Sigma DP1 Review and FAQs
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Revision 0.65 Copyright © 2009-2011 by Zack Smith . All rights reserved. Table of contents
IntroductionThe price of the DP1 dropped after the DP2 came out, but it remains above $400 due to the quality of the photos it takes. The DP1 and the subsequent DP1s have risen in price in early 2010.I'm very impressed with the DP1. I bought it against the advise of others, both people I know and reviewers, who argued that the DP1 is a limited camera that lacks key features that other compacts have. But it's a camera with excellent dynamic range, which results in stunning photos. And to be sure, it lacks:
But for my needs it is excellent. It is what it is: A small camera with a big sensor, a good fixed lens, an excellent manual mode and the option to add filters. This is not a camera for consumers who are crybabies. If you whimper when the people at Starbucks don't make your latte "just so" (I've seen that firsthand), or if you can't imagine driving a stick-shift car because it's too difficult, or if you shiver at the idea of camping outdoors, or if talk about skydiving makes you faint, then please forget this camera. Early reviewers gave this camera a lot of bad press. I suspect most of that much of that was motivated by the price of the DP1, because at the time it cost $800. At that price the camera is indeed deficient, as it lacks a zoom, optical image stabilization, a decent movie mode, etc. DP1 Specifications
My video reviewWritten ReviewSo far I can say:
Image qualityThe RAW photo quality is typically very good, unusually so in fact, however the photos are desaturated when the saturation setting on the camera is 0. So I find that I need to keep it set at a higher value. Otherwise each and every photo would need re-saturation in the Sigma Photo Pro software.Once saturation is taken care of the photos are spectacular. The DP1's JPEG photos are just acceptable, not great. But they're not the purpose of the camera. You buy this camera for the RAW photos, just as you buy a sports car for the fast driving, not for delivering newspapers. Bright redsWith the DP1, very bright reds tend to "bleed" and appear as a pinkish or even a yellow hue. From what I can tell, this is due to the weak infrared filter in the DP1, which was replaced with a stronger one in subsequent DP-series cameras.You can attenuate the reds in The GIMP, or you can get a DP-series camera other than the DP1. Yellow blotchesSigma's Photo Pro software performs some chromatic noise reduction that unfortunately can actually add noise to some low-light RAW photos. I've found that using non-Sigma software to process RAW photos can alleviate this.SpeedFocusThe focus speed of the DP-series cameras is notoriously slow, and much slower than $100 point and shoot cameras. It takes about 1 second to focus.This problem has finally been fixed in the new DP2s and DP1x cameras, and the DP2 firmware can be upgraded to achieve a faster focus. But the DP1 and DP1s will always have the slower focus. Personally I didn't mind the slow focus that much, but then I've also used manual-focus-only cameras in the past. Writing to SDWriting to the SD card is slower than most cameras but this is not in my opinion a problem. I have found that I can shoot one RAW photo (2640 x 1760) every 8 seconds using a generic SD card, or every 4 to 5 seconds using a Transcend "class 6" card. That includes 1 second to focus.But do note that, with the DP1 and DP1s models, you cannot take a new shot while your RAW photo is being written to SD. This problem has been fixed in the DP2s. DurabilityThe metal case is tough and impressive and reminds me of pre-digital cameras.One minor gripe that all reviewers express is the lack of a wrist strap. It comes with a neck strap instead. So I just bought one for $6 at my local camera store. It can be tightened around the wrist so it's better than most of the straps that come with cameras. Another minor gripe is that the lens cap does not have a cord to attach it to the camera. But it can be replaced by an automatically closing cap (see Accessories below). InfraredThe DP1 and its Foveon sensor, when combined with an infrared filter like an R72 on the end of the HA-11 hood adapter, is extremely useful for infrared photography. The infrared photos that I've taken so far have frankly been astounding.Note however that this is in part because the DP1's infrared filter is weaker than subsequent DP-series cameras.
An acceptable IR photo that I took is this:
UltravioletThe Foveon sensor is capable of detecting UV light, which I know because I bought a UV-pass filter and tested it. The filter I bought is a B+W UV Black Glass 403.At this point it's clear that very long exposure, low F stop, and high ISO are required, not to mention the brightest possible sunlight. An overcast day will produce grainy pictures. Alternatively for closeups one could use a UV lamp or UV LED however as you probably know, UV light is hazardous to the skin and eyes. FYI, the 403 actually passes both UV and IR. To choose one or the other you need to decompose the image into its constituent red, green, and blue channel in The GIMP (or I suppose Photoshop has such a feature) and select the blue channel for UV or the red for IR. Green is almost always dark. VideoEveryone says the video capability of the DP-series cameras is a joke and they are basically correct. The resolution is 320 by 212 with a black bar 28 pixels high at the bottom, to make it 320x240. It is barely at the quality level of a decent mobile phone. Panning leads to jerkiness. You can buy a $100 compact cameras that do better. That said, in a jam you may need to use it.I have found that some programs cannot read the AVI files produced by the DP1. The best free video converter that's available, called FFMPEG, which is a command-line program, can read them but there are some builds of FFMPEG circulating that cannot, for instance the one included with WinFF. Windows users may need to use Windows Movie Maker to convert the AVI to a WMV, and then use WinFF to convert that back to a readable AVI. If you have a copy of FFMPEG that does not reject the AVIs outright, you'll have best results if you use the command-line options -an -sameq and try to convert to an AVI using the MS AVI codec. For your edification, here is a video of a beautiful country scene that I made using my DP1: DP1-video.avi. Timelapse filmsThe fact that the Sigma DP1 produces such amazing images increases the temptation to use it to create time-lapse films.But unlike the DP2, which has a built-in intervalometer for taking a time-lapse photo series of any length, with the DP1 you must create the series by hand, as I have done. There are 2 potential obstacles:
To convert a series of frames to a movie under Windows, use AviSynth and VirtualDub. But if you find that it's hard to keep the camera steady, for instance due to your pressing the shutter button, you can use VirtualDub in combination with the Deshaker plugin to remove any jitters. You will definitely need a fast class 6 SDHC card.
Here's an HD timelapse movie that I made with the DP1:
GripesI do have a few minor gripes.
I don't list the video mode as a gripe because video is not what this camera is made for. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
DP1 Accessories SummaryYou don't have to spend a great deal of money to fully outfit the DP1.
ConclusionThe DP1 is the cheapest pocketable compact camera with a large sensor. I have found that it's a very nice camera and the shots are quite good, better than shots taken with many DSLRs.That said, DSLR sensors are leaping forward in megapixels and high-ISO performance. Yet there is something more lifelike about the shots that the DP series camera produce. Yes, I have seen the two telltale minor issues that official reviewers have complained about: The under-saturation of the DP1's photos generally and the clipping of very bright reds. The undersaturation is handled in Photo Pro (in Auto mode), or you can increase the default saturation level in the camera (I set it to +1). While the Foveon sensor has excellent dynamic range generally the reds on the DP1 are a problem. But a byproduct of the extra sensitivity to reds is that the DP1 is an excellent camera for infrared photography using a 720 nm IR-pass filter. Three things are striking about the photos that this camera provides:
This camera is being made available at an affordable price and at just the right time in the history of digital cameras. Until recently, no other company had stepped forward to put a serious sensor into a compact camera. For a time, this put Sigma's competitors at a disadvantage and in my opinion, showed their lack of initiative. Now the DP1 and DP2 do have competitors but they are, of course, Bayer sensor based because Sigma has bought the Foveon company. Addendum: Comparing to the Sigma DP2The DP2 has three important improvements over the DP1:
As of January 2010, the DP2 price was $550 and the DP1 was $400. Is the higher price worth it? I think so. Is there a better alternative on the market? At the moment, no. "DP2 vs. DP2s"As this point, it appears that the DP2's firmware can be upgraded to provide a faster focus than it originally had.Sigma customer service says that the DP2s offers better algorithms, faster focus, and cosmetic improvements to the body. And they say, future firmware updates for the DP2 have ceased whereas this is not the case for the DP2s. In forums people have also said the DP2s will offer a longer battery life. A Sigma trade show representative in a YouTube video says that the Foveon sensor in the DP2s is newer and has an analog output for better precision. Addendum: Comparing to the Olympus PEN EP-1Major points:1. The zoom lens of the $690 EP1 kit is reputed to be poor quality compared to the fixed lenses of either the DP1 or DP2. 2. The video mode of the EP1 is far better than the video mode of the DP2. However highlights are notoriously clipped. 3. The EP1 kit that is $690 comes with a zoom lens whereas the $550 DP2 has an excellent lens but it has a fixed focal length. 4. The EP1 only fits in a coat pocket when paired with the pancake lens, which is included in the $750 kit. This pancake lens is reputed to be poorer quality. Personally, I have tried very hard to find sample EP1 photos that do not look horrible, and I have come to the conclusion that all the hype about the EP1 is just that, hype. Sure, it shoots HD video. But are the photos any good? And are the videos any good, in truth? To me, the EP1's photos and videos look washed out, overly contrasty, and the colors just don't look right. And given that you can't pocket it, what's the point of getting it over a bulky DSLR like a Canon Rebel? DP1 linksSupport email addresses are: intl at sigma-photo.co.jp Japan and info at sigmaphoto.com USA.Optics links
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