Archiver
Veteran
In the mists of time of 2008, before the birth of micro four thirds and mirrorless cameras, lens manufacturer Sigma announced the arrival of the maverick Sigma DP1. Until this time, no other company had put a large sensor into a compact camera, despite many having the technology to do so. The Sigma DP1 sported a 4.69mp sensor that was only slightly smaller than aps-c, with their proprietary Foveon design that captures red, blue and green wavelengths separately. With a 28mm equivalent lens with f4 aperture, the DP1 was speculated to be a revolution. And it was. Kind of.
The DP1 was riddled with problems that are likely from the first iteration of an unique technology developed by a small company. The autofocus was slow and creaky, write speed was horrendous, jpegs were awful, the settings menu was terrible, specular highlight areas like the sun resulted in a huge pink grid pattern, and anything about ISO400 was a noisy mess. But when shot in bright daylight, and when the raws were processed with a later version of Sigma Photo Pro, the results were verged on magical.
DP1 - Boyds Point by Archiver, on Flickr
DP1 images, especially when processed with SPP, have a sense of depth and 3D pop which was very hard to find in any other camera. There is just something special about the files which had razor sharp detail at the pixel level and a sense of varied colour tones, something that was supplanted only by the Leica M9 and Ricoh GXR M module in later years.
DP1 - A Space of Dreaming by Archiver, on Flickr
The combination of small size and high image quality made it a favourite for everyday carry. It was always with me with a changing array of larger and/or faster cameras like the Canon G10, Canon 5D Mark II, Fuji F30 or Zeiss Ikon ZM.
DP1 - Shadows on the Pier by Archiver, on Flickr
While I use the DP1 much less than before, I still take it for a spin at least once a year. This weekend, I'll take the DP1 on my customary Grand Final Day photo walk, alongside the Panasonic G9 with PL 9mm f1.7 and Oly 17mm f1.2 Pro. Much fun ahead.
The DP1 was riddled with problems that are likely from the first iteration of an unique technology developed by a small company. The autofocus was slow and creaky, write speed was horrendous, jpegs were awful, the settings menu was terrible, specular highlight areas like the sun resulted in a huge pink grid pattern, and anything about ISO400 was a noisy mess. But when shot in bright daylight, and when the raws were processed with a later version of Sigma Photo Pro, the results were verged on magical.
DP1 - Boyds Point by Archiver, on FlickrDP1 images, especially when processed with SPP, have a sense of depth and 3D pop which was very hard to find in any other camera. There is just something special about the files which had razor sharp detail at the pixel level and a sense of varied colour tones, something that was supplanted only by the Leica M9 and Ricoh GXR M module in later years.
DP1 - A Space of Dreaming by Archiver, on FlickrThe combination of small size and high image quality made it a favourite for everyday carry. It was always with me with a changing array of larger and/or faster cameras like the Canon G10, Canon 5D Mark II, Fuji F30 or Zeiss Ikon ZM.
DP1 - Shadows on the Pier by Archiver, on FlickrWhile I use the DP1 much less than before, I still take it for a spin at least once a year. This weekend, I'll take the DP1 on my customary Grand Final Day photo walk, alongside the Panasonic G9 with PL 9mm f1.7 and Oly 17mm f1.2 Pro. Much fun ahead.
