Wilson Rothman reviews the DP2: “When I first fiddled with the DP2, I was like “Who would ever want this?” Then I shot some of the most amazing photos I’ve ever taken.” [Gizmodo]
Sigma DP2 “the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA” of cameras.
11 Responses to Sigma DP2 “the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA” of cameras.
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So, you’re saying it’s hoppy?
That is such a beautiful beer-nerd comparison that I didn’t even need to read the review. I did, but it didn’t add much beyond the headline.
It even works to the level that I’m not man enough to finish a 120, and I don’t think I’d be able to cope with the sigma on a regular basis.
So its wheat is delicious?
Wow, I think I would rather comment on the beer then the camera. Dogfish Head 120 Min. IPA is one of the best beers I have had the privilege of sampling in Rehoboth Beach. For other beer lovers of hoppy goodness try Bell’s Hops Slam, its an amazing concoction of honey and hops. As far as the camera goes, I love it, why not just get a low budget SLR? More lenses, more options. This is not flamebait, but an actual legitimate question.
Hybridan,
Because it’s smaller. As much as I love wandering around town with my 5D and 12-24mm or stabilized 28-300L, some situations call for something that can fit in a jacket pocket. For example, I have a Panasonic LX3 (the cheaper version of Leica’s D-Lux 4… Still costs more than the cheapest Canon and Nikon SLRs, though).
Instead of “Why would someone want this over an SLR?”, my question is “Why would someone want this over an LX3?”. The LX3 lens may not be QUITE as sharp, and the sensor might be a LITTLE more grainy (then again, the review of this Sigma talks about some serious grain, so maybe not). But the lens is faster, and stabilized, and it actually zooms! (OK, not much, but enough for about 80% of shots I take while wandering around, especially since the image quality is good enough that I’m not afraid to crop if I have to). And it’s half as thick as the Sigma. I’d be curious to try some comparison shots, but of the handful of people who will buy this Sigma, probably none will live near me, statistically speaking
(And no, I’m not a Panasonic stealth marketer or anything like that. As much as I love my LX3, I realize that most people would seriously dislike a lens that only zooms to 60mm. I enjoy the LX3, but that’s because my SLRs (and their lenses, ranging from 12mm to 720mm-equivalent) are there when I want them).
Better RAW support?
The sigma is a point and shoot for people that have a well established workflow. It’s not for people like me, who are graduating from a point and shoot to a DSLR, and are now trying to figure out not just how to learn the basics of taking a decent picture, but then dealing with the importing, correction, and tweaking of the RAW data after the fact. (I’ve given up on RAW for now, and am just concentrating on learning to shoot a decent photo in different conditions. The thought being that once I get better at that, I’ll start tackling the production work.)
If your produciton workflow is second nature, it probably feels like handcuffs to go back to a .jpg only point and shoot, but sometimes you’d like a smaller camera to tote around.
So this product is probably marketed well at people that are slumming it, rather than people lookign to step up.
(And with that said, maybe it’s more of a 90. If you’re a hophead that loves the 120 but want to ease up for occasional use, the 90 is a good way to lighten up on occasion. The 60 would probalby feel like water at that point. To me, the 120 feels more of a barleywine than an IPA; I’m not accomplished enough to appreciate all the dimension. A 90 is right up my alley, though. Surly Furious, should it be available to a hophead, should be obtained.)
@6, Yeah the 90 will pretty much ‘do’ for most occasions. The 120 is freakin’ great, but so is the 90, and the 90 costs about 1/4 what the 120 does. That said, I think the 120 is pretty much the only beer I’m willing to pay $10/bottle for. Although, if they doubled the price of Delerium Tremens, I’d pay it for that also.
On topic (well, the other topic), I’m seriously considering one of these, or the aforementioned Panasonic, because I’m in a tiny apartment in the city now… I have a very extensive SLR kit in storage (film) but I don’t have the space for all of that, and a darkroom right now. Also, my first love is the darkroom, so while I still want a really solid camera, if I’m going to get digital gear, I don’t really need as much out of it.
Also, lugging around an SLR in the city when I really just want to get a few good shots isn’t really my cup of tea. Right now I just need a solid urban warrior camera, and these high-end point & shoots seem to fit the bill perfectly.
P.S., @dogfishbeer seems to love the comparison as well, as they RTed it around…
I think the Canon G9 or G10 really beats this Sigma DP2 in most regards. Sure, the sensor’s smaller, but most (if not all) of the significant issues described in this review are NOT a problem with the G9 or G10. And it produces some fantastic photos!
It seems expensive, but to anyone who has a decent sized SLR kit, $650 is pocket change…same ballpark as most of my lenses. I have a pretty modest collection of glass, but two APS-C bodies and seven lenses adds up to over $5K in gear.
The G9 and G10 are great…until you look closely. Compared to even a 300D they just plain suck.
The pixel-level sharpness out of the Foveons is just plain amazing, as is the color and sharpness that lens provides. I love the look of the sigma sensors. I am so, so, so tempted by this thing.
But, if it can’t put out at ISO 800 and above, forget it. On my dSLRs, ISO 400 is the lowest I ever use unless I need to keep shutter speeds down, since noise is non-existent at that level.
My ideal “always on me” camera only has four requirements: smaller than an SLR, manual controls, fast lens and RAW. How hard is that? It has to have a fast lens and decent high-iso performance because it’s going to be the one with me in exactly the situations where light is a problem…bars, restaurants, shows, etc.
If you like hops, the 120 is supposed to be good. If you don’t like hops, Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout is nectar (as in, what the gods drink).
The first time I had WWS, I realized this was probably as close as I was going to get to tasting the Hertzwesten Dark. And that’s good beer.