Sigma generated a lot of buzz recently after announcing its SD1 DSLR with a $9,700 MSRP, and that’s probably exactly what they were trying to do. As articles all over the Internet questioned why a 14.7MP Sigma DSLR would cost the same price as Pentax’s 40MP medium-format DSLR, Sigma was quick to point out that the camera would actually be selling for a slightly more reasonable street price of $6,900.
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Things aren’t going very well for Sigma these days — just days after the world balked at the $9,700 price tag it’s attaching to the upcoming SD1 DSLR, Nikon is announcing that it’s suing Sigma for $150 million over the vibration reduction technology found in Sigma DSLR lenses. Furthermore, it’s demanding that Sigma put a halt to the manufacturing and sale of lenses that infringe on the VR patents, which might be a large number of OS (Optical Stabilization) lenses.
(via Nikon Rumors)
Image credit: Fighting Topis by Stuart Barr
Sigma announced today that its flagship SD1 DSLR will be available starting in June 2011 with a hefty price tag of $9,700. The unique thing about the camera compared to its competitors is the 15MP Foveon sensor that uses 3 stacked sensors, giving each photo 46 million pixels of color data — this supposedly helps provide sharper pictures, truer colors, and fewer artifacts compared to traditional sensors (but also means 45MB Raw files). The camera will shoot at 5fps, use 11 autofocus points, and have a 3-inch LCD screen.
Sigma is reportedly targeting existing medium format shooters with this camera, but the sensor had better be out of this world to justify shelling out nearly 10K on a 1.5x crop factor 15MP DSLR, since photographers can pick up the 40-megapixel medium-format Pentax 645D for the same price.
Update: Sigma has released a number of sample photos here. Be patient with the site though — it seems to be under a heavy load.
Sigma isn’t planning to let EVIL cameras have all the large-sensor fun. They’ve decided to stuff their new DP2x compact camera with a Foveon X3 sensor — similar to the ones found in the Sigma SD15 and SD1 DSLR cameras (about 12 times larger than traditional compact camera sensors). The camera is capable of capturing 14 megapixels worth of data with its stack of three sensors, generating 4.7 megapixel photographs. It also shoots RAW, lacks HD recording (video clips are a paltry 320×240), has a non-zoomable 24.2mm f/2.8 lens, has ISO 100 to 3200, and has a 2.5-inch LCD screen. The company has yet to announce how big of a hole the DP2x will chew in our wallets, or when it’ll be available.
Apparently Sigma worked so hard on ensuring image and build quality on its new flagship SD1 DSLR that they forgot that overlooked the fact that video recording is pretty much a standard feature on new DSLRs these days. We forgive them, because they’ve included a 46-megapixel Foveon sensor that uses 3 stacked sensors of 15.3 megapixels each to capture red, green, and blue light. The resulting images are 15.3 megapixels in size with color resolution that’s superior to traditional sensors.
The camera also has a rugged magnesium alloy build, a 3-inch LCD screen, 11 autofocus points, 98 percent and viewfinder coverage. It’ll arrive in February next year at a price that has yet to be announced. If you’re looking for a rugged DSLR and don’t care about things like Live View or video recording, then you might want to add the SD1 to your list.
Sigma announced yesterday that the upcoming 8-16mm f4-5.6 DC HSM, first announced at PMA 2010, will have a retail price of £799.99.
While it’s not an accurate measure of what the lens will cost in the US, at the current exchange rate this is roughly $1,232.
The lens, designed for APS-C (crop) sensors, will be available for Sigma, Nikon, and Canon mounts when the lens is made available at the end of April. It will also be released for Sony and Pentax shortly thereafter.
When used on APS-C sensors, the lens is equivalent to a 12-24mm lens, and is the first zoom lens to offer 8mm without being a fisheye.
The closest to this Nikon and Canon come with their own lenses are the 10–24 mm f/3.5-4.5G and 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, respectively.
Today at PMA, Sigma announced a wide range of new lenses, including a prime 85mm f1.4.
The rep at the Sigma booth who said that the prices and release dates are not solid, but these lenses should be hitting the market by the end of this year, possibly in the second quarter (after March).
They are made to fit most major DSLR brands, including not only Nikon and Canon but Sony and Pentax.
Here’s a list of the lenses with a summary of specs, pictured left to right:
I’m down in sunny Anaheim, California at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) 2010 Sneak Peek.
PMA is an international photo trade association, encompassing companies from all aspects of the photo industry, from camera manufacturers, printers, photo processors, papers, software and displays.
The PMA trade show officially kicks off tonight at 5pm, and the exhibition doors open tomorrow morning at 10:30 here at the Anaheim Convention Center, but already, there is a ton of awesome new products worth a look.
Just to give a taste of some products and news we’ll feature over the next few days, here are some highlights:
Keep an eye out for those stories and more on our site.
