Sigma DP1M - A User's Review

[Mr Khaw]

my advice, if you wanna get a new 1, pls wait till next week. there's a good deal coming

 

[incurable]

my advice, if you wanna get a new 1, pls wait till next week. there's a good deal coming

thanks for the info!

 

[incurable]

thanks to tomcat for sharing his review, and to the contributions by others. am now a proud owner of the DP1M, and thoroughly enjoying what this camera can do! i am a patient shooter so the quirks do not bother me at all.

 

[snapsnapsnapsnap]

my advice, if you wanna get a new 1, pls wait till next week. there's a good deal coming

Are there more information of the mentioned deal? Looking forward to own this as my travel cam

 

[tomcat]

Are there more information of the mentioned deal? Looking forward to own this as my travel cam

Free flash worth $188. And you would need it too since these cameras don't have built-in flashes.

 

[tomcat]

thanks to tomcat for sharing his review, and to the contributions by others. am now a proud owner of the DP1M, and thoroughly enjoying what this camera can do! i am a patient shooter so the quirks do not bother me at all.

Congrats. Welcome to the very exclusive club of Foveon users.

 

[Mr Khaw]

for those who are patient, you will be rewarded!

 

[incurable]

Congrats. Welcome to the very exclusive club of Foveon users.

thanks! i got a reasonably good deal for a 4-month set from a fellow forumer.

 

[MichaelLee]

thanks to tomcat for sharing his review, and to the contributions by others. am now a proud owner of the DP1M, and thoroughly enjoying what this camera can do! i am a patient shooter so the quirks do not bother me at all.

welcome to foveon world of color

 

[tengk]

welcome to foveon world of color

The key word here is spare batteries esp if it is your only camera. Each battery charge gives u only enough juice for 70-80 shots, less if night and you review and focus manually with LCD. I have 3, of course u can get 4 or more if u do not cherish waking up in your sleep to change batteries between recharge.

 

[incurable]

The key word here is spare batteries esp if it is your only camera. Each battery charge gives u only enough juice for 70-80 shots, less if night and you review and focus manually with LCD. I have 3, of course u can get 4 or more if u do not cherish waking up in your sleep to change batteries between recharge.

tried to get spare batteries at a few shops, but all i got were curt responses and sometimes funny looks. tried asking about Ricoh GRD II batteries as i understand they are compatible, but got same reactions.

one exception was at SLR where they were kind enough to try out one meant for Panasonic, but didn't fit properly, though they look the same size wise.

found a 3rd party one at eBay but that one costs more than $30. might have to go this route as a last resort.

to save me some time searching again, can anyone point me to the right local shops where they are available?

thanks in advance!

 

[tomcat]

tried to get spare batteries at a few shops, but all i got were curt responses and sometimes funny looks. tried asking about Ricoh GRD II batteries as i understand they are compatible, but got same reactions.

one exception was at SLR where they were kind enough to try out one meant for Panasonic, but didn't fit properly, though they look the same size wise.

found a 3rd party one at eBay but that one costs more than $30. might have to go this route as a last resort.

to save me some time searching again, can anyone point me to the right local shops where they are available?

thanks in advance!

If you only want branded batteries, then get the Ricoh battery for GRD. It is much cheaper than the original Sigma one... about $30+ only. You should be able to get it from most dealers who stock Ricoh cameras. If you want 3rd party ones which cost even less, again it would be easier to get them from Ricoh dealers. Try TK Foto for both original Ricoh and 3rd party batteries.

 

[incurable]

If you only want branded batteries, then get the Ricoh battery for GRD. It is much cheaper than the original Sigma one... about $30+ only. You should be able to get it from most dealers who stock Ricoh cameras. If you want 3rd party ones which cost even less, again it would be easier to get them from Ricoh dealers. Try TK Foto for both original Ricoh and 3rd party batteries.

thanks for the info. actually TK Foto was one of the shops i went to yesterday. maybe i talked to the wrong person there. will try again.

alternatively, i can look for a good deal on a used DP2M and have four batteries altogether haha. am really tempted now after falling in love head over heels with the DP1M!

 

[tengk]

thanks for the info. actually TK Foto was one of the shops i went to yesterday. maybe i talked to the wrong person there. will try again.

alternatively, i can look for a good deal on a used DP2M and have four batteries altogether haha. am really tempted now after falling in love head over heels with the DP1M!

This one is really infected and i think incurable. But happy.

 

[incurable]

This one is really infected and i think incurable. But happy.

and you're one of those who passed me the infection, but glad to have it!

 

[tomcat]

Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce that firmware SIGMA DP1 Merrill is available for download.

Benefits of the firmware update:

SIGMA DP1 Merrill firmware [Ver.1.03]
・Adds the Face Detection Mode
・It is possible to create B/W images in RAW or RAW+JPEG mode.
・It corrects the phenomenon that transferring an image using a USB cable fails occasionally.
・It is possible that non-SIGMA external flashguns can synchronize at a shutter speed of 1/125 second or slower.
・It corrects the phenomenon that JPEG images are not properly displayed in the Adobe RGB color space.

SIGMA DP1 Merrill firmware Ver.1.03 is available for download at the following site. SIGMA DP1 Merrill Firmware | SIGMA DP : Special Contents

 

[tomcat]

Image quality comparison between the DP1M and Nikon Coolpix A

The Nikon Coolpix A has about the same form factor and focal length and also about the same price as the DP1M.

These shots were taken with both cameras on a bright and sunny day for the purpose of comparing the image quality under these conditions.

Coolpix A

1/400s f/8.0 at 18.5mm ISO 100

1/500s f/8.0 at 18.5mm ISO 100

1/320s f/8.0 at 18.5mm ISO 100

 

[tomcat]

Sigma DP1M

1/200s f/8.0 at 19.0mm ISO 100

1/400s f/8.0 at 19.0mm ISO 100

1/200s f/8.0 at 19.0mm ISO 100

 

[tomcat]

100% Crop Comparison of first 2 images

 

[tomcat]

It would seem to me from these images that the dynamic range and colours from the DP1M is superior to that of the Coolpix A. Under those harsh lighting conditions, there was a surprisingly high loss of details in the shadow areas in the Coolpix A images compared to those of the DP1M.