as some others i got a little hint from sebastian that sigma offers a free 14 days rental for the new dp1. when i read about the dp1 i was really surprised: “full frame”, 28/4 prime lens, raw mode and lean and compact design. sounds good. i got the camera a few days ago. i’ll do a little review but not a real test.
as you want to read more about dp1 tech info, check dpreview
first impression:
the actual body of the camera is well build. i’m not sure if it’s a real aluminium or magnesium body or if it’s just plastic. feels like aluminium but as i said – i’m not sure.
after setting up the camera: lens hood, battery etc. i noticed that there are a few little things that are not really well build. the little white pin that keeps the battery in position or the build in flah button feel like a toy camera but beside this it feels well build but in my opinion i the dp1 could be more solid since it’s actually made for pro or ambitious landscape photographers. my flatmates panasonic fx1 feels more solid. i wish the lens would disappear into the body since the opening is quite big for a compact camera.
the test set is well equipped with an external flash and a external viewfinder, even if the viewfinder is not really helpful since i find it pretty sketchy. i think it’s more a fancy “nostalgic” accessories than an actally need. also the connection parts seem very cheap. check the review on dpreview for pictures.
with the lens hood and the viewfinder the dp1 reminds me of a bessa l or a classical viewfinder camera (at first sight).
so i walked around the osnabrück to take a few frames with. i did a bit of color correction – regular stuff that i also do with my nikon photographs. i think it’s just fair and i just want to write down my impressions, for for a real test go and check dpreview.
i never used a sigma slr camera but the picture quality is quite similar to a dslr – of course, that’s what it’s build for. even with f4 and 16mm lens (28mm with crop) you get quite a nice bokeh.
i also must say that i like the iso setting from 50 to 800 iso so this enables to shoot at f4 on a sunny day. a strange thing is the shutter. between f4 and f5 it’s 1/1000 sec and between f10 and f11 it’s 1/2000. of course the opening gets smaller but still. it’s a bit strange.
after a few minutes i found out that the autofocus is a pain, also the speed itself. it takes ages to focus and save a raw file. i’m not sure but i think it takes 30 seconds to focus and save the picture. way to long, so the dp1 is nothing for street-shooters. a faster 35/2.0 version would make it qutite a nice street machine since it’s very compact and the shutter is gentle as my cellphone camera.
since the 28mm is my favorite focal length, i enjoyed it and to be honest f4 is alright since it’s more a “landscape machine”.
i also did a little black and white test. just to use it like my regular camera. works fine
the dynamic of the sensor is quite good. it’s fun to use (when you switch to MF). there is the option to focus manual but there is nothing to check the focus. on my minolta a2 i had a button that zoomed in the center of the picture to get a better focus-proof.
i was really surprised by the lens. it’s really sharp. i didn’t did a comparison with the nikkor but it looks good.
dynamic is quite nice, as i said
the classical osnabrück shot 
on 400 iso the camera works fine
so all in all:
i must say, i still like the idea if a “full frame” or aps-c or just a bigger sensor in a compact camera. the prime lens is also a very good but i guess (since i know my friends, they always want to zoom my 50mm) it’s not a tool for rookies. still as easy to use as every other compact camera but just something else.
if i would do landscapes and want to get a light compact camera with a good dynamic range the dp1 is a good choice but way too slow. not only the AF also saving time or loading when it comes to look at the photographs. the display and every thing else is nothing specual, good bit nothing fancy. i also wish the sigma engineers would have used control elements from the cheap 1970s rangefinders like a aperture ring or a ring to set the speed. little things, that are not even innovations but would have made the dp1 more interesting.
so far my impression of the dp1: just an average compact camera with a sharp, but a bit too slow wide angle lens. it seems as if the camera is too stressed with the picture processing. it’s like my cellphone camera. i guess this is really THE weakness of the sigma dp1. the price of 799€ (excluding the external viewfinder and lens hood!) is too much for a machine with so many flaws. even if you shoot exclusively landscapes and don’t care about speed. next time sigma engeneers try to build in a faster 35mm lens (or two lens versions) and tune up the camera cpu! then it would be a very sweet machine. i hope that the dp1 is the precursor of a new era of “full frame” compact cameras.
