Sigma Cameras: What's the verdict?

[forgotten]

one more..

 

[emraphoto]

I forgot to mention short battery life as an issue - I keep a charged spare in my briefbag when I'm carrying the DP2. I have not seen the green corners or the magenta grid. The camera will use a fast class 10 card, which speeds RAW writes. My computer won't regognize these cards, though, so I have to download using the cable.

I have compared shots with my Panasonic LX3 and the IQ of the Sigma blows the LX3 out of the water. However the Panasonic is more of an all-around compact (even with its wide lens and limited zoom) and has hella better low-light performance due to the faster lens and OIS.

That said, here is a 37x crop of a jpg made with the DP2 (ISO400, 1/60s, f3.2):

I am planning to compare the DP2 to the R-D1 with the 35mm Summilux ASPH on it - that seems like a fair comp to me.

i was definitely impressed with what came out of those dp-1's. a royal pain in the arse to use but made up for it in images!

i also regularly used iso 800 and was happy as a clam.

 

[OdDbaLL]

I liked mine but sold it

I liked mine but sold it

I had the Sigma DP2 for a few months. The Sigma lens combined with the Foveon sensor are magic at low ISO. The images are rendered with a real pop and the colours are amazing. The way it handles colours is the way I remember the scene looking and the lens is tack sharp. I was just blown away the first time I viewed my first batch of raw files. It really is in a league of it's own.

But... It's not particularly good over iso 100, the autofocus is ridiculously slow and often fails to focus indoors. It's terrible for taking people pictures unless it's seated protraits. I've missed so many shots waiting for the system to try to find a focus point and in the end just given up. I had it for 5 months and then I sold it and bought a GRD3 which like my GR1v is superbly desinged and well thought out. The Ricoh is so much more of a photographers tool. I do miss that sensor though,... if only one could get a foveon sensor in a GRD.

 

[FA Limited]

things have gotten more interesting with the DP1x and DP2s with claimed faster focusing
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10022012sigmadp1x.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10022013sigmadp2s.asp

 

[Jodorowsky]

I think the Sigma DP1 is fab; discrete, pocketable and great in low light. Not a brilliant shot by any means, but I took this today in gallery lighting- f4, 1/50-

 

[C_R]

DP1

 

[scottgee1]

I think the Sigma DP1 is fab; discrete, pocketable and great in low light. Not a brilliant shot by any means, but I took this today in gallery lighting- f4, 1/50-

Like the perspective, but it seems a bit dark? Perhaps you intended that?

I'm impressed that you were able to get a pic; the Detroit Institute of Arts now prohibits cameras. Years ago I wandered the galleries and shot at will. Now, verboten! 🙁

Where did you see the exhibit?

We saw it in Detroit about a month ago. A lot of interesting selections but not particularly well presented. Avedon was such a stickler about how his work was shown that I've got to believe what I saw would offend him.