If you have just found your way to Photography 24/7 you’re invited to take a look at my August Snaps project. I gave myself the challenge to carry my Canon G9 with me everywhere throughout the month of August in an effort to make daily images and also to simply exercise my vision and creativity. It was a great and fun challenge which led me to photograph things – and in ways – I wouldn’t normally shoot.
The image above is an outtake from the 12 August.
The Canon G9 is an excellent compact camera which has since been succeeded twice by newer models, latest by Canon’s recent announcement of the brand new Canon G11 which you can pre-order at: Amazon.com, B&H Photo or Adorama. Word has it that the first batch of stock will be available in October (so just a few weeks away now).
However, Canon is of course not the only manufacturer to offer great compact cameras. In fact there’s an interesting trend developing at the moment within the compact camera arena where some manufacturers are bringing out cameras that seem to be ‘going back in time in a modern way’ (for lack of a better of way of putting it); cameras with more of a rangefinder sensibility, small compact portable cameras with high quality single focal length lenses, quick on the draw and easy to put in your pocket.
In this post I wrote about the cool new digital Olympus PEN which is definitely worth a closer look.
Another company which is pursuing this interesting new direction is Sigma (probably best known their range of SLR lenses). Sigma’s latest offering to fit this glove is the sleek Sigma DP2.
The Sigma DP2 Digital Camera is a high-end compact digital camera equipped with a 14 megapixel Foveon X3 direct image sensor. Featuring Sigma’s unique ‘True’ image processing engine and a 24.2mm (41mm equivalent) f/2.8 lens, this compact camera provides the same superb image quality as found in the Sigma SD14 professional SLR. With the DP2, it is possible to record images in RAW or the widely used JPEG in four resolution modes. Furthermore, it offers five Exposure modes and three Metering modes as well as being equipped with a built-in flash, hot shoe, and 2.5″ TFT color LCD monitor.
Current price at B&H Photo: $631.95 with free shipping within USA.
To find out more about The Sleek Sigma DP2 you can watch this interview with Thomas Sobey of Sigma Corporation USA.
So if you don’t already have a professional grade compact camera, now is a great time to make the leap! Good luck and if you get on the ‘snapping’ wave I’d love to see your images! Just drop me a line with a link…
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19. September 2009 at 9:08 pm
Seems to be even better: http://www.dpreview.com/previews/PanasonicGF1/
22. September 2009 at 12:43 am
Hi Thomas, thanks a lot for sharing the link and for being here!
I agree, the new GF1 looks very interesting and indeed a more modern – less retro – style camera compared to the PEN, and indeed a competitor to the Sigma DP2 (and to the PEN), but the Sigma DP2 appears quite sleek in the design with some nice clean lines whereas the GF1 appears a bit more like your everyday type camera design. I kind of like the idea of an older style camera design, but with all the functionality and quality of a new modern digital and all packed into a fairly compact body.