Sigma DP1 Digital Camera Review

The Sigma DP1 is a highly specialized tool for the artist/photographer and sports a very sharp 28mm (35mm equiv.) wide angle. It has no zoom (other than digital zoom). It is a great accessory camera that gives you the luxury of having a 28mm available without having to change lenses on your SLR.

      Much has been written about the quality of its images and it is well-deserved. The images are amazingly beautiful. The colors seem “cleaner,” less muted. Interestingly though, Sigma has skimped on everything except image quality, like not having a built-in lens cover, image-stabilization, a viewfinder, or making the included pouch big enough to fit the accessory viewfinder, or a spring loaded battery cover, or a strong flash. Or generating a jpeg simultaneously along with RAW files. (Jpeg's are standard, but when set to RAW there is no jpeg generated, which means you can view it on the camera's LCD but not on the computer, unless you create a jpeg by processing it through their Sigma Photo Pro program.) The Sigma DP1 is a very compact camera about the same size as the Panasonic LX3, and weight and bulk of the Canon G9, but with an SLR-sized CMOS Foveon sensor. It comes with an excellent manual and once you turn off the beeping for focus confirmation and button click (which I tend to do), it operates silently except for the mechanical groan it emits when extending or retracting its lens on power-on and power-down.

      It handles easily on a wrist strap. Its 230,000 pixel LCD is adequate for a 2.5" display and doesn't seem unusually coarse or dim. Auto-focusing is deliberate and slow. As a work-around, you can speed things up by setting the camera to manual focus and either zone-focus for a distance or infinity. Auto-exposure is also slow, taking a second or two to settle on the exposure. Since the camera has no image stabilization (a big draw-back in my opinion, and fairly common amongst point-and-shoots costing less than half the price) forget about photographing indoors without flash, unless of course you use a tripod. The power button placement is awkward. The LCD can easily be scratched. Noise (graininess) is evident in darker tones beyond ISO 200. In low light the display becomes grayscale even though the final image is normal. But if you can tolerate all that the results are worth it.

       Letter size prints looked awesome but the real test was seeing how they would print on 13" wide paper on my Epson 2200. Increasing image size in Photoshop (bicubic for smoother) from 2640 x 1760 pixels to 3240 x 2160 pixels (for 12x18") while maintaining resolution at 180 ppi (pixels-per-inch) yielded impressive results. To my eye the Sigma DP1 RAW files produces sharper prints than anything from a Canon G9 or Panasonic LX2.

      The updated Sigma Photo Pro v3.2 software for processing RAW files has a new interface which makes it more user-friendly. The Firmware update 2.0 (released late 2008) adds a bit more customizable functionality to the LCD display and buttons.

       This camera is too limiting for the beginner, but if your photography is one of reflection and observation rather than quick reaction, you will find the Sigma DP1 a noteworthy asset in your arsenal of image-making tools.