More on the Sigma DP-1 and Camera Review Sites
A few weeks ago I mentioned the new Sigma DP-1 camera and, since that time, a number of new reviews have popped up on the Internet. These new reviews seem pretty consistent with the earlier ones – great sensor, too bad about the camera.
The first review is from Toronto-based landscape photographer Michael Reichmann at his popular site The Luminous Landscape. Reichmann is pretty critical of the DP-1 and its handling characteristics. The reviews on this site are generally very good and, importantly, focus mostly on what the camera is like to use instead of analyzing resolution charts and the like. If you want highly-detailed camera reviews with page after page of detailed image analysis, dpreview will be your favorite site. There are many others out there but dpreview seems to be the best for professionally done digital camera reviews.
Another site with a recently-completed DP-1 review is Reid Reviews, which I consider to be the best review site out there. Sean Reid is a Vermont-based photographer in the black & white documentary-style mold. For digital rangefinder and high-end point & shoot camera reviews, this is clearly the best resource available, but his less frequent reviews of DSLRs are also quite valuable.
Reid Reviews is a pay site ($32.95 for a year subscription) but well worth it. Most on the Web resist paying for content in any fashion, but sometimes you get what you pay for – and less than 35 bucks a year for a very comprehensive, advertiser-free review site is a bargain (especially when compared to the price of the cameras!). Reid reviews cameras from the perspective of a working professional, and also includes other articles on more general topics in photography. Incidentally, his review was more positive than Reichmann’s, particularly on image quality, but he also noted the many usability concerns of the camera.
- Jim Nickelson
