macnn/electronista
02/15/2008, 10:10am, EST
Friday, February 15thSigma firms up DP1 camera pricing
Sigma today set pricing for its long-delayed DP1 high-end compact camera. Set to launch worldwide in the spring, the camera will now be priced in Sigma's UK home at a minimum £550 ($1,083) including tax for the standard version and £600 ($1,181) for a version that bundles a hot-shoe mounted digital viewfinder for photographers who prefer composing shots in a similar fashion to a digital SLR.
The pricing reflects the nature of the camera, according to Sigma. Though not much larger than a point-and-shoot model and sharing a fixed lens, the DP1 uses a 14-megapixel Foveon sensor that matches the size of most DSLRs and which purportedly provides similarly rich colors. The camera is also capable of shooting in RAW, provides advanced metering, and room for a hot-shoe flash as well as the viewfinder.
Pricing for the camera in the US has yet to be revealed, although the actual cost of Sigma's camera is expected to reach below the British price. [via DPReview]
Filed under: gadgets, digital imaging
Other story tags: Sigma, Foveon
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Avoid this oddball sensor technology like the plague (unless you find Homer Simpson skin tones pleasing).
Instead we have to choose between a dozen different nearly-identical SLRs or 150 different nearly-identical compacts. Canon/Nikon/Pentax/Oly/Sony say we can have one or the other but not both. They say, "you can't have a 10mm wideangle!" "You don't want an SLR-sized sensor in a compact body!" "You want a big full-size SLR because that's what the pros use!" Or, "if you want a compact you don't need anything different because compacts are toys!" I'm glad somebody is willing to try something different.
It's not 14mp. They use creative math to come up with that. They're lying to you. It's closer to 4.6mp.
And Foveon technology hasn't worked right yet. Skin tones resemble Homer Simpson and the rest of the color spectrum is goofy.
They omit the AA filter to give a false impression of sharpness.
Waste your money on this thing if you want (if they ever bring it to market), but you'll hate yourself later.
Sigma has always marketed to amateurs who are too cheap to buy OEM lenses. With digital cameras, they have adopted oddball technology that doesn't work, and they routinely lie in their marketing.
Please? I love my SLRs, but I really would like a good compact with an APS-C size sensor. Hopefully one at a reasonable price too. If a Nikon D40 can be sold for $500 with lens, I don't believe a compact with a larger sensor must go for twice as much.