Disheartening Very Disheartening

Roger wrote:

Well Sigma Fans what do you say, when you've been on two photo shoots with the Sigma rep and the rep is using a Sony camera? I asked where's your Sigma camera? Reply, "I think it's in the car or home, maybe." I took to college students with me who's major is Video Production, they weren't impressed. They went on a photo shoot with the Nikon Rep who was using a Z9 and they got to use the Z cameras and lenses. They were impressed.

Why do I want to buy a Sigma camera? Really?

So what did I do next? I got invited to a walk about with the Leica Rep who right off the get go gave me my choice of any Leica camera and lens or any two if I want to carry them. I chose the Q2 and SL2 with a 35 f2 and a 24-90 and off we went.

For 2 hours we walked, talked, and took photos, and you know what, he used a Leica camera and lens. At the end of the 2 hour walk about, and shoot we talked, he gave me his card, and 3 Leica key rings. It was good.

I love the FP and the IQ is excellent, but I'm looking into the Leica bodies with a Sigma lens maybe. I have a lot of Sigma gear, a lot. I'm a big Sigma fan and have been sense the 1970's.

It seems to me Sigma has also gotten rid of the User Photo Gallery on their web page.

Oh well

Roger J.

I have been a very big Sigma fan from the first DP to the introduction of the Quattro Series. I'm still a big Sigma fan, because of foveon paired with awesome optics, but also mainly because I'm a nostalgic...

I want first to apologize to the community for my temper back in the days, went far of rail and too emotional about all of this.

I see the whole scheme about the Sigma business with an another scope now. The foveon isn't a priority anymore and a large mass of ppl bonded together, at first, because of the foveon... It was an extremely interesting time and I'm sure Sigma made a lot of foveon based cameras sales because of the super community we were. We had something special, a sensor like no other, a use of those limited camera like no other (maybe more like large format than digital). A certain family spirit and the feeling of being into a sort of family, sharing, caring, roaming blogs to see it in use, good lads like Carl Ritterfalk and many others. It was a very profond creative time for many.

I have seen, by the time of Shinzo Fukui aka "gris", Sigma as a sort of possible Japanese Leica. Slow shooting, pursuit of awesome and characterized image quality and expressiveness. It was a niche, with the ability to be refined "a la  leica". Think about it, it was possible for Sigma to take this path with the community we were since they don't rely on camera sales. The OG Dp2 was dubbed as "the poor man leica" back then over the forums...

Then, the times have changed, first with the quattro (still not fan of the design of the camera and the sensor ...) and the ditch of foveon based products since the FP. Ok the FP is tiny, have a sony sensor but ... A Nikon Z6 is better. I was a Nikon user and got very good lenses with the Z6, very good ecosystem. Sigma can't really compet with that this is why i'm full of questions even today about the marketing path of sigma since years ...

A family member do have a Leica M9 and a Q2. While I like the rendering of the M9 (not the price), the Q2 doesn't give me any sort of joy, even at the image level. The Dp2 was far more pleasing, always wondered when opening the raw "why on hearth this picture is sooo pleasing ? ". magical, especially for the price.

Now the marketing is elsewhere. A full frame foveon is in the rails, but not out yet. What rendering can we expect ? what price can we expect also ?

I always wondered why Sigma didn't bought the F13 sensor line to scale it up, in his OG form, to 12 or 15mp FF. with today components and processors, many shortcomings could have been addressed, the niche and customers would have been there too. It is like they lost their soul.

Anyway, we can't do anything about that. Just observing with a pinch of nostalgy, hope and sadness.