Sigma's compact DP1 gets some exposure

Japanese camera and lens maker Sigma began showing off its DP1 digital camera, a compact model using the unusual Foveon image sensor.

Sigma's DP1 camera

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Each pixel in a Foveon sensor can detect red, green and blue light, a different approach compared to most "Bayer pattern" sensors that have a checkerboard of pixels that only capture a single color. The Foveon sensors have been used earlier in Sigma's SLR cameras.

The camera image has a resolution of 4.7 megapixels, but each pixel has all three colors; most cameras have only one color and extrapolate values for the others.

The DP1 also has a 2.5-inch display, a fixed 28mm lens, a hot shoe to mount an external flash and support for "raw" images taken directly from the sensor without in-camera processing.

The camera is due to ship this summer, Sigma said, but the company isn't releasing price details.

[jonnyenny]

Sigma's DP1

I hope Sigma will have a DP1 with a zoom lens also.
Not to many would want a camera with just a 28mm lens.