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| | Product Details | | Product Width: | 113.3 millimeters | | Product Height: | 59.5 millimeters | | Product Weight: | 0.53 pounds | | Package Length: | 9.92 inches | | Package Width: | 5.43 inches | | Package Height: | 3.54 inches | | Package Weight: | 2.12 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 52 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 52 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 49 found the following review helpful:
 Poor mans Leica M8 May 28, 2008
By Kodachrome man
I am a professional photographer using Nikon's D300 and D3 for portraiture and weddings. These are both super cameras that have been a boon to my business. However, like all modern SLRs they are big, heavy, noisy and the automation works for most everything. I came to photography when cameras were much simpler and actually required a knowledge of how a camera works. I am glad I did, as to use the DP1 to its full advantage you must know what you are doing.
Photography is a passion even in my off time and I wanted something light, small, and quiet for the candids of life that I would always have with me. The poor image quality, control, and responsiveness of compacts was not what I was looking for. I briefly considered the M8 but for a non-money making "fun" camera it was way too much to spend. The DP1 filled the bill for me.
Why? You will read complaints about slowness. If you are a point and shooter, that is correct, and you should avoid this camera.
However, if you are a photographer read on. During my research I read an article written by a Leica user that said he was always ready to shoot by having his camera prefocused and ready to go. That is the best way to use the DP1 also. Use manual focus and the correct aperture for your expected depth of focus needs. Unlike any other compact camera you can both turn off the lcd and the sleep mode and walk around with the camera ready to shot in an instant. Of course with the lcd off you will need the optional viewfinder.
I normally shoot in A mode and the controls allow fast changes to aperture and exposure compensation, something else no other compact camera does.
The image quality at ISO 100 is astounding and loses some quality as it goes up to ISO 800. 800 is somewhat disappointing as color saturation drops off dramatically.
Yes it is slow for point and shooters and has a lousy lcd but if that is sacrifices Sigma had to make for a superior image from a compact camera at this price point its fine with me. I am having a blast with this camera as it opens up a whole new world of image possibilities. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a photography style that suits a M8 but does not want to spend a fortune for the tool to do it with. Its not a M8 of course but a bargain in comparison.
74 of 82 found the following review helpful:
Perfect for Urban and Personal Diary Photography Mar 30, 2008
By Chris Kitze
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!
88 of 100 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent image quality, disappointing handling Apr 08, 2008
By Andrew
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!
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Great for some, but not for everyone May 31, 2008
By J. Boutilier
"Jim Boutilier"
The DP1 is the first of its kind. A compact camera with a large sensor similar to a mainstream DSLR rather than the usual tiny sensor found in all other compacts.. Sigma's number one goal was image quality and they sacrificed a lot of other things to get it, so this is not a camera for everyone.
On the plus side this is a very well built, metal bodied camera with a high quality lens, DSLR sized sensor and phenomenal image quality in well lit conditions. Image quality is clearly superior to other compact camera's (puts my Canon G9 to shame at all ISO's and I love low ISO shots from the G9). Image quality at low to moderate ISO's clearly competes well with any entry to mid level APS-C or 4/3 sized sensor DSLR.
On the minus side, performance and handling is more like an economy P&S compact. Its no DSLR in these areas, and falls considerably behind something like a Canon G9 in terms of speed and performance. Things like power up time, focus speed and performance, buffer size, write performance, flash performance is more like an entry level P&S.
While I find its no nonsense utilitarian feature set both desirable and refreshing, it requires a lot of work on the part of the photographer. No scene modes, face recognition, image stabilization, or much handholding of any kind. Very few menu options and configurations compared to most camera's today (P&S or DSLR). Its reviews are very mixed because of its limited feature set and primitive implementation.
If you are into photography as an art, think about most of your pictures before you take them, value image quality over everything else and want a light compact camera, this could be a GREAT camera for you. Otherwise take heed of all the negative points in all the reviews out there - there are a lot of them and they all seem to agree on both the good and bad points - its just a matter of degree.
I was nervous ordering one given the reviews but I was attracted to the DP1's rugged simplicity. Some of the things I though would bother me (mostly speed related issues) don't - this camera is fast enough for most pictures I take. Its LCD does not appear to be near as bright or as fine as that on my G9, but its ok indoors and at the golden hours outside. It offers an optical finder for use in brighter conditions (although at $150 I would have preferred a built in optical finder like the G9). Its flash is very low powered but they do offer an external flash. This all adds up to well more than the price of a mid level DSLR, so compact better be important to you.
Bottom line: Compact, simple, no frills, high image quality, lots of warts. Think it's a keeper though
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Three (3) Things You MUST Ask Yourself Before Buying Jun 03, 2009
By James Nickel
"Jimmy"
First, I love my Sigma DP1 camera. That being said, I also am 100% clear on the reason why other reviewers may hate this camera.
So, to help anyone else out there who is trying to sort through the good and bad reviews, let me present the following three questions you should ask yourself before buying.
1. What am I shooting mostly?
Looking back through my old digital albums, I saw mostly architecture, stills of people, animals, and nature scenes. So, if you are shooting mostly static subjects (i.e., not moving too quickly), you will love this camera.
However, if you are shooting a lot of action (kids playing, sports, weddings, events where fast focus is needed) do NOT buy this camera. You will only be disappointed by the lack of speed that every other reviewer compains about.
Yes, using infinity or pre-set focus can be a work-around in some cases, but compared to other digital compacts, it's still too sluggish in the moment.
2. What do I value more, ease-of-use or image quality?
Before buying, I recommend using sites like Flickr or Smugmug to search image results based on cameras. When looking at others' results with the Sigma DP1, my reaction is the same as when looking at my own shots (WOW!).
When researching other competing cameras in this category (Canons, Leicas, Nikons) I still saw great pictures but with less of a WOW! factor.
The sensor in this camera captures a range of colors, shadows, and highlights like no other. The captured images are very highly nuanced and almost exhibit a film-like result.
Of course, if you care less about capturing beautiful images and you need a "fast-draw" camera, stay away from the DP1.
3. Am I creative?
Yes, I'm quite sure there will be some who read this and say, "I'm creative and I STILL don't like the Sigma DP1!"
I can't overemphasize the use of the term "Picture Maker" (as used by one pro photog reviewer). That is, if you have an eye for angles, composition, use of light, and a steady hand, your options for creating rich, stunning images are unlimited (remember, there's no zoom or image stabilization on this thing!).
However, if you just want a camera where you just point, shoot, and capture subjects on the fly, then this may be the wrong camera for you.
By no means do I mean to denigrate anyone who simply wants a camera that is a "no-brainer." This is a perfectly normal and natural need for a busy person or someone who is using their camera as an image recording device.
Of course, if you are a creative individual (who is not offended by the clunkiness of traditional film cameras) this camera may be a great option for you.
I hope this helps anyone trying to decide which camera to buy. Good luck!
See all 52 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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