The next Foveon camera?

DMillier wrote:

Jozef M wrote:

Le Camerique wrote:

The R5 is a nice camera, no doubt. But I would still prefer a new Foveon. Even an old DP2 Merrill if I'm being honest.

The look is different, period.

The overall look and tonality of the Merrill sensor, which you see and like on your monitor, disappears when you print out photos, or use them in print for books and magazines.

That's where the Bayer sensors win with their greater ease of use, dynamic range, and use of higher iso values. No Foveon sensor camera can compete with that.

And 99% of website viewers give a darn about the image quality of pictures on the internet. Sigma is a business, it has to make a profit to survive. I don't think Sigma is going to launch yet another niche camera.
Regret...

Sure the image shown has good detail. High detail is a feature of Foveon, but not the only purpose of it. I loved the colors, tonality and overall look from my old Merrill.

Jozef

One should never predict the downfall of a brand, it's not good form and Pentax are still with us.

Foveon FF certainly has a challenge ahead of it, however. The years have passed and Bayer sensors are now extraordinarily high quality. This time around Sigma is not going to be in a position to claim the new sensor is spectacularly more detailed or sharper and it's still going to suffer the intrinsic downsides of noise, limited dynamic range and occasional colour misfires. This means even if Sigma do a good job with the new sensor, it is going to be even more of a niche product than previously. It's going to have to appeal on a "look" alone.

However... we know that people are constantly searching for something different (film come back, HDR, whatever) to give a different slant on their photography, so there is always hope that it will occupy a special niche that will give it a place. The L mount will also mean L mount users can add the camera to their existing outfit rather than have to invest in a complete SA mount system. This should broaden its appeal. But also allow an easier comparison with Bayer systems which could be a plus or a minus.

Interesting times with Foveon, but not one that allows any confident predictions. Wait and see.

This is beautifully phrased, here I totally agree.

Jozef.