SIGMA DP1, DP1s, DP1x

Reviews and photo examples of Sigma compact digital cameras DP1,DP1s,DP1x.

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The DP1 series is a compact digital camera equipped with a 2nd generation Foveon sensor.
It has the same sensor as the SD14/SD15 digital SLR camera. The number of recorded pixels is 4.5 million pixels x3, and the actual pixels are 4.5 million pixels, but with JPEG recording and SIGMA PhotoPro, pixels can be combined and output with even higher pixels.
The only difference between the DP1 and DP2 was the lens, with the DP1 having a 16.6mm lens and the DP2 having a 24.2mm lens.

I had high hopes for this camera before it was released, but the Muji DP1 was a very slow camera and its basic performance was similar to that of an early digital camera, so I had to be patient to use it.
Typical problems include the following:

Large shutter lag
LCD tracking is poor
What’s wrong with auto white balance (post-adjustment is possible if you shoot in Raw)
battery life is short
Can’t increase ISO sensitivity
Easy to shake (due to light body weight)

The sharpness of the Foveon’s unique image quality would be good enough to look at today, but when I pointed the DP1 at a cat, which was my main subject at the time I was using this camera, I could only get sad results.
Cats usually move quickly and prefer dark places, so there were many situations that would kill DP1, and I was only able to capture a cat sleeping in the sun during the day.
Despite being such a compact camera, unfortunately it was completely unusable for street snapshots like the RICOH GR1 from the film era.
Therefore, for me, the DP1 was only useful for calmly taking pictures of landscapes. However, in that case, you will be faced with the contradiction that you will get better results if you bring your single-lens reflex camera with you.

The DP1 and DP2 series models all had poor battery life, and suffered from the same problem as the SD9 and SD10 in that even if the battery display on the rear LCD showed that the battery was full, the battery would suddenly die if the battery voltage was insufficient.

The battery model number for the DP1 and DP2 series is BP-31, with a specification of 3.7V 1300mAh. In the past, compatible batteries were available after the original batteries were discontinued, but these compatible batteries have recently disappeared from the market (there are some dubious compatible products on Amazon, but I won’t introduce them because they’re scary), so please be aware that if you buy a used body, you may have a hard time finding a battery.

I honestly praise the company for releasing a camera in this era that has an APS-C sensor in a compact digital camera size. Among cameras equipped with APS-C class sensors, the Leica X1 was released in 2009, and the RICOH GR was released in 2013, so this camera released in 2008 stands out for its advancedness.
After purchasing the DP1, I was disappointed and sold it, but after that I passed on the minor upgraded version of the DP1, the DP1s, and got the final version, the DP1x. The Dp1x had a True II image processing chip, making it a slightly better camera, but even two years after the release of the DP1, it still wasn’t that useful. It appears that Sigma at the time lacked the basic elemental technology needed to create a compact digital camera.

Shortly after the first-generation DP series was released, products were sold on the second-hand market like an outlet store and could be purchased relatively cheaply. As of 2024, used prices are on the rise, but Sigma currently does not accept repairs, so if it breaks, it’s all over.

The photo below shows a Cosina Zeiss 25/28mm viewfinder for checking composition. Sigma sells the original viewfinder, the VF-11. These external viewfinders are only for checking composition and do not display camera information such as focus position. I saw a post on a price bulletin board lamenting that the viewfinder’s functions do not work with the camera, and I was reminded that people are not satisfied with just looking through a viewfinder that costs several thousand yen, and that there are people everywhere who do not read the instructions carefully.

Specification

項目	DP1	DP1s	DP1x
Camera Effective Pixels	Effective pixels: 14.06 million pixels (2,652 x 1,768 x 3 layers)	←	←
Focal length	`16.6mm F4` (35mm camera equivalent: angle of view equivalent to 28mm)	←	←
Lens configuration	6elements 5group	←	←
image sensor	FOVEON X3®(CMOS)・20.7×13.8mm	←	←
image processing	True	←	True II
Back LCD	2.5-inch, 230,000 dots	←	←
View finder	None	←	←
Battery	Lithium-ion battery (BP-31)	←	←
Size(mm)	W x H x D 113.3mm x 59.5mm x 50.3mm	←	←
Weight(g)	Approx. 250g (excluding batteries and memory card)	←	←
Release date	March 3, 2008	October 10, 2009	September 30, 2010
Jpanese price	100,000（Open）	54,800（Open）	72,800（Open）