to the Sigma DP1.
A lot has been written about this camera, both in these Amazon reviews, and elsewhere. Since there is no shortage of information, I am going to limit my comments to two areas. First, some specifics regarding image quality, followed by a couple of clarifications regarding things that people have said in other reviews on this page.
Other than being cool looking (to my eye), and very solidly built, this camera is basically a one trick pony, and its trick is unsurpassed image quality. So even the most minor image quality flaws bear mentioning. Keep in mind, the pictures from this camera are outstanding, and I am doing everything I can to nitpick here.
1. Color noise, especially at high ISO in dark areas, takes the form of green and magenta mottling. It is much less finely grained than color noise usually is, and as such, is not entirely removed by the normally very effective "color noise reduction" slider in Lightroom.
2. White balance sometimes tends towards magenta in the highlights, and green in shadow areas, making a global white balance correction difficult in some cases.
3. Color saturation is greatly reduced at high ISO.
4. Chromatic abberation, though slight and easily corrected in Lightroom, seems more pronounced in many of my photos than it had been in sample photos that I'd looked at before purchase.
Again, I'm really looking for flaws here. Sharpness and dynamic range are incredible. Color and noise levels are amazing. The picture quality of this camera bests not only any other compact, but indeed many lower end DSLRs as well.
Lastly, a few comments regarding some things said in other reviews on this page.
1. The latest DP1 firmware (1.04 as of this writing) includes a number of improvements, including the ability to map the ISO controls to the otherwise useless "zoom" buttons on the camera. This means that ISO can now be changed directly with a single button push, without going into any menu. (My camera, ordered a couple weeks ago from Amazon, did not come with the latest firmware, but it is easy to download and install from Sigma's website.)
2. As of this writing, Adobe Camera Raw, DNG Converter, and Lightroom 2.1 now offer "preliminary" support for DP1 raw files. I have been using Lightroom 2.1, and to be honest, it does not render the DP1 raw files as well as Sigma's own software. But it is adequate in most cases, and it is reasonable to expect that this will improve once the support is no longer just "preliminary."
3. Some reviewers have mentioned that the camera is not really 14 megapixels, one reviewer going so far as to suggest that the claim is misleading, "since each pixel records only one color." By that logic, the megapixel claims of all manufacturers are spurious, since the same is true of every camera on the market. If you're interested in this camera, you probably already know what the Foveon X3 sensor is, and understand issues of color interpolation vs. spacial interpolation, and photo sensors vs. final image pixels. But if you're interested in reading more about this, Mike Chaney gives the best explanation I've encountered. (Amazon apparently won't let me give a link here, you can do a Google search for "Chaney" and "sd14" and click the first result.) Mr. Chaney is talking about the Sigma SD14, but the SD14 and the DP1 use the same image sensor, and all of his comments are applicable to the DP1 as well.
All in all, I am very happy with this camera, and I hope it is a sign of things to come. It is not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction, and it would be great to see Sigma, and other manufactures, continue down this road of making compact cameras for serious photographers.
 Glad I bought it October 8, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I thought long and hard about this purchase. After all, I am retired, fixed income. I have a Leica Digilux 2 cameera, which is excellent, but very bulky. I have wanted a Foveon camera since they were first announced. However, the first ones to market were very expensive and I could not justify it.
This little camera, however, is a dream. I photograph in daylight, nothing fancy, and I am not in a hurry. The photos are incredible. They are everything you have read, and more. The camera is small and easy to carry around. Others have written better reviews than this, but if you understand what the Foveon sensor is, you must have this camera.
I'm more than satisfied July 30, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Pros:
+ Nice optics
+ Awesome colour fidelity
+ Cool manual modes
+ Manual focus
Cons:
- LCD freezes between shots
- AutoFocus is too slow
- Expensive
I wish Amazon increased the availability of the macro lens adapters.
This cam is really good for amateur photographers who want to avoid the endless cost loop of collecting DSLR lenses and accessories for each single purpose.
Great Images, Poor Software July 17, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This isn't a camera for everyone. I hike a lot in the mountains and its images are *gorgeous*. The 28mm is o.k.; I'd prefer something a little wider. It's s l o w with raw images; that's all I shoot. The Sigma software is (today) the /only/ way to convert raw images to TIFFs, and it's buggy. The Mac version crashes after 10 -12 images. That's totally unacceptable. Other Intel Mac users have the same problems according to the blogs. We're all waiting for ACR to do what Sigma hasn't yet been able to do.
I'm surprised that some reviewers bought this camera to take snapshots of kiddies opening Christmas presents under the tree and were disappointed. This isn't a camera for action shots nor does it have smile detection, play slideshows, etc. No camera is good for all uses, just as no automobile is good for all uses. But what this does well, it does /very/ well. Just know what you're buying before you click on the "Buy" button.
My Canon G9 has a great user interface but suffers from pixel packing. It's great for snapshots, but when I want SLR quality images without the bulk of an SLR, the Sigma is easily the superior camera.
In just a few months I've taken some of my Fav images of all time July 3, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I've had the Sigma Dp1 for about 4 months now and it has helped me create some great images (I've uploaded them to amazon so please check them). The camera does have some serious drawbacks but if you work to its strengths-shooting in good natural light-focusing manually-you can get some superb results. I've also taken some nice shots using long exposures but it can be hit or miss. I like to experiment a lot in my photography and with the Dp1 I know that I may miss some shots. If I'm going to a party I'm much more likely to take my Canon SD870, which is also a great camera. For Macro or sports photography I'll take my Nikon D300 but for an everyday camera for street photography something I can carry around and is very unobtrusive it the Dp1.
My biggest complaint about the Dp1 is not the camera but the software that comes with it, its not very mac friendly and is clunky. I hope that some day I'll be able to import directly to Adobe lightroom directly.
So to conclude I'm very happy and satisfied with my purchase. Its not the right camera for everyone. But if you love experimenting and can work with its limitations I think you will like this camera.
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