Sigma DP1

#1 Johan

No zoom? What are the W/T buttons on the back for then, just playback?

If it is a fixed focal lenght, they _really_ fsked up by not making it a 1.4 or 1.8. What a waste of plastic.

2:30 pm - Friday, September 29, 2006

#2 phule

Johan,

A f/1.8 lens would have to be very large for the size of the sensor inside.

3:38 pm - Friday, September 29, 2006

#3 johan

True, but if I only get one focal length, it had better be some good glass. In any case, a 16 mm lens at f/2 just requires an 8mm apparent diameter. Not terribly large.

Have you seen the canon 35 f/2 lens, or any of the pentax pankake lenses? Those give full 35mm frame coverage, while this sensor is 1/1.7th the size.

6:07 pm - Friday, September 29, 2006

#4 johan

pankake -> pancake.

6:08 pm - Friday, September 29, 2006

#5 wolfie

Finally - a real "compact" with a large sensor - exactly what the Ricoh GR-D failed to deliver. Not perfect - no OVF, so you have to run the LCD all the time - and no hot shoe which would at least have given an option for an external finder.
But the name of the game is image quality and this should waste the GR-D and all the over-pixeled 10MP cameras now arriving.
Good one Sigma !

12:01 am - Saturday, September 30, 2006

#6 Mitch

If Sigma delivers on its promise, DP1 could become this year's most significant achievement in digital photo! (Disclaimer: While I use Nikon SLRs and Canon P&S, I have no Sigma or Foveon products, neither a stake in these companies.)

So far, however, DP1 looks like a semi-cooked teaser to test the market and acquire feedback. Most details are either missing or rather incongruent w/ DP1's target segment: hi-end P&S.

I commend Sigma for daring to integrate a 21x14mm sensor in P&S body. Hopefully the rest of the system -lens, imager, bat- will match the Foveon core and deliver SLR-class PQ from a 250gr. camera.

If properly executed, w/ decent ergonomy, DP1 could change the field and reset both markets: P&S and dSLR. If not, it may join GR-D in causing a big yawn...

I hope for the former. Mitch.

3:56 pm - Thursday, October 5, 2006

#7 Steve Lang

It's actually far more complicated than imagining a 35mm full-fram lens on this. There's a reason why all consumer/compact point-n-shoot digicams use such small sensors. The smaller sensor is what normally allows such a small body. I'm not saying the camera is perfect, but given the large sensor, form factor, and price range, this represents a good compromise. Due to the large sensor, higher ISO's should give good image quality so that mitigates the f4 a bit.

5:32 pm - Thursday, October 5, 2006

#8 Rob

What a waste of a perfectly good Foveon CMOS sensor!...

12:43 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#9 wolfie

Sigma's CEO has stated in interviews that the DP1 is seen as a being a "stepping-stone" up to the SD14 - presuming that the DP1 delivers to its owners the superior image qulaity that is expected of it. So in a sense the DP1 could make or break the SD14 for people who otherwise wouldnot spend the money to experiment on a Foveon DSLR.
It seems odd that Sigma deliberately refers to the DP1 as a "point& shoot" camera - a bit of a put-down almost considering it is unlikely to price in that range, nearer to an entry DSLR or a Canon G7 if anything.
P&S shooters want big zooms and lots of megapixels - two things the DP1 lacks in great quantities!

1:02 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#10 Rob

Sigma's marketing dept once more proved that they have their heads up their... assets (if you know what I mean). Adding to that, the fact that any normal kind of quality control does not exist at Sigma, makes them one of the most sucky photo companies in the world.

1:12 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#11 wolfie

Rob - obviously you have some sort of problem in your head about Sigma, but this thread to discuss the camera not your personal problems. The camera is unique in being a true compact (unlike the Sony R1) with a DSLR sized sensor which is something a lot of photographers have been waiting for. I'm sorry Sigma has upset you by doing it first.

1:52 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#12 Rob

Wolfie, thanks for telling me. Unfortunatelly, sensor alone does not make a camera. Using an advanced sensor as the ONLY attraction makes no sense at all to me. I'm sorry Sigma has an appeal to you.

2:53 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#13 wolfie

Greetings Rob - the sensor is a major factor in a digital camera so why do you say it isn't? If the lens is matched correctly to the sensor then good results should follow - even if the company who makes it is called Sigma. Look at Panasonic and Ricoh to see what happens when you have some very good camera body & lenses but combine them with second rate sensors.
I'd like the DP1 design even if it was made by Olympus or Nikon or Canon or Pentax because the big sensor is a critical part of the design. Any APS sized sensor will trash a 1/1.8 or smaller CCD.

3:10 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#14 Rob

I just said, that the sensor in the DP-1 is what I like. It's the whole rest that I DO NOT like.

You're right about Panasonic, though. They are the opposite of Sigma. I love their cameras but their sensors are way too noisy. However, when I balance all pros and cons in cases of Sigma and PanaLeica, I will take PanaLeica over Sigma any time. Mainly for their Leica-designed lenses.

3:32 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#15 wolfie

Well here's hoping that the DP1 may provoke some reaction from the other players who have been noticebaly diverting all their energy into cheap DSLRs. Panasonic/Leica/Olympus have a wealth of good design between them and the 4/3 system in common, so that almost anything is possible if they were to give a 4/3 sensor-compact a serious thought.

5:02 am - Sunday, October 8, 2006

#16 Schvauncey

I'll be buying one. Are you kidding me! A tiny camera with a hell of a sensor and a fixed focal wide angle? It's a photojournalist's dream. The epitome of unobtrusive. Being able to get right in there with just a small piece of equipment that probably won't even be noticed while getting great image quality -- sign me up 10 years ago buddy. I can sneak that thing in anywhere and not even look like a steroid-lensed photojournalist.

7:11 pm - Monday, October 9, 2006

#17 wolfie

Hopefully the high ISO performance will enable low light shooting without need for flash - it's so indiscrete...

7:15 pm - Monday, October 9, 2006

#18 Winker

@ 15 -

I don't know why they're wasting their energies on 4:3 - I suppose if one likes that framing ratio, it's OK, and a lot of people are used to looking at that shape from watching their TVs all their lives.

I like the fact that the DP1 is 3:2. At least having a 28mm on a 3/2 is much better than it would be if it was on a 4/3. I just wish they had just gone ahead and made it 16:9.

8:39 pm - Monday, October 9, 2006

#19 GARY POGODA

Schvauncey and Wolfie, shame there's no optical viewfinder.

Winker, I agree about the 3:2. It's the most versatile because you can
crop just a little bit off the top and bottom to get 16:9, or you can crop
just a little bit off the sides to get 4:3. If you start with 16:9 you have to
crop off twice as much to get to 4:3. Same with going from 4:3 to 16:9.
In both cases, you would end up with less resolution than if you started
with 3:2 and cropped from there.

9:52 pm - Monday, October 9, 2006

#20 Robert Wilson

I'm with Schvauncey. I like the incognito quality. I like the G6 for the f2.0 lense & not too big. Would buy in an instant if available in the next couple of months, but we'll see what's available when this comes out. Really disappointed with the G7 & no RAW.

2:53 am - Tuesday, October 10, 2006

#21 sander

I think this is a great development and I hope other camera manufacturers will follow. I have a Fuji compact that is rated as one of the best compacts around, with outstanding high iso and sharpness but i hardly use it because it just doesn't compare to the quality of my dslr, even though they have the same amoung of pixels. What counts for me is quality of color and dynamic range and for that you need a big sensor. I want one.

2:45 pm - Sunday, October 15, 2006

#22 Robert Wilson

FWIW, I took a measure of two things "pinky to second joint" and the diagonal visible LCD screen. With the following assumptions: the "psj" distance is the same as my hand, AND the screen measures 2.5" (63mm) diagonal.

I come up with a camera size of 90mm W x 60mm H. Emminently portable. Did I say I liked it?

5:29 pm - Sunday, October 15, 2006

#23 Mark Sablow

The details and price will play a big role on whether I will purchase this or not. I do not like that there is not optical viewfinder, using the screen all the time will mean shorter battery life.

Is there a shipping date? I do think some details will change when the actual camera is shown and shipped.

Also, is there anywhere I can see some sample images from this camera?

Thanks.

Mark

11:28 pm - Friday, October 20, 2006

#24 ELMOLISE

Why is it that when people hear that the camera has 14mp sensor,they automatically assume its physacaly big.The DP1 uses 3 sensors of 4.7mp stacked.One each to record RGB.Sigma says they will be using digital zoom.That is why you see W and T buttons on back.

3:41 pm - Saturday, November 4, 2006

#25 GARY POGODA

Regardless of the pixel count, the DP1 still has a much larger sensor
than any compact digicam, and even larger than any bridge camera,
with the exception of the slightly larger Sony R1 sensor.

Good point about the W/T buttons.

4:56 pm - Saturday, November 4, 2006

#26 ELMOLISE

4.7mp is not large.There are p&s cameras that have 7,8,and even 10mp.

4:28 pm - Sunday, November 5, 2006

#27 Robert Wilson

right, but a 10mpixel regular sensor is made up of 2 greens, 1 red & 1 blue per complete colour registered. therefore a 10mpixel canon/sony etc... is only 2.5m actual unique complete "dots" for lack of a better word. this 2.5 is more equal to your 4.7 correlation.

5:25 pm - Sunday, November 5, 2006

#28 GARY POGODA

Elmo, the number of megapixels has nothing to do with the 'physical'
size of a sensor. It's like saying a car with 4 people in it is bigger than
a car with 2 people in it. You can cram 4 people into a small car, and
have a big car with only 2 people in it.

6:15 pm - Sunday, November 5, 2006

#29 ELMOLISE

I hope to get a chance to try this camera. I
believe the RBG concept is great. My doubts are wether or not the resolution is compatible to something like the Panasonic
DMC-FZ cameras. Does anyone here own one of these Panasonic cameras?

7:51 pm - Sunday, November 5, 2006

#30 Emmm

Indeed, a photojournalist's dream! Also any photographer's casual camera that they can carry around all the time!

This camera *should* have Instant On switch, and, most importantly, No shutter lag. It's a fixed-lens, it doesn't need to extend when you turn on the camera. You can walk around with Nikon D80, for example, while it's powered on and it won't eat the battery life. It takes pictures as soon as you press the shutter button.

It is very important for Sigma to realize this crucial point. Otherwise the fixed lens would turn into a disadvantage of not having a zoom for the majority of people. It's basic photographer's logic. Why do we buy fixed lenses for our cameras? Because they give us advantages over having one zoom lens.

I would still buy this camera without a viewfinder, however, fast operation is a Must.

7:40 am - Saturday, November 25, 2006

#31 nick in japan

#28... Yep, when we put 72 Vietnamese into that CH-46, it sure did seem bigger when they all got out! Performed better too!

7:55 am - Saturday, November 25, 2006

#32 aaykay

Robert Wilson stated:
-------------
therefore a 10mpixel canon/sony etc... is only 2.5m actual unique complete "dots"
----------------

Ummm...no. A 10MP Canon/Sony is truly a 10MP camera. Each pixel (or dot) is "converted" to its true color, thus resulting in a TRUE 10MP in the final image. Due to interpolation, the colors are not recorded as such and hence are built-up after the sensor captures the image.

Completely different from the Foveon, where each pixel is EITHER a red or green or blue. When the R/G and B pixels are COMBINED, it functions like one pixel of the above mentioned Canon/Sony, even though the colors are invariably much truer.

Thus if a 15MP Foveon existed, it would truly be a 5MP camera.

9:34 pm - Tuesday, November 28, 2006

#33 aaykay

Essentially, the concept of the Foveon is similar to a 3CCD camcorder. Each one of the CCDs would record one color. Thus if each CCD was 1MP each, then the "R" ccd would have 1MP, the "G" CCD would have 1MP and the "B" CCD would have 1MP, which when combined, form an image with truer colors (due to lack of interpolation) but effectively function like a 1MP, single CCD camcorder (where colors are builtup/interpolated).

9:39 pm - Tuesday, November 28, 2006

#34 GARY POGODA

A 12 megapixel Foveon image sensor would have 4 million red pixels,
4 million blue pixels, and 4 million green pixels.

A 12 megapixel Canon/Sony 'Bayer pattern' CCD would have 3 million
red pixels, 3 million blue pixels, and 6 million green pixels.

5:09 am - Wednesday, November 29, 2006

#35 Juno

i think the digital zoom buttons are stupid...

i would prefer to have another dial, like the gr digital, which allow me to change the settings easily

12:46 pm - Wednesday, November 29, 2006

#36 nick in japan

The GREAT thing about this camera is that it makes the Ricoh GR Digital even more attractive!
I'm kinda wondering why Sigma would lessen their reputation with this model, they are on a roll with their high-end manufacturing!

2:28 am - Thursday, November 30, 2006

#37 Slobodan

Is there any URL where one can see sample images taken with DP1?

And, any pricing info? Or we have to wait for the next Xmas?

1:36 pm - Tuesday, December 12, 2006

#38 eckhardf

Emmm, (post 30). Looks like the lens does need to extend. There is some footage of the dp1 with lens extended on YouTube - it is at the end of a photokana interview about the sd14. A pity in one way as a non-extending lens would be more robust.

Overall I think the dp1 is a great concept, I hope it lives up to my expectations.....

5:34 pm - Thursday, December 14, 2006

#39 tommy

Lady at Sigma UK told me a few days back that the DP1 would be out in February 2007

12:38 am - Sunday, December 24, 2006

#40 barry ledgett

hi to you all my name is barry and i was looking for a 10mp camera like the samsung nv10 or the casio exlim1000. i then stumbled across your blog and was introduced to the sigma dp1. i need a compact powerful camera for my work and also for good pictures of my family, as i have read all of your notes it is clear you all know what you are talking about so, what would best be suited to me, and how does interpolation effect my choice of cameras

4:44 pm - Monday, January 1, 2007

#41 barry ledgett

hi chaps its me again, barry ledgett. ive just read that due to the configuration of the pixel colour memories the actual capacity of the DP1 would only be 9million pixels. how does that equate?

7:35 pm - Monday, January 1, 2007

#42 GARY POGODA

Barry, for your purposes, the last thing you should be worrying about
is a camera's resolution. Anything with 5+ megapixels will suffice. You
should be more concerned about the camera's noise performance, its
physical size, its zoom range, its build quality, etc.

3:15 pm - Tuesday, January 2, 2007

#43 barry ledgett

thanks for the advice, but what is the cameras noise performance.
the canon powershot a 640 seems to score highly would this be better suited?

10:14 am - Wednesday, January 3, 2007

#44 barry ledgett

hi, its me again, barry ledgett, i have now found a canon ixus 900ti. Canon seem to get the better write ups would a choice of the 2 canons be a better bet?

12:07 pm - Wednesday, January 3, 2007

#45 GARY POGODA

Digital camera noise is analogous to the audio hiss you hear in analog
tape recordings. It comes from the image sensor, which is also analog.
Generally, the smaller the size of the pixels the lower their signal/noise
ratio and higher megapixel cameras will have smaller pixels for a given
image sensor size. That is why you do not want to buy a digital camera
with more megapixels than you actually need.

The Canon IXUS 900 Ti and PowerShot A640 do not have Canon's 'IS',
image stabilization, a very important feature since it allows you to take
low-light shots using a slower shutter speed where normally your hands
would be unsteady and the image would be blurred. With IS the camera
movement is reduced, so the image will not be blurred. A slower shutter
speed enables more light to reach the image sensor, thereby giving you
a better signal/noise ratio.

The Canon IXUS 850 IS (a.k.a. PowerShot SD800 IS) would be a better
choice. Same with the Canon IXUS 800 IS (a.k.a. PowerShot SD700 IS),
which gives you slightly better S/N ratio (i.e., 6 megapixels versus 7 for
the IXUS 850 on the same 1/2.5" size image sensor) and a longer zoom
(140 mm versus 105 mm for the IXUS 850) at the expense of a reduced
wide-angle limit (35 mm versus the wider 28 mm for the IXUS 850).

If you can tolerate a slightly larger camera, the Canon PowerShot A710
IS gives you 6x zoom, versus 3.8x/4x for the IXUS 850/800 with added
manual control features. So does Canon's top-of-the-line PowerShot G7,
which is also a 10 megapixel camera, but it has the larger image sensor
(1/1.8" versus 1/2.5" for 850/800/A710) so its pixel size would be about
the same.

I think all of the above cameras would be good choices. Deciding which
to get depends on which features are 'most' important to you (i.e., size,
zoom range, manual control, etc.), not on the number of megapixels.

Hope that helps.

3:56 pm - Wednesday, January 3, 2007

#46 Digital Don

The Foveon F13 sensor is 25mm diagonal, the same as the old F7, which was 10mp. The difference being the pixel pitch, which is down to 7.14um in the F13. The sensor operates just like a 3 channel prism camera, with one red sensor, one blue sensor, one green sensor(In this instance they are layers of silicon, stacked). The old sensor paradigm Bayer pattern sensor(2 green, 1 red, 1 blue pixel)has advantages, but are limited in overall size, since most people will not like a huge camera. The Sigma DP1 is more of a proof in concept, as I see it. The concept being that you can get high resolution, high pixel count in a compact camera.

3:49 pm - Thursday, January 11, 2007

#47 Harry Briels

The Sigma DP1 has no image stabilization which I like to work with.
Does the high resolution of the DP1 make it less desirable to have image stabilization?

5:18 pm - Thursday, February 8, 2007

#48 Digital Don

One correction, the Pixels in the Foveon F13 sensor are 7.8um's. Stabilization? It may be better suited to anchor the camera as best as possible. I use the Foveon sensor in machine vision applications and microscopy, where keeping the camera anchored is very important. It may be so for the average photographer as well.

5:27 pm - Thursday, February 8, 2007

#49 RAF

For all the potential inherent in the Foveon technology, it's disappointing that Sigma has chosen to incorporate it into cameras with little appeal to the professional/serious amateur market. The DP-1 could have been a digital Leica, i.e. an unobtrusive, high quality "street" camera. But with no viewfinder or accessory shoe for attaching one, Sigma is clearly throwing this camera into the mix with every other snapshot machine now crowding the market.

The SD14 is likewise an amateur offering, pushing away serious amateurs and certainly professionals. Case in point: autofocus that is tied to the shutter release. When will camera manufacturers understand that NO professional or serious photographer wants or needs to refocus every time he shoots an image. Go back to the days of manual focus cameras and watch how a real photographer works!

The Foveon technology is exciting, and one that I would like to explore, but I may have to wait until a camera manufacturer comes along that actually designs a camera for photographers, not gadget freaks.

My suggestions for Sigma:

DP-1 - Give it an integrated viewfinder, or at least an accessory shoe for an outboard finder. Provide for some kind of focus-on-demand with a focusing sensor in the middle of the image and a thumb button for activating it. Give the photographer a choice.

SD14- once again, a rear-mounted thumb button for activating autofocus on demand.
That should be coupled with the ability to select the center focusing sensor as the active sensor.

RAF

3:19 pm - Friday, February 9, 2007

#50 John

I agree with RAF. I think that sigma should give photographers the choice by incorporating a OV.

We will never be able to guage the true demand LCD v Viewfinder because only a tiny percentage of photographers post on forums such as these.

I was very excited when I first saw this product. As soon as I saw that no OV was present I sank back into my seat and resolved to wait until someone does.

I'm sure it will be a great product, but I just think that it could have been so much better.

I have tried and tried to get along with compacts that only have an LCD screen. It just doesn't work for me.

7:47 am - Thursday, February 22, 2007

#51 Alan

Well, things have moved on at PMA. Nice clean new (retro) design, a hotshoe and an optional optical viewfinder. Same lens but also looks like there is some manual control, certainly a manual focus wheel on it...

Interesting little camera, shame its not f/2.8 but I like the idea of an f/4 28mm prime in my shirt pocket...

Nice to see that Sigma listened to the photo blogs on this one

9:41 pm - Thursday, March 8, 2007

#52 Harry Briels

As you will conclude from my following question I am far from a prof in digital phototechnology!

I like the spec's of the DP1 except the lack of anti shake(AS).

Does the large sensor allow for substantially higher shutter speeds than in other compact cameras thus making a AS not necessary and usefull?

7:49 am - Friday, March 9, 2007

#53 Chema

The larger sensor will give much better results at hight ISO for shure, but I agree with most of the people here about the small aperture f:4. We have seen compact lenses on full frame point&shoot; like the 2.4 Leica CM, 2.8 Minox 35, 1.9 Fujifilm Natura and much more. Those where very compact retactable lenses. Besides with this sensor side and that max aperture it will be imposible o have a little DOF.

I would prefere this before an Image Stabilitation, but it seems we have none of those, just image quality, that's a big "just" but why would I buy an expensive little toy that is not even usable in low light condition without a tripod? if I'll have to bring a tripod then I'll just take mi DSLR not this.

That limitates the handheld use of this camera to day/exterior. (no sens to use this at ISO 1600 when you can use a litle P&S 2.8 with IS at ISO 200 or ISO 100!! it will give same quality?!?!)

I shoot a lot of film and almost never use my P&S Leica CM f:2.4, always on my pocket but not much used. But when I use it is often in interiors at 2.4 1/30 400ISO and with nice background blur. I couldn't get this with the DP1 so it's not a very interesting choice for me anyway.

Day landscape... that's all I can think about. not much use for that money.

1:07 pm - Friday, March 9, 2007

#54 Mark

Has anyone seen a price listed at all? That could vary my thoughts in so many ways. If it were $499, I like it alot but at $999.... well I would so better getting another option.

Also what kind of batteries will this camera use?

Sigma take to long to get things out especially after announcing a product.

Mark

1:53 pm - Friday, March 9, 2007

#55 Robert

http://www.sigma-dp1.com

secret website

I used the SD-14 special website & altered it and wahoo!

only mention of ISO is flash performance at ISO200

No price but this thing has to net out no less than US$700. & I wouldn't be surprized at $1K. This is not a toy sensor.

robert

2:41 pm - Friday, March 9, 2007

#56 GARY POGODA

Harry (52), the good news is that, with the DP1's 28mm lens, camera
shake will be MUCH less noticeable than it would for the same shot at
higher focal lengths.

5:22 pm - Friday, March 9, 2007

#57 Jag

Post 53 - Chema

f/2.8 is just one stop faster than f/4.0.

An exposure at f/2.8 with ISO 100
equals
An exposure at f/4.0 with ISO 200 (NOT 1600)

Please do your maths before posting!

12:23 am - Sunday, March 11, 2007

#58 Chema

Post 57 - Jag

I did. Please let me explain to you so you understand my point:

the same reciprocity with these to situation with same avaiable light:

f:4 1600 ISO WITHOUT Image Stabilitation (3 stops for most ones) equals euhhhh... f:2.8 100 ISO.

How did you said again? Oh yes: Please do your maths before posting!

1:18 am - Sunday, March 11, 2007

#59 Chema

Of course I was talking about only one common situation, a low light handheld situation where you can be limitated at 1/30 with this lens to get sharp results and where your only solution to stay at that minimum speed is to set higher ISO.

1:33 am - Sunday, March 11, 2007

#60 Harry Briels

Now my question is when being forced to go to high ISO in low light condition, because of the F:4 lens, whether having a large sensor will cause "substantially" less noise than the same ISO in a compact with a small sensor?

7:05 am - Sunday, March 11, 2007

#61 GARY POGODA

That's the theory; however, in practice, you also have to account for
the camera's internal noise reduction firmware, which, depending on
the manufacturer, can improve noise performance, or make it worse
by wiping out all the fine image detail. The best thing to do is wait for
the PhotographyBLOG review.

3:27 pm - Sunday, March 11, 2007

#62 dionysus

If you don't do cigar or drug, you can have steady hands and legs and waist, and leaning your head onto the viewfinder and doing a shot of 2~3 seconds in low light with a 28mm f/4 and ISO 400 won't be getting you any blur... but maybe several tries. Don't rely too much on aperture, dude.

12:16 am - Monday, March 12, 2007

#63 Robert

A friend came back from PMA & here is his comment:

I played with a prototype but it didn't perform as a production camera should. They said they hoped to have the production versions available in June.

10:50 pm - Monday, March 12, 2007

#64 Mark Goldstein

Robert, that's because it wasn't a production camera

I used the same prototype, and yes, there were some issues, but then again the camera is still 3 months away from launch.

10:20 am - Tuesday, March 13, 2007

#65 Robert

http://www.imaging-resource.com/EVENTS/PMAS07/PMAS07VIDEO.HTML#

DP1 video

1:29 am - Thursday, March 15, 2007

#66 Mark Goldstein

Hmmm, doesn't really show too much of the camera!

I think you'll get a better idea of how the DP1 looks from my PMA show photos:

http://www.photographyblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/pma_2007_sigma_dp1/

12:03 pm - Thursday, March 15, 2007

#67 Lucas

28mm equivalent photography won't benefit from image stabalizing that much. It's more on the long end where you really get an advantage. The minimum you should be able to handhold this focal length is 1/30th of a second (according to the rule, but some are better than others). SOOoooo, if you have a three stop advantage from image stabalizing, do you really think you could handhold it at 1/4 of a second and pull off a sharp picture? It just doesn't come into play at these focal lenghts.

The fact that this camera has an SLR size sensor means HUGE things. The noise levels at iso 800 and 1600 will blow away most point and shoots lower iso's. Better noise performance at high ISO's trump image stabalizing every time. The ability to freeze the action (rather that the motion of your camera) will create sharper pictures in more situations.

Also, please remember that a bigger sensor means shorter depth of field. So even though it's f4, it should have a shorter depth of field than a 2.8 camera with a smaller sensor, provided it's at the same focal length. The telephoto end of P&S camera's don't do 2.8 anyway. I'm bringing this up because someone mentioned background blur.

The choice of using a prime lens was the right one. No zoom mechanism means this lens is designed to have the best performance at 28mm equivalent without the need to perform well at other focal lengths. 28mm is it's sweet spot. There is no point using poor quality optics if you're going to get the most out of the sensor. Everyone knows primes offer the best possible image quality.

As a professional photographer I welcome the effort to get a bigger, better sensor in a compact camera. When I go on vacation, or out with friends, I don't want to carry all my gear with me. It's too big and too heavy, plus expensive, and a risk for theft. For this reason, I'd like a small camera that I can fit in my pocket. The problem is, I have a very high standard for image quality. I have fuji's latest compact, which is rated amongst the best for high iso performance and image quality. How do I view it in comparison to my 5D? Shit. But it's all there is out there right now. This new camera from Sigma seems to be a move in the right direction for pro's looking for a travel/night on the town camera.

The price should be nothing to flinch at for pro's like myself. When you've got 20 g's invested in camera equipment, there really not much that will. You simply make the decision that it's a tool that you need, and will use and so therefore makes it justifiable to by. At least that's what I tell my wife.

Someone said it earlier
"A 28mm prime that fits into my pocket, I'm in!"

11:09 am - Saturday, March 17, 2007

#68 chema

It's true, I realised that at low speeds an image stabilitation couldn't give 3 extra stops, however it can give 2 extra stops acording to dpreview when reviewing wide angles stabilized like the LX2 or nikon L3. That would be useful since the hight ISO images from the foveon (SD10) where a bit too noisi for that sensor size. Let's hope this one has beter hight ISO performance.

I've been looking at full resolution samples from SD14 users and that 4.7MP images are incredible.

I understand why Foveon users are so pleased, I never went to see images from the sd9 or sd10 because the final resolution is a bit low and the camera performance is a joke compared to Canon/Nikon... so never interested me. The colors are a life and the 3D look is what I was used to see in film. It's simply a PERFECT pixel per pixel resolution and color! I had to downsimple a S5 image a LOT to get the same pixel per pixel look.

I don't understand why sigma is the only one using this sensor technology, this is the technology they all have to develop!

1:04 pm - Saturday, March 17, 2007

#69 dionysus

Maybe I have found a replacement for my compact 28ti.

3:51 pm - Saturday, March 17, 2007

#70 RAF

Now that Sigma has added an outboard viewfinder on the DP1, I'm probably going to buy it. I'm fascinated by the Foveon technology. The f4 maximum aperture is not a big drawback if the lens is good. Given the fact that it's been designed specifically for this camera, it ought to be good. I think this will be my next camera purchase. Image stabilization on a 28mm equivalent lens is a non-issue.

RAF

4:24 pm - Saturday, March 17, 2007

#71 wolfie

Who needs IS on a wide angle? Average person should be able to hand hold this camera down to 1/30th second or even 1/8 with good technique. Subject movement is more likely to be the issue and IS wont fix that - but a flash will.
By good hand -holding technique I mean with camera up to your face - not wobbling it around at arm's length watching the TV screen on the back. The rear LCD display has probably caused more blurred photographs that anything else in camera history! No wonder they had to put IS into compact digicams!

1:24 am - Wednesday, April 11, 2007

#72 nomen

Hi

Tell me please... what is it??? I have see zoom??? Hot foot???
In my opinion, it is look most better.

http://images.google.pl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.3dnews.ru/_imgdata/img/2007/03/10/42960.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.3dnews.ru/news/sigma_dp1_dslr_tehnologii_v_kompaktnom_tele-192097/&h=413&w=550&sz=33&hl=pl&start=3&sig2=Bt3vU7Jwpud0MRthxi3DWg&um=1&tbnid=xnLxhp8F_T5U3M:&tbnh=100&tbnw=133&ei=bIEnRpOEM5OK-gK3gszuBw&prev;=/images?q=sigma+dp1&ndsp=18&svnum=10&um=1&hl=pl&lr=lang_pl&sa=N

2:57 pm - Thursday, April 19, 2007