Sigma has announced more details on its new compact camera, the DP1 first announced in September last year, at PMA 2007 in Las Vegas.

The new camera, which features the company's Foveon sensor found in its high end DSLR models like the SD14, will offer consumers a whopping 14 megapixel picture resolution, twice as much as the average compact.

The company has achieved this by making the sensor considerably bigger than you would normally expect to find in a compact model. It is so large, in fact, that Sigma is quoting it as approximately 10 times larger than those used in an ordinary point and shoot digital camera.

Sporting a fixed 28mm lens, a 2.5-inch LCD screen and optional external viewfinder that slots into the Hot shoe slot, the camera also offers photographers the option to shoot in RAW Image Recording Format. Customers will also be able to get a optional lens hood for the DP1.

The camera also offers complete manual control including a dial for manually focusing the image.

The DP1 has compact dimensions of 113.3mm / 4.5in. (W) × 59.5mm / 2.34in. (H) × 50.3mm / 2.0in. (D) and weighs 240g/8.5ounces and should be available in the Summer for around £600 in the UK, 800 euro in Europe or $1000 in the US.