Sigma DP1: a GRD alternative

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picp2601

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Hello,

There is an announcement on Sigma's German web site about their first P&S.
It is only on the German site so it looks like a leak.

http://www.sigma-foto.de/cms/front_content.php?client=1〈=1&parent=14&idcat=115&idart=242

APS-C sized sensor in a P&S is something a lot of people have been looking for, including me :)

On the downside, it lacks a hotshoe :bang:

I was considering getting a GR-D but this looks really promising. We'll see when an official announcement is made.

Pascal
 
I agree, it looks interesting - one other downside is only being f4... Nothing is going to have all the spec's to please everyone though... Wish they'd try!

Peter
 
..nominated for the ugliest camera ever? The issues about sensor size and fixed (non-zoom) lens are points taken, however! Hmm, no hotshoe / optical vf.. Strange mix but good news anyway!
 
ywenz said:
WOW! It'd be sweet if it has good manual controls like the GRD!
Click to expand...

Doesn't look like, since there seem to be no rotating UI elements except for the main program switch. Then 13 buttons or so..
 
ffttklackdedeng said:
Doesn't look like, since there seem to be no rotating UI elements except for the main program switch. Then 13 buttons or so..
Click to expand...


Then again, any ASP-C sized sensor used in auto mode will still out perform my GRD in manual mode.. I'll take it !
 
interesting

interesting

not for me, as the f4 is too slow, but 14 megapixels!! 40% more than the M8, wow!! Why can't they slap an M mount on there??


picp2601 said:
Hello,

There is an announcement on Sigma's German web site about their first P&S.
It is only on the German site so it looks like a leak.

http://www.sigma-foto.de/cms/front_content.php?client=1〈=1&parent=14&idcat=115&idart=242

APS-C sized sensor in a P&S is something a lot of people have been looking for, including me :)

On the downside, it lacks a hotshoe :bang:

I was considering getting a GR-D but this looks really promising. We'll see when an official announcement is made.

Pascal
Click to expand...
 
I agree that that is one ugly looking camera. But from the photos it does seem to have a rugged look about it.

It would be interesting if the lens did not need to extend out, it had good high ISO performance and ... bah ... I can't get over how much that looks like those cameras you used to get for free for getting an insurance quote.
 
It's really more like 4.6 megapixels x3 since it uses a Foveon sensor. Rip that weird looking mic/speaker thing off the top and replace it with a hotshoe! Buttons are a little odd looking. It's obviously not as ergonomic as the GR-D and it looks like menus must be used for most functions. Now if someone would take the best of the GR-D and this DP1 and combine them...
 
Even though its an X3 Fovean chip... its stil 14 effective megapixels

however the high iso sensitivity is not the best for those chips... a bummer since it uses a slow lens
 
When you see how large the ZM Distagon 15mm f/2.8 is, or the various 14mm designs from Canon or Nikon, you can understand why they decided to go for a f/4 lens. I wish they had opted for a more conventional 35mm f/2.8 design instead, like the one on the Olympus Stylus Epic, Contax T3 or Nikon 35Ti.

I once saw A2 size prints from a Foveon Sigma SD9 vs. a Bayer Canon 1Ds, they were indistinguishable in quality. Yes, Foveon is stretching the bounds by marketing this as a 14MP sensor, but the image quality is there. At least, they are technically correct, unless the lying weasels at Fuji with their interpolated SuperCCD figures.

This camera has a lot of potential, and Sigma should be commended for aiming high, unlike Ricoh with their uninspired GR-D that betrays the GR1 lineage with a small, nasty and noisy sensor.
 
Presumably f4 on an APS-C sized sensor and high ISO should be better than f2.8 on a tiny digicam sensor at lower ISO. f4 might still allow some good DOF effects, at least at close distances?
 
Foveon sensors traditionally showed weird colour shifts at high ISOs and required you to shoot everything in RAW. Read DPReview's review of the Sigma SD9 and SD10. Hence I'm a bit hesitant about this.
 
If Fuji can put out a tiny 24mm lens at f1.9 ... (granted that is a 35mm camera)

then Sigma can get close

Lens aside... as already mentioned the Foveon chips just haven't be stellar in the high iso department

and Fuji F30 (now F31fd) have set a high bench mark for high iso performance that is going to be difficult to meet for P&S.
 
Looks ugly, but sturdy, and a compact with an APS sized sensor, is something all the big guys have been trying to do for ages.
Shame about the missing hotshoe and the slow lwns, but you can't have everything I suppose, and if the new foveon low-light performance is as good as the current crop of APS sensors, the f4 is not really a big limitation.

GAS, GAS GAS!
 
The only thing is: how compact is it?
If it is much bigger than the GRD then it loses 90% of its appeal.
 
rxmd said:
Foveon sensors traditionally showed weird colour shifts at high ISOs and required you to shoot everything in RAW. Read DPReview's review of the Sigma SD9 and SD10. Hence I'm a bit hesitant about this.
Click to expand...

That was 2-3-4 years ago. Let's hope technology has improved :)
 
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