Customer Reviews:
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  Excellent image quality, disappointing handling April 8, 2008
47 out of 51 found this review helpful
The Sigma DP1 delivers on its promise of excellent image quality, but this is overshadowed by disappointing handling. The autofocus is simply too slow for a camera at this price, and it is made worse by the fact that the preview image freezes while focus is acquired. These problems combine to make it very difficult to focus and frame the image properly in dynamic situations.
Other issues are the rather slow write speed for RAW files...3 seconds, even with a SanDisk Extreme III card and the fact that it takes too many button presses to change the ISO.
If we can have dramatically better handling in compact SLRs at the same price-point, why can't the DP1 match that? (I know SLR's use a completely different focusing mechanism, so it may be hard for a compact to completely match their focus speed). But at a minimum, the DP1 should be at the top of the performance charts in every category when compared to other compacts. The fact that it's only average is disappointing.
I wanted to love the DP1, but I've returned mine. I think the real problem is Sigma's lack of experience with compacts. Please, Canon, Nikon, someone...take the sensor and image processing pipeline from one of your 1.5x crop compact SLR's and build us the DP1 we really want!
 Beautiful wide angle compact digital camera April 5, 2008
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
I've had this camera only for a few days but I think I am going to love it. I am amazed at how much detail there is in each photograph, in terms of the color and tonal accuracy and the ability to crop in on very small regions of a photo and still get a decent sharp picture. The lens and sensor appear to be of very high quality. I have not found the F4 aperture to be a problem, and find that it produces quite acceptable noise levels at ISO 800. Previously, I was taking photos on a medium format camera, scanning the negatives, then working with Photoshop. This camera rivals what I can obtain from film, but is much more convenient to use. I would recommend it for anyone who likes working with high quality images, usually uses a wide angle lens, and appreciates a compact camera rather than a bulkier digital SLR. I would not recommmend it for the casual snapshotter, as this is not a tiny camera, it does not have a zoom lens, the pop-up flash is apparently limited, and there is a few second processing delay after each photo before you can shoot another picture. For the enthusiast who does landscape, urban setting, street photography, etc, it is awesome.
Perfect for Urban and Personal Diary Photography March 30, 2008
49 out of 56 found this review helpful
If you are looking for a high end digital camera for street or personal diary work, this might be it. It's more expensive than other high end "point and shoots", but this is much more like a digital Leica M3, than a consumer level p+s. I mainly do fine art photography in urban settings, here's a link to a monograph of my latest work The Electric Image so you have an idea of the kind of shooting I do.
Start with the sensor, the Foveon 14 megapixel gives you color fidelity that other digital cameras can't touch. It's great to have this in such a small package. The camera is extremely compact and while you might think the 16.6mm fixed focus lens (28mm equiv. on 35mm camera) is limiting, it is perfect for urban street shooting. The lens quality is very good and the test shots I've taken so far look very promising.
Things I'd like to see; a larger buffer so you can keep shooting longer, a dedicated button on the rear of the camera for faster ISO changes, higher ISO up to 3200 even with all the noise, faster autofocus (though real street shooters always use manual prefocus anyway), a better grip, zero shutter lag -- an issue all digital cameras have and finally support in Lightroom and Photoshop RAW, which I would expect within the next three months or so.
Overall, a very good camera, fairly priced for what it is.
***Update*** I have now been using the camera for about a month. I still love it -- but it is really designed as a daylight street-shooter. I never take it out at night, the noise is too severe, but during the day, the color it produces is JUST GORGEOUS. Remember the first time you saw Kodachromes?? It's that kind of experience.
What could be better about this camera? First, the buffering needs to be improved. I can get a shot off every 2 seconds or so, which in a fast moving street scene means you get one chance for the shot. I wish the powerup was quicker and the lens was a stop faster. Of course, that would mean a fixed lens (that doesn't retract on poweroff), so the camera wouldn't be quite so portable, but I'd pay that price. Another issue is the Sigma supplied software to process RAW images, which takes a bit of getting used to. It's OK, but extremely slow and I'm looking forward to the day when I can use Lightroom, as I mentioned above.
One thing that is perfect about this camera is that it is SILENT. You can make hip-shots all day long without attracting one iota of attention. Kudos!
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