![]() This system does give you a choice, but it comes at the cost of not being able to use the optical viewfinder and an external flashgun at the same time, and also the hefty literal cost of £115 (significantly cheaper if purchased in kit form with the camera). If you'd prefer using an optical viewfinder to frame your images, Sigma offers the optional VF-21 viewfinder, which fits into the flash hotshoe on top of the camera (you can also use other third-party viewfinders with the DP2). It displays 100% of the image and the 230,000 pixel resolution is perfectly adequate, plus there are a couple of options for increasing or decreasing the brightness of the screen if you don't like the default setting. The 2.5 inch LCD screen is a good compromise given the size of the DP2, being small enough not to overpower the rest of the design, but large enough to easily frame and review your images. The maximum aperture of F/2.8 is also a very welcome upgrade from the DP1, making it even easier to blur the background and importantly more versatile in low-light - the longer, faster lens is one of the few principal differences between the two cameras.Īlso on the front of the DP2 is a small dimpled area to the left of the lens (looking from the front) which helps you to keep a firm hold, replicated on the rear below the digital zoom buttons. 41mm is a good focal length for candid street photography, providing an angle of view similar to what we see with our own eyes, and the combination of the DP2's lens and every photographer's constant companion, their legs, proves to be more versatile than you might first think. With no zoom lens model on the horizon, you're left with a choice of the DP2 or the wider-angle DP1 which has a 28mm lens. Obviously the fixed-focal 41mm lens will immediately put a lot of people off the DP2. The construction of the lens feels rock-solid with no play at all in the metal lens barrel. Despite offering a fixed-focal length, the lens extends by approximately 3cms when the camera is turned on, accompanied by a quite audible mechanical noise. Sigma, with its long history of making lenses for other manufacturers' cameras and more recently its own DSLRs, has developed this lens specifically for the DP2. The 41mm, F/2.8 lens dominates the front of the camera. The all-metal tripod mount directly inline with the centre of the lens is a giveaway sign that this is intended to be a serious camera (most compacts have a plastic mount squeezed into one of the corners). The DP2 has an under-stated, all-black appearance, and together with the slightly heavier weight this lends the camera a professional look and feel. Utilising an aluminium alloy body, it's an exceedingly well built camera, certainly up there with the best that the other manufacturers have to offer. The DP2 becomes even more cumbersome if you add the optional optical viewfinder or lenshood. It still fits into a coat pocket or small camera bag, but it's too big and bulky for a trouser or shirt pocket, primarily because of the lens housing which protrudes quite a long out from the front of the camera body. Measuring 113.3(W)×59.5mm(H)×56.1mm(D) and weighing 260grams, the Sigma DP2 is slightly heavier and deeper than the DP1 thanks to the larger 41mm lens. The Sigma DP2 has a substantial, serious design that is rather box-like but not altogether unattractive. Ease of UseĪs the DP2 and DP1 are virtually identical, a lot of the comments that we made about the DP1 will be repeated here. Retailing for £599 / $699, the Sigma DP2 is certainly a serious investment - read our expert review to find out if its worth making. Since the release of last year's Sigma DP1, the Micro Four Thirds standard has been launched, with the diminutive Olympus EP-1 as the most comparable model currently available, so Sigma no longer have the market all to themselves. In all other respects the DP2 is virtually identical to the DP1, sharing the same 14.06 megapixel Foveon X3 sensor, 2.5 inch LCD screen, full range of creative shooting modes, built-in flash, external hotshoe and RAW format support. Principal differences between the DP2 and last year's DP1 model include a longer 41mm lens (the DP1 has a 28mm lens) with a faster aperture of f/2.8, the TRUE II image processing engine which promises to speed up operation, and the Quick Set button which aims to make it easier to change the camera's key settings. The Sigma DP2 is the second compact camera in the world to feature a large APS-C sized sensor, as used in much larger and heavier DSLR models and therefore promising better image quality than other compacts.
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