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Sigma DP1 - Considering Sacrilege


croweatr

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Hi all - especially DP1 owners...

 

I tried the DP1 today. It's a lovely thing! Images are beautiful, in an olde filme worlde way.

 

I'm now considering retiring the sharp but often over-contrasty Zeiss 21mm Biogon and replacing it (effectively) with a DP1.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Kevin

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I had my DP-1 with me up in Tahoe and I must say that I am just not liking it. Now in fairness, in bright light with ideal conditions the camera really does take very nice shots with high IQ (better use the add-on viewfinder, the screen stinks in daylight). The problem for me with this camera is, for me, it's miserable handling, incredibly poor autofocus and the mentioned well-below-average screen.

 

Oh yeah, and in low light this camera just will not focus easily, if at all.

 

I have a GRDII (and GRD1) as well as a D-Lux 3 and I far prefer both for travel. Bulid quality, handling and ergonomics on both is far better.

 

Just my 2 cents. All of that said, the DP-1 is quite a technical achievement and if you are just taking daylight shots (with the add-on viewfinder) you might really enjoy it. For me, mine is going on sale shortly :)

 

Kent

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I had my DP-1 with me up in Tahoe and I must say that I am just not liking it. Now in fairness, in bright light with ideal conditions the camera really does take very nice shots with high IQ (better use the add-on viewfinder, the screen stinks in daylight). The problem for me with this camera is, for me, it's miserable handling, incredibly poor autofocus and the mentioned well-below-average screen.

 

Oh yeah, and in low light this camera just will not focus easily, if at all.

 

I have a GRDII (and GRD1) as well as a D-Lux 3 and I far prefer both for travel. Bulid quality, handling and ergonomics on both is far better.

 

Just my 2 cents. All of that said, the DP-1 is quite a technical achievement and if you are just taking daylight shots (with the add-on viewfinder) you might really enjoy it. For me, mine is going on sale shortly :)

 

Kent

 

 

I admit one has to get used to several dp1-facts (like slowish AF and long waiting after switching the camera on), but in the end I got used to these and now I find it works pretty good. When shooting I mostly first focus and then fully press the shutter - the delay is short enough.

Also for some scenes I use manual focus which works pretty good (by the way-the Ricoh GRD needs to be manually set to infinity if you want to achieve maximum sharpnes at infinity -AF doesnt cur it)

The display...well-its not brilliant but its good enough to frame, and very bright light there is the external viewfinder.

I dont have the GRDII but the GRD and the GX100, and while I got some nice images I find the results overall not that great. 1) fine detail/microcontrast and 2) dynamic range from dp1 are just clearly better. The dp1 is the first digital small camera where I dont have the feeling to give anything up in IQ.

I have shot some comparison gx100-dp1-M8+21mm and have to say that the dp1 detail and microcontrast is very close tothat of the M8+21asph, the colors and tones even easier to get right (besides red-which you blow out pretty fast with the dp1).

The GX100 are just 2 steps behind the other 2 cameras (for images where fine detail and some dynamic range is needed).

Sometimes I wish the dp1 had a zoom though.

Cheers, Tom

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it seems that, if you can bang away in an environment that DP1 can handle it does exceptionally well, and may well be the cult camera of our time. At least it has that quirky potential.

 

The drawbacks appear to be the untidy software, and in being somewhat slow to handle and trippy Sigma firmware renditions that have left a few owners with digital bricks in their day. I'd love to have one but have other priorities that i need to meet first, and look forward to somebodies ditched 5D when 5DII comes out, unless the E2 (we think thats what it is now) is going to be something extra/extra special.

 

hell i need tha 9-18 first anyways....

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I'm now considering retiring the sharp but often over-contrasty Zeiss 21mm Biogon and replacing it (effectively) with a DP1.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I have a DP-1 and for what it is and how I use it, it's fine ... better than fine, actually, but not without its shortcomings, as everyone who can read is aware by now. That said, I can't imagine it replacing your 21mm Biogon unless you 1) don't use this lens very often or 2) would prefer to carry a complete camera as a backup for your M8 rather than just another lens for it. If you want a DP-1 for those times when you can't carry an M8, then buy one, but don't buy one as a substitute for an M8, as it's not...

 

For grins and giggles, here's a photo of mine, complete with Richard Franiec's add-on grip, 28mm Voigtlander finder, and Contax G series lens hood and cap ... it almost looks like a rangefinder, doesn't it?

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I can tell you my experience.

I bought the DP1, after a while, just the time to "keep in touch" with the sigma, I sold my Leica Elmarit-M ASPH 21 and I don't regret the choice (since I was using it with my M8, and I don't consider 2.8 apertures for lowlight situations).

Just my personal opinion/experience.

Dunno how to compare DP1 pictures to Zeiss 21's...

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How does one fit thathood on the dp1?

I have the original hood-which works fine, but would like to add a cap.

 

I'm using a Chinese replica of the GG-2 hood and GK-54 cap for the Contax G series cameras (purchased on eBay for cheap money and subsequently painted black to match the DP-1) and it screws into the 46mm filter thread on the Sigma HA-11 adapter whereas the Sigma hood bayonets onto the adapter. It's also slightly deeper than the Sigma hood, but it's round instead of square, so it's probably a little bit less efficient. Like you, though, I wanted to be able to use a cap with the hood and this was the only solution I found that would allow me to do that.

 

Alas, my DP-1 met its demise yesterday when I unintentionally left it on the roof of my car and drove off. It hit the pavement approx. one-quarter mile later at approx. 30mph and as I would expect after such a fall, it was pronounced dead at the scene. I've since disassembled it and determined that the senor is cracked, so no economical repairs are possible. :(

 

For the moment, I'm not sure whether I'm going to replace it now or wait for the second generation version, but in the meantime, it's back to my DMC-LC1 and LX1...

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  • 7 months later...

I had been waiting for DP1 prices to fall and luckily, I came across a DP1 kit (camera, viewfinder & lens hood assembly) that had been a special order but the customer changed their mind.

 

The shop had been trying to sell it for a while at full price, then reduced to £549 for all - it was reduced to £399 just before Christmas and I called between Christmas and New Year and got it all for under £300!! a pretty good buy in my books.

 

The quality that this camera produces is amazing, and due to the type of photos I take I can live with the rants and criticism's of its many assailants and find it works for what I want.

 

It is very much a specialist camera rather than a general P&S and needs to be used with thought but the rewards are incredible.

 

We have had some col weather lately and the detail the DP1 has captured is amazing, you can see my DP1 images here:

 

Iansky Photosite

 

I still have my M6 TTL with 3 lenses and pine for a full frame M digital but that will have to wait.

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Good on you, my friend has one and the results are magnificent. I would love to own one but the 28mm focal length is far from my favorite, difficult to get to terms with. I'm more a plain 35 - 50 guy. But the camera as such wonderful, manual focus that actually works fast and precise, robust and fantastic images....

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I'm looking forward to trying the DP-2 with the 40 mm (EFOV) lens.

 

Do you have any information if they also changed other things in addition to the lens, i.e. did they for example work on the five second lag between two shots? I couldn't find any information about this yet.

 

Thanks,

Edi.

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Do you have any information if they also changed other things in addition to the lens, i.e. did they for example work on the five second lag between two shots? I couldn't find any information about this yet.

 

Thanks,

Edi.

 

I'll know for sure when I test it. I myself am also interested in knowing what changes have been made.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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