janvanlaethem Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Does anyone have an idea what's up with the Sigma DP1? This camera was announced at Photokina on 26th September 2006 and due to be released in February 2007. Then the body went through some changes, the most noticeable one the inclusion of a hot shoe on top, with the option to use an external viewfinder. It was then confirmed on 8th March 2007 at the PMA show to be available in May. We are now halfway through May, no shop stocks it yet and whenever I check bhphotovideo.com it says 'new - coming soon'. Apart from some previews in a couple of photo magazines, there is no sign of it anywhere. What advantage is there for a company to announce the launch of a new product (and a very good one indeed IMHO, as long as it lives up to the expectations), when it takes the company almost 8 months to deliver the goods? I hope that when it finally comes out there will be sufficient supply to meet initial demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Have to say, I've given up on it. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_e Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 "Have to say, I've given up on it." Godfrey I wish I knew what's up. Likely, either the technical issues were greater than they assumed, or market analysis returned iffy results regarding the bottom line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelkh Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 The SD-14 was delayed, too, and that would seem to at least be a quality product. Half way through May it may be, but that still leaves some May left. "What advantage is there for a company to announce the launch of a new product (and a very good one indeed IMHO, as long as it lives up to the expectations), when it takes the company almost 8 months to deliver the goods?" I suspect the answer to that would come from a financial spokesman. To be fair, they showed an early preview at Photokina, and since then the product has changed quite a bit; maybe it's going to change a bit more. If we don't like it, I'm sure we could just buy one of the other APS-C sensor compacts on the market... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansky Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I checked with a local dealer here in the UK and they still have no delivery estimates, they appear to be working month by month and have again been told that it should be available this month - we will wait and see and wait, and wait, and wait! The dealer I was talking to said that many shops in the UK have given up on it and those that were intially interested are considering not stocking it, they consider if there are problems getting their hands on it now will it be available in numbers when released or will it be another debacle similar to Canons release of the G7 - Loads of hype and no cameras available until months later. Personally, I am very interested in seeing one but suspect that Ricoh may well release a GRD update (hooray) before then and who knows what that will have? We live at the mercy of the manufacturers who release info then make you wait months! The salivating masses may well bite back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbizarro Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Why wait? I enjoy taking pictures too much to wait for it, so I bought the Ricoh GX100, and I am having fun. If, and when, the DP1 comes out, then we will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl smith Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 I am close to giving up on this camera as well although without a suitable alternative I'll just keep sitting on my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I've put together my alternative to the DP-1. Panasonic L1 body fitted with a Nikon->4/3 adapter and a Nikon 20mm f/2.8AF-D lens. Lots of good lenses available for the 4/3 system and lots of older good lenses that can be adapted to it without any problems. Two viewfinder systems (both optical reflex and live view LCD). It feels like a slightly bloated Leica M when configured this way, and works beautifully. The 20mm lens is a near perfect wide-normal (approximately a 40mm equivalent focal length). Godfrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl smith Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 That bloat is the exact problem I'm looking to solve. My 1D MK II is too big for some things, the Sigma DP1 by comparison is tiny. In fact it looks to be similar in size to my Canon G3 which I was hoping it might replace. Unfortunately there's simply nothing else that really gets that right yet. A 4/3 sensor in a relatively compact rangefinder would be fine too, and the Panasonic is close but still too much bulk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 <center> <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/ramarren/photo/PAW7/large/24d-half.jpg" target=new> <img src="http://homepage.mac.com/ramarren/photo/PAW7/large/24d.jpg" border=0> </a><br> Shape And Light #2, Palo Alto 2007<br> <i>Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 + D Vario-Elmarit 14-50/2.8-3.5 ASPH<br> ISO 200 @ f/3,2 @ 1/30 sec, Program, fl=14mm <br> <br> Click the image above for a larger version in a separate window.</i><br> </center><br> Carl, <br> <br> I have to tell you: I've been shooting with the L1 for a little under two weeks and I've fallen in love with the darned thing. It is such a good combination of DSLR and digicam, the stock lens is SO good, if bulky, and fitted with a small 20mm prime or the stunning Olympus 35mm Macro, it is very light, very handy, and not a lot bigger in the hand than a Leica M. <br> <br> I've made a lot of photos with it in just this short time that I'm extremely happy with. It's nothing short of a phenomenal camera. Well worth looking into. <br> <br> Godfrey<br> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl smith Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I've looked in to it, I'm still interested in it but it's beyond the budget I had hoped to stick to. The Sigma presented an awesome opportunity because it was supposed to be reasonably priced. The Panasonic is around $1300 with the lens, which is more than I really want to spend. For that price I could get an older Canon DSLR like a 20D or used 30D or one of their cheaper DSLRs and a lens and get IMO a better sensor and more flexibility as well as compatibility with everything I have. The Sigma actually interrupted my plans to do that, perhaps not any longer though. In any case I'm not seeing anything as compact as I wanted with the performance I want, that's what was really enticing about the Sigma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 <center><a href="http://homepage.mac.com/ramarren/photo/PAW7/large/24g-half.jpg" target=new><img src="http://homepage.mac.com/ramarren/photo/PAW7/large/24g.jpg" border=0></a><br>This Cafe Life #11, 2007<br><i>©2007 by Godfrey DiGiorgi<br>Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 + Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AF-D<br>ISO 125 @ f/5.6 @ 1/25 sec, Av, EV +2.0 comp <br><br><br>Click the image above for a larger version in a separate window.<br></i></center><br>Diff'rent strokes, that's all. It's all good. <br><br>I paid $1060 for the L1 plus lens, another $290 for the Nikon 20 plus adapter, another $200 for the Oly 35Macro. $25 for another battery, $60 for the remote release. That's pretty much a complete kit for my purposes. The Leica lens is worth about $950 by itself so I figure I paid about $100 for the L1 body ... that's a lot of camera for that amount of money. :-)<br><br>In the end, it's what pictures I make with the camera that counts. <br><br>Godfrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl smith Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 If I knew how/where you got it for $1060 I'd be more interested in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Carl, I bought it through Amazon.com. Three weeks ago when I placed the order there were 5 vendors there that listed it at prices between $1060 and $1099. I am sure that a LOT of people took advantage of the low pricing ... there have been a lot of new L1 owners showing up on the DPReview.com Panasonic, Olympus SLR and Leica forums in the past three weeks ... so I suppose demand has caught up to supply and pricing is stabilizing at the $1300 price level now. That said, I knew the price was artificially low for whatever reason. Knowing the camera as I do now, it's easily worth the $1300 price tag ... I'd pay that for one if I didn't already have it. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric merrill Posted June 2, 2007 Share Posted June 2, 2007 "My 1D MK II is too big for some things, the Sigma DP1 by comparison is tiny." I finally gave up trying to find an adequate P&S for my needs. What I really wanted was the digital equivalent of my Nikon 35Ti. I just couldn't seem to find it. So I went with the XTi, instead. Compared to the "real" Canon cameras, it's tiny. Very light weight. Almost feels like a toy in comparison. But the image quality is up there. Images shot at 1600 are usable in color. Granted, I can't slip it into my shirt pocket, but it does fit in a very small bag. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl smith Posted June 2, 2007 Share Posted June 2, 2007 That's exactly the alternative I've been considering. It isn't exactly what I wanted but at least it'll use all my lenses and whatever I buy for it will work on my 1D (as long as I say away from the EF-s lenses). I'm a little disheartened right now, by the time I make up my mind what to do, maybe Sigma will actually come out with the DP1. (yeah right!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_mercurio1 Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 I sent an email to Sigma a couple weeks back regarding status, someone replied right away, yet they only said to watch for status on their website with no knowledge of date sooner or later. The upside was they responded right away; the down side is the only thing we have seen are some prototypes and a nice looking picture on a website. If Ricoh got it together and put a larger sensor into the GRD, that would trump Sigma for sure - the little lens in the GRD is very nice, they just need to boost up the processor and sensor and they would have a killer on their hands. Who knows what Sigma is doing, nobody seems to know. For the moment its just a figment of our imaginations large sensor or not. Too bad really. I guess we will see or maybe never... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godfrey Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Unfortunately, it would take a lot more than just "putting a bigger sensor into the GR-D". It would require a whole new lens... G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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