SIGMA DP1 / DP1s / DP1x

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

Table of contents

• Gallery
• Review
• Specification and Compare
• Options
• Reference links
• Update history
• Affiliate link

Gallery

猫・Cat

小田急ロマンスカー・Odakyu Romance Car

夕焼け・Twilight

名古屋鉄道/三河線・Nagoya Railway/Mikawa Line

Review

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.

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.

Specification

Options

• Lens hood:HA-11

Reference links

• SIGMA official web DP1
• SIGMA official web DP1s
• SIGMA official web DP1x

Update history

• 2024.02.12:Update the article
• 2023.01.01:First draft

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