I'm on the lookout for a small backup camera, which must also be well suited for street photography. So I was interested in the Sigma announcement (in time for the PMA) of the new DP1 high end point and shoot digital camera equipped with 14 megapixel (2652x1768x3 layers) large size direct image Foveon sensor (APS-C). Its press release says that the DP1's silicon embedded layers of photo sensors take advantage of silicon’s ability to absorb red, green and blue light at different respective depths. This camera incorporates both RAW and JPEG image recording formats "enabling photographers to capture the highest possible picture definition and smaller file sizes."It certainly sounds interesting, however the DP1 comes with a fixed f 4.0 28mm lens. Two problems right there: for this camera to be truly a running success, it needs a wider aperture...2.8 would be useful, and 2.0 would be wonderful. I expect that a wider aperture lens would have made it heavier and bulkier, but hope springs eternal. I don't mind the lens being fixed, but it would've been so much better if its lens was a 20mm or 24mm instead. These issues were raised to Sigma, and the answers can be found on the link. I will wait for the hands-on tech reviews, but I'm hopeful that the hands-on results of this camera will trump the theoretical expectations.
No word about the price yet...nor when the DP1 will be available.
Sigma DP1