Photo answers review
Photo answers rating 
When it comes to image quality D-SLRs offer the best performance of all affordable digital cameras. Their larger sensor sizes offer excellent Noise handling and more accurate rendering of detail. Compact cameras, on the other hand, lack the larger sensors that allow for greater quality. Or do they...?
The DP2x, the latest prestige compact from Sigma, offers a compact body but with the superior optical quality of a prime lens and a large sensor size, its aim being to combine D-SLR performance with the portability of a compact. The DP2x is an update of the old DP2 model and sits alongside the DP1x as part of Sigma’s range of high-end compact cameras for the enthusiast photographer.
Features & Build
Opt for the DP2x and you’ll get a compact but blocky design that hasn’t really changed much since the DP2. It has a grip area made up of raised dots on the front and rear, attachments for a strap on the sides and also features buttons labelled in white and red on its black body. This all adds up to a pleasingly simple and slightly retro appearance.
The DP2x features a 14Mp Foveon X3 direct image sensor – the same type as found in Sigma’s D-SLRs – and unlike most sensors, which only record one-third of the colour information, the chip has three recording layers, each one recognizing a different colour of light. There’s a layer for red, blue and green light and this lets it record all available colour information in order to give what Sigma claims is a truer representation of colour. This also eliminates the need for interpolation of data or anti-aliasing filters that reduce overall sharpness in your images.
These separate sensor layers add up to a total resolution of 14Mp, but only produce shots of 4.6Mp (2640x1760px) when combined as an image file. This all comes together to give great rendering of colour but the lower resolution means less image detail than the 14 or 16Mp sensors of modern D-SLRs and many of today’s compacts.
This brings us to the DP2x’s lens. It offers a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8, ideal for low-light conditions and creative portraits. Optically you get a 24.2mm fixed focal length lens which works out at a 41mm full-frame equivalent with the sensor’s 1.7x crop factor. Having a prime lens means fewer optical errors in your images, which in theory translates to better image quality and sharper shots. But not having a zoom lens can pose some challenges for your photography and getting into
the right position can feel a bit restrictive at times.
Thankfully you don’t suffer this same restriction on the lighting options as Sigma has not only included a pop-up flash but also a hotshoe for mounting a flashgun. You are also presented with a range of creative modes to allow for creative control – Manual, Program, Aperture and Shutter priority are all catered for, and there’s Manual focusing, too.
Performance & handling
The images produced by the DP2x were remarkably good and we managed a pretty respectable A3+ print despite the native file size of 4.6Mp. The ability to shoot in JPEG or RAW was a bonus not found on all compacts, and with the DP2x firmware update 1.01 you can shoot in both RAW and JPEG simultaneously. We did find that Adobe Camera Raw (version 6.4.1) could open the DP2x’s RAW files, despite not featuring the camera on its list of compatible models. It’s worth noting, however, that when shooting on RAW at ISO 400 the converter did not recognize any yellow hues and displayed them as monochrome. This issue should be resolved when the DP2x is officially added to the list of compatible models, and there were no such problems when using the Sigma software that comes with the camera.
The camera wasn’t as quick as we’d hoped, with a rather slow and sluggish start-up time making it difficult to react spontaneously to unexpected photo opportunities. The AF was slow, too; it paused and froze the image before it locked focus and displayed the newly focused image on screen. On the plus side, it took just 3.5secs to write a RAW file to our SDHC card and 1sec for a JPEG.
With regard to handling, it did feel a bit quirky at times and the button functions weren’t as intuitive as we’d have liked. The manual focus buttons were where you’d expect the aperture or shutter speed dial to be, and the aperture control buttons were where you’d expect the zoom to be if the camera had a zoom function, all of which took some getting used to.
The Menu system took a similar amount of patience to get used to. We used the D-pad for navigation, but with some menus working in a slightly different fashion to others and some only allowing you to scroll through in one direction,
it was all too easy to accidentally change to the wrong setting without realising it.
Value & Verdict
The DP2x’s APS-C sized sensor provides great image quality in a compact body, which will appeal to enthusiast photographers who want to travel light and still get good pics. We were very impressed by its colour detail and metering capabilities, but it does fall short of the mark when it comes to handling. The button layout and menu are somewhat unrefined and the AF performance was sluggish. Plus, unlike a Compact System Camera (CSC) you’re unable to use it with other lenses, making it a little restrictive in some situations.
The DP2x may be able to blow other compacts out of the water with its image quality results, but it can’t rival a CSC or a D-SLR in performance and versatility terms. For £450, the experience could be better and we’d be more inclined to put our money towards a more versatile, but still lightweight CSC.
AT A GLANCE
Street price: £449
Resolution: 14Mp
Sensor: Sigma Foveon X3 CMOS
Focal length multiplication: 1.7x
Viewfinder: None
Focusing: Contrast AF
ISO range: 50-3200
Monitor: 2.5in LCD Monitor 230k dot
Shutter range: 1/2000-15sec
Burst rate: 3fps
File formats: JPEG & RAW
Video: 320×240 (QVGA) @ 30 Frames Per Second
Storage: SD/SDHC
Weight: 260g, excluding batteries
Dimensions: 113x60x56mm
Visit: www.sigma-imaging-uk.com