Sigma this morning saw fit to upgrade its original Foveon-based camera with features borrowed from the DP2 as well as others. The DP1s gets the Quick Set shortcut function from the second-generation camera and assigns it to the digital zoom button found on the original DP1 controls. It also supports shooting RAW and JPEG images at the same time, much like DSLRs.
Sigma on Thursday acted on its word and launched the long-delayed DP2 in the UK. The 14-megapixel camera is a cross between regular compacts and digital SLRs and continues to hinge on its FOVEON sensor, which is significantly larger than in point-and-shoots and helps produce more professional images, particularly in RAW mode. It also gets full manual controls and, since it was first shown last year, now has light sensitivity up to ISO 3,200 as well as a quick-access button for some of the more common camera settings.
Kawasaki, Japan-based digital camera maker Sigma Corporation has purchased all stock of Foveon Inc., a company that developed the original three-layer image sensor for digital cameras. Prior to this Tuesday announcement, the two companies have worked together on the Foveon X3 sensors used in all Sigma digital cameras, including the recently introduced SD15 and DP2.
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.
Sigma at the PMA photo expo has committed to a release window for the DP1, its unusual crossover between compact cameras and digital SLRs. Now due sometime in spring, the final camera still maintains the 14-megapixel Foveon sensor that defines its shooting characteristics. The new three-layer silicon technology (also used in the SD14) captures each portion an RGB image in one pixel instead of three and allows the sensor to be several times larger than for other point-and-shoots this size; this provides both a major lift both to resolution as well as color response, Sigma says. The DP1 also comes with a custom-tailored 16.6mm f4 lens that can produce a shallow depth of field effect normally impossible with compact cameras.
