| Sigma DP1 14MP Digital Camera | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 21 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3988
Category: Photography
Publisher: SIGMA
Studio: SIGMA
Brand: Sigma
Label: SIGMA
Media: Electronics
Fragile: 0
Batteries Included: 1
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): 19.7 x 19.7 x 19.7
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:
Quarky little Dp1 June 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This little camera even with its quarks, like slow write SD card times, is amazing. The image quality of the Foveon sensor is great, with the sensor being full scale shooting raw at iso 400 gives almost noise free images, even at 800 with a properly exposed image the noise is not too great. This is a wonderful camera to add to a DSLR collection for those everyday, carry everywhere shots. It's size and handling make it a super street camera. The Dp1 even with it's auto features it is not a beginner or PTBS machine, it does require a bit of thought and understanding to make it work for the photographer. I do recommend getting either the Sigma or a Voigtlander view finder, the lens hood and an extra battery.
Sigma DP-1camera review June 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
After reading so many mixed reviews about this camera I sure was confused.It took me several weeks to decide what to do.I finally took the plunge and purchased it and I do not regret it.This camera produces excellent quality pictures and that`s what I was after.Also manual controls are what I needed.Anybody who is not familiar with basic photography should choose a different point&shoot camera..This is not a camera for rapid shooting.I shoot a lot of landscapes an slow prepared set-ups,so as I already said "it`s an excellent little camera".
Thoughts on the DP-1 June 15, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The DP-1 has been widely reviewed and lambasted, so I will keep my comments to my findings and experience with this camera. Upon opening the box I was impressed with the solid, yet compact, feel of the DP-1. It feels well made and constructed with high quality materials. Fits the hand nicely, though somewhat slippery.
The lens is not completely housed within the camera body, so that while it's a compact design this isn't truly a pocket camera, unless you wear cargo pants. This camera really wants to be carried in a pouch, a small waist bag or a purse or backpack.
Once you turn it on your greeted by a fairly bright and large LCD, some have complained of loss of detail in bright light. I find that the LCD is about what you'd expect from most cameras, it's utility is degraded in bright light. The Sub-menu structure is somewhat involved, with different options presented depending on the setting the main dial is on. This can make on the fly changes somewhat difficult, and requires that you experiment, practice and set the camera to one major setting (Program, Aperture priority, etc) during a shoot, making small adjustments within it as you go (ISO, focus, etc).
This lens really sings, it's got wonderful IQ, the images captured are sharp, brilliant and extremely vivd. I don't miss the ability to zoom, though with this kind of lens it would be nice.
Good feedback from all the dials and buttons, though some of them require reviewing the manual to understand their use.
Overall findings
Pros:
Easy to use (with the caveats listed below)
Great lens IQ
Great, vivid image capture
Small size makes it easy to shoot daily
Full manual control of the photographic process
Cons:
Short battery life, if shooting with LCD and flash
F4.0 lens can lead to long exposure times and some difficulty in capturing images in low light
Menu layout is not intuitive and varies with settings
Unable to quickly change essential settings quickly
Image format not yet natively accepted by Aperture, requiring saving multiple file copies.
Autofocus can be very slow
Slow image write times to card
Overall impression:
This is not your typical P&S camera, nor should it be purchased by amateurs that desire quick P&S type function.
For the serious amateur or professional who wants a small format, excellent digital capture camera the DP-1 can quickly become an important piece of equipment.
The images are really beautiful and can easily match those of prosumer DSLRs.
This is a great V1 implementation of a larger sensor in a small camera. Hopefully V2 will be even better.
A digiatl Leica M that can do AF. It is NOT for everyone. June 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have been a happy user of this camera for more than 2 months. In terms of image quality, I would say it is better than most affordable DSLRs. After I got my Sigma SD14, I threw my Canon 400D into trash can and sold my 5D at very cheap price. After I got this DP1 as soon as it was 'in stock' at Amazon, I use SD14 only when longer lenses are needed.
But I have never recommended it to anyone who asked me about digital cameras, because of the poor operation as has been mentioned in many reviews. It does not bother me, as I have been using old cameras such as Leica M and Hasselblad. Actually, in addition to IQ, there is one thing I like very much: the manual focusing wheel. After some half-hour practice, I found that I got a digital Leica M with a 28mm lens, which can do auto focus when needed!
 Are you serious about this? June 10, 2008
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
$800 to match the performance of a $40 Insta-Matic? This is progress?
This camera does a few things exceptionally well, which will suit a few people well. But for most of the things people buy a camera for, this one does mediocrely, at best.
It may be the slowest camera on the market at almost everything--so no quick shots of the kids playing, the dog fetching, or a sports team doing anything but stand there.
The 14MP sensor is a somewhat specious claim. Each pixel records only one color, so the actual image size is only 4.46MP--smaller than almost any other camera out there. (In bright light, those will be 4.46 very good MP's. But its performance in low light is not outstanding.) This is an adequate file size for a 11x14 print, if you don't need to crop. But given the lens, you probably will need to crop--a lot.
Insta-Matics had wide-angle lenses mainly because they put everything in focus. But they also distort perspective badly, which creates problems for most shots. The shot of your family opening Christmas presents will show little, tiny people in an immense, cavernous living room. That nice snapshot of your family standing in front of the Eiffel Tower will turn out to be a scary shot of the Eiffel Tower looming over your little, tiny family. To get the picture you wanted of your family, you'll have to crop the shot, which will be too small a file to get a good enlargement. Eight-hundred dollars is a lot to spend for 4x6 snaps.
To get a portrait of your mom, you'll have to shove the camera in her face, which she probably won't like. She'll like the picture you get even less, because she'll look like a squirrel--pointy nosed and round-cheeked. By exaggerating perspective, a wide angle lens not only makes spaces look deeper than they are, they also exaggerate facial features--which is why portrait photographers use telephoto lenses. Pointy noses and apple cheeks for everyone.
So if this camera does EXACTLY what you need, go for it. For the same money, however, you can get a much more versatile DSLR, which will do more things better than this, even if it'll be larger and more complicated to use. If you need RAW output, a Canon G9 will do most things better than this at half the cost. And, if you don't need RAW, something like a $200 Canon A720IS will give more people more usable prints than this camera. Actually, almost any decent consumer point-and-shoot will give more people more useful prints, even if none is anywhere near as good as this camera's best shots.
All digital cameras involve compromises, but this seems to offer too many for all but a few users.
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