Sigma Announces DP1M and DP2M Compacts w/ SD1 Sensor

http://www.dpreview.co​m …DP1M_DP2M_Merri​ll_Cameras

Sounds interesting actually, Want to see the prices on them....

These look VERY tempting. Notice how they use a 19/2.8 and 30/2.8 lens? These seem possibly identical to the 19/2.8 and 30/2.8 "Neo" lenses they just announced for MFT and NEX systems.

Waiting for the prices and hoping....

AngryCorgi wrote in post #13848327
These look VERY tempting. Notice how they use a 19/2.8 and 30/2.8 lens? These seem possibly identical to the 19/2.8 and 30/2.8 "Neo" lenses they just announced for MFT and NEX systems.

They actually pointed that out as a "Huh..VERY interesting" point in the DPReview article...

Makes sense though, Id imagine you could use the same design from the NEX version and just bolt it to a compact with an APS-C sensor and bam, sell it like this...

Now lets hope the pricing is down in the $500-600 range... if so, Sigma might have a quite compelling compact (well two) up its sleeve... I admit i'll be full ready to pony up for a DP2M if the thing is priced right...

These are incredibly exciting in my book. I've just embarked on selling everything for the sake of a downsize and should wind up with just under $3k. I'd originally flirted with an X-Pro 1 but have recently settled on an X100 and a NEX-7 with several lenses. But if the new DP lenses are up to snuff and outresolve the sensors corner-to-corner, they should be more than competitive with even the 24mp NEX. If these are under $1k I'll be might tempted to buy both plus maybe a NEX-5n for low-light stuff.

I'm guessing they'll be at least $1199, though, and won't be available for months.

months? Sigma can take years...

But at the right priec these look like they may be exceptional.

What I'd like to know is when Sony states that the E-Mount is an open platform do the mean only for manufacturing third party lenses?

Cause if sigma could join up with the likes of Sony (by making an mirrorless camera with E-Mount) they would be a major contender to the MFT consortium.

NickSimcheck wrote in post #13853142
What I'd like to know is when Sony states that the E-Mount is an open platform do the mean only for manufacturing third party lenses?

Cause if sigma could join up with the likes of Sony (by making an mirrorless camera with E-Mount) they would be a major contender to the MFT consortium.

That's an interesting thought. I would assume that they would need to enter into a specific deal for Sigma to start making E-mount cameras. If anything, though, I would think that Sigma would be more likely to join up with the m4/3 consortium. The insane Foveon detail would effectively neutralize one of m4/3's main faults; pixel-level sharpness. Sigma probably wouldn't get loads of lens sales out of it but they'd sell loads of camera bodies to people who dig the really nice m4/3 lens lineup but not the sensor. You'd end up with a 13MP m4/3 camera (13MP is about what you'd get by carving the SD1 sensor down to m4/3 size) that could resolve detail better than a 7D. It'd be fantastic.

Saw the announcement but didn't notice the awesome sensors Sigma put in these things. Intriguing. Unfortunately Sigma's operational track record is spotty with previous large sensor compacts performing sluggishly in terms of AF and general operational speed. If I could live with that I'd have an X100 already. I hope they've put some serious R&D into getting these cameras working better than the previous models in that respect.

Not crazy about the f/2.8 nor the focal lengths on offer, but depending on price and performance I could be persuaded to try the 19mm version.

cptrios wrote in post #13853648
That's an interesting thought. I would assume that they would need to enter into a specific deal for Sigma to start making E-mount cameras. If anything, though, I would think that Sigma would be more likely to join up with the m4/3 consortium. The insane Foveon detail would effectively neutralize one of m4/3's main faults; pixel-level sharpness. Sigma probably wouldn't get loads of lens sales out of it but they'd sell loads of camera bodies to people who dig the really nice m4/3 lens lineup but not the sensor. You'd end up with a 13MP m4/3 camera (13MP is about what you'd get by carving the SD1 sensor down to m4/3 size) that could resolve detail better than a 7D. It'd be fantastic.

You have a nice train of thought..

Though to be honest, i wish Sigma would just sell their Foveon sensors to other manufacturers.. it would generate more sales probubly

Yohan Pamudji wrote in post #13853786
Saw the announcement but didn't notice the awesome sensors Sigma put in these things. Intriguing. Unfortunately Sigma's operational track record is spotty with previous large sensor compacts performing sluggishly in terms of AF and general operational speed. If I could live with that I'd have an X100 already. I hope they've put some serious R&D into getting these cameras working better than the previous models in that respect.

Not crazy about the f/2.8 nor the focal lengths on offer, but depending on price and performance I could be persuaded to try the 19mm version.

The thing about that is that the slow, quirky performance is much more forgivable on DP cams with the new sensor. The current models are ultra-niche products for people who value IQ over performance and at the same time don't care about image resolution. For that small sliver of the population, the DPs have been great, but for the rest of us they're just curios.

The new ones, though? I remember a while back when a blogger released a few packs of SD1 RAW files, I (being heavily interested in making big prints) did a comparison between one of them and my 5D2, with both of them upsized to 40"x60" at 220dpi. I cropped 8x10 chunks out of the center of each and printed them, and the SD1 shot actually looked marginally better than the 5D2 shot. Of course, at higher ISOs the 5D2 absolutely obliterates the SD1. Basically what you've got with the DP cameras is a Fuji GS690 and GSW690 - cameras that were fantastic for landscapes, architecture, and anything that required big prints but terrible for action - that fit in your freaking pocket. They'll be terrible choices if you need fast operation, but they'll approach "ultimate" territory for travel photographers who want to print huge but can't afford all of the extra bulk of a FF dSLR kit.

KenjiS wrote in post #13853955
You have a nice train of thought..

Though to be honest, i wish Sigma would just sell their Foveon sensors to other manufacturers.. it would generate more sales probubly

I know...Sigma deserves credit for supporting Foveon in the beginning, but I really wish that someone with actual camera-building know-how had bought the company. Hell, if Panasonic had bought them, we'd probably have nifty Foveon point and shoots by now.

Well the SD1 actually does shoot close to a 24mp Bayer-array FF cam... So thats something.. IQ wise its a pretty darn good camera..its limitations are as you said, in the performance of everything else (Especially the RAW converter..)

if some other company stepped up to the Foveon plate, provided some good tools, better processing, better UI and etc I bet a lot of folks would jump on the Foveon bandwagon, On top of it, it would likely eventually reduce costs because they'd produce more sensors

Anyone who has used a DP1 or DP2 knows that they are potentially fantastic little cameras.

The issue has never been with their lenses or sensors (which were superb in my DP1s), but with rubbish ergonomics and slow write and operation. If you've never used one, don't underestimate how much it can completely cripple usability.

If Sigma can sort some of these problems, these will be amongst the best compact cameras out there.