I fully support the Michael's article, both in the form and content.
Sigma is an unrealistic company. If this article could have an impact on them, well I think MR would have avoided an economical disaster and should be decorated.
Indeed very happy about the article, close to a manifest.
I had 3 of those "miracle sensor" cameras. 2 had failures the first day because of factory quality control.
The built quality is under a semi-pro body of any competitor I can think of.
I returned back a SD14 in Fotocasion, my dealer in Madrid, and I've been fortunate because they know me so they gave me back the money right on the moment.
Good professional dealer if you pass by Madrid.
The magic property of the Foveon has nothing magic at all. It is a very good sensor, but in the wrong hands. Sigma is a too small company to be able to resolve its tech issues
and commercially sell the Foveon. If that sensor was in the Hand of Canon, that would be another story and we would probably not hear any more about Bayer technology.
But it's not in the hand of Canon or Panasonic.
We have a potientially superb technology that can not prosper because not in the right hands.
As MR pointed, Sigma is not known to produce top equipment like Leica. Their optics are ok in the price range but nothing stellar and if digital photography needs probably more
than sensor size (and probably more than film) are mounts where you can put on stellar optics. Sigma's aren't in that field, never was, probably never will be.
Maybe Leica can have the luxury to do Ferrari's collectors or whatever exentricity at any price, and even if you buy a S lens for a fortune, you can be sure that you will have a top quality stuff.
Sigma can not do those kind of crazyness.
I still own a DP1. It is an interesting now outdated camera, but I bet my hat that the really good IQ comes more from the excellent optic (this time yes they did something really top) than the magic properties of the Foveon.
But...if the design is a great optic and a good sensor, point. All the rest, the body and electronic etc...just isn't serious.
You can do very good pictures with a DP1, like with any camera, but if they think that ergonomic, speed in operation, quality built etc...are vague concepts for a bunch of pros they really don't understand what the competition is doing.
Pentax, wich is not Canon, showed that it is possible for a little company to do a very good product (thinking of the K7-K5, 645D) well priced. Small, tough undestructible cameras with the K mount wich is probably with the M42 the most universal and gives access to certain stellar optics in ebay. Sigma mount is like doing a trip on a desert land. Accessories are expensive and limited.
A pro body's price, where is the pro service? We don't know, they do not have anyway. More I'm thinking about it more it just looks unreal.
Sigma just ignores video HD and never solved resolution limitations, without talking about the very poor bodies. They claimed the SD14 being essentially manual. Leica understands what a real manual camera is, Sigma obviously do not. I had one and beleive me, I'm used to work manually, included for focusing. The SD14 never made me feel the design was 100% manual, in fact the camera is so badly designed that it never let you forget about it. And this, for me, is the ultimate test if I keep or I do not keep a camera.
I remember funny stuff, like the body heats-up to a dramatic point, it does not affect the operation, but if it's maybe nice to have an hand-heater in cold winter, it is less fun under the 40 grades of Madrid in the summertime. Things like that...
I bought them because I was curious about the Foveon, a personal eccentricity that I can afford because I touch any gear in my life and has zero consequences but others can't go wrong and to be honest, if there are goodies I can't deny on Foveon, the list of hassles is such that I won't recommend their products to anybody except their little DP series for certain kind of photography and photographers and with a long list of cautions. Their dslrs on the other hand are a complete joke IMO and now with that SD1 I really think it could sink the company.
About the color rendition, sale argument wich supposed to be heaven and of course is not because there are some issues with the reds, and this claim about film age kind of camera, different that others blabla is not admissible because we can't separate a digital camera to the digital post-production context and if I want this exact red or this precise pink in this or that area I simply do.
It is to the point that I, and others, shoot with all the controls to the minimum because I personaly prefer recuperate the colrs in post-prod (not on Raw stage but on PS stage) and having in the shooting the flatter possible files we can. (except if there is an unknown AD watching on the bloody screen then you thank the Canons...oh yeah, I bet it does not tether either). Those color arguments are maybe working for romantic and nostalgic of Velvia but...no more comment necessary.
Even without having seeing a single Raws, I can already predict that when the pros of this forum will compare to their MF backs, the 645D and IMO even with the 5D2, D3x etc... we will see some good laughts here. I don't like that, I think it is sad but will happen. It reminds me in a way the Kodak pro body's fiasco.
No...really those guys are totally unrealistic. When I saw the price I felt sad. There are hunderds of jobs involved there, putten at risk because of a bunch of technocrats that think they know about business but it looks to me that this is a decision at the highest level, probably an exentricity of the general director that does not maybe have all his faculties.
More than rectifying like Michael's pointed, they should released the Foveon technology to other manufacturers.
Sad day for Japan, another point in favor of MR's knowledge about this industry business and freedom as a journalist (or do you say here columnist?).
