Amazing for its age. Better dynamic range and similar detail to Canon 5 D.

I would give this camera 5 stars, if it had a bigger buffer, and if it would operate faster. It does lack some modern features that the new SD1 has, such as weather seals, micro-focus adjustment (for tuning it to specific auto-focus lenses), a large and high-resolution review screen (the screen on the SD14 is old and low-resolution, like an old Canon 20 D or something). The dynamic range of this camera is amazing. The new Nikon D7000 and D800 are better, but compared to all Canons the Sigma SD14 is just spectacular. The new Canon 5 D Mk III is much better than the 5 D Mk II, but still the old Sigma SD14 is better (as far as dynamic range). I'm talking about dynamic range of images shot in commonly used ISO ranges, like ISO 100 and ISO 200. At ISO 800 and above, the Sigma SD14 can not hang with any modern camera. The new SD1 is much better, but still falls short above ISO 1600. If you shoot in low light at high ISO settings, the Sigma cameras are not for you, but if you are like me, and you shoot at ISO 100 and ISO 200 most of the time, you should seriously consider the Sigma cameras with their amazing Foveon sensors.

The biggest gripes I have with the SD14 (and the SD1 is very similar in operation) is its small buffer. I can only shoot about 6 photos, before I have to wait for the buffer to empty. If shooting fast, I am often forced to wait, and I do hate those situations, where I am working with a model, and the wait times interrupt my flow. Shooting birds running around or flying around, I am often forced to wait, sometimes missing shots. With a Hasselblad or Leica S2 there would be similar waiting, so I understand, but it is frustrating, because I know I would not have to wait so much, if I were shooting with a Nikon or a Canon (even with the 14 frame raw buffer in the Canon 5 D, I would have to wait sometimes, when shooting birds running around on the beach and other action, such as sports). Shooting with a Canon 7 D, using a fast 600x Lexar Pro CF card is the solution, if you shoot birds or sports, and you don't want to get stuck waiting. But if you want ultimate image quality, the latest Foveon sensor is surely the solution, unless you can afford a $20,000 Leica or Hasselblad.

The Sigma SD14 (and all Sigma DSLR cameras) lacks any form of live view and video capability is also absent (in all DSLR cameras from Sigma).

I wish there was in-body image stabilization, like my Sony A55 has.

One thing I find amazing about the Sigma is its low-light focusing ability. It focuses better in low light than any other camera I have ever used. It is not particularly fast or good at focusing in normal lighting, compared to other cameras, but in the dark, it seems to focus amazingly well, so while it is not considered a good low-light camera, because if its terrible high-ISO performance, the SD14 is a truly amaing low-light focusing camera, which makes it a little paradoxical.

Problems:

Sometimes overheats on a hot day, when shooting a lot. Wait for a few minutes, and it will work again. Short battery life. I have two spare batteries, which is the solution to this problem.