Is a new Sigma APS-C camera in the offing...?

According to this rumour it's a possibility, although the article does a fair bit hedge betting.

I still hold out hope for a full-frame Foveon.

i would be happy for an updated dp merrill series (better autofocus, faster processing, maybe slight bump in resolution).

Same goes for the SD.  I love the handling of an SD quattro but i cant use it for most of my work.

Buttons252 wrote:

i would be happy for an updated dp merrill series (better autofocus, faster processing, maybe slight bump in resolution).

Same goes for the SD. I love the handling of an SD quattro but i cant use it for most of my work.

Why not? Is there some work you do that you don't display in your gallery here?

I don't display any of my work here. I don't think anyone here needs to be reminded of the shortcomings of a sigma camera. I use a Sony A7iv for weddings and such.

To be clear, i consider myself a borderline hobbyist photographer.  I couldn't justify having two systems -- otherwise id be more then happy to kept and used the SDquattro for my personal photography.

Buttons252 wrote:

I don't display any of my work here. I don't think anyone here needs to be reminded of the shortcomings of a sigma camera. I use a Sony A7iv for weddings and such.

To be clear, i consider myself a borderline hobbyist photographer. I couldn't justify having two systems -- otherwise id be more then happy to kept and used the SDquattro for my personal photography.

Oh, I looked at the photos you have in your gallery, and wondered, because it looked like almost all of them could have been made with a Sigma camera (being portraits and what not). I didn't know you shot weddings. I wouldn't try to shoot a wedding with a Sigma camera. I shot a few weddings with my Canon 5 D, and often I would shoot at ISO 800 or 1600 for some of the photos, and I wouldn't be comfortable using photos shot at ISO 1600 with a Sigma camera.

Since they are so late with the FFF sensor, I think that an APS-C or APS-H Foveon camera with the SD body but an L-mount and an improved AF tech could be quite the stopgap for Sigma at the moment to maintain the attention high.

If sensibly priced, I'd buy one in an iffy 

Tirpitz666 wrote:

Since they are so late with the FFF sensor, I think that an APS-C or APS-H Foveon camera with the SD body but an L-mount and an improved AF tech could be quite the stopgap for Sigma at the moment to maintain the attention high.

If sensibly priced, I'd buy one in an iffy

They don't have a stock of APS-C Foveon sensors, any more than they have a stock of FF sensors. And APS-C is out of fashion.

The world economy is in a very shaky state and I think Sigma, like everyone else, has to play safe. They may be able to justify getting a few thousand FF sensors made, if they can find anyone willing to make them.

The metalwork of a camera body is no problem for Sigma. Shutters are probably available.

Don

D Cox wrote:

Tirpitz666 wrote:

Since they are so late with the FFF sensor, I think that an APS-C or APS-H Foveon camera with the SD body but an L-mount and an improved AF tech could be quite the stopgap for Sigma at the moment to maintain the attention high.

If sensibly priced, I'd buy one in an iffy

They don't have a stock of APS-C Foveon sensors, any more than they have a stock of FF sensors. And APS-C is out of fashion.

The world economy is in a very shaky state and I think Sigma, like everyone else, has to play safe. They may be able to justify getting a few thousand FF sensors made, if they can find anyone willing to make them.

Why do you think that's problem?

The metalwork of a camera body is no problem for Sigma. Shutters are probably available.

Don

Right, ive owned the DP2 quattro, SD quattro -- i love sigma cameras but the paid gigs i am offered, i cant risk using a sigma.  Not only that, but i am being asked to do more and more video work -- the sony a7iv is just a game changer.  the autofocus is amazing.

I don't currently have a budget to own two systems, but i just ordered a used DP1 Merrill for personal use and i am really excited to have a foveon on the way.

David Eastwood wrote:

Is there anything new in this conglomeration that has not already been discussed ad nauseam here?

I don't remember any official announcement or interview in which an APS-C product was mentioned.  So, for me, this is new.

I think it is a good idea, since Leica has discontinued the CL, so far the only APS-C L-mount camera with a built-in EVF.

A small and light Sigma APS-C with their new 18-50 zoom would be a popular choice.

At this point I'm delighted with my fp L, and to me this does not mean that Sigma has abandoned the camera manufacturing scene.  I got the impression from reading the linked article in the OP that this extension of Sigma into the conventional sensor camera market was a sign of abandonment.  I hold it in my hand almost every day and they are still for sale...  Nope!

I do wish they would drop the price of their add-on EVF for the fp series, though.  Affordable at half the current $699 price, I think.  At $349, I'd buy it in a minute!

I like this bit at the end of that article:

"We don't see Sigma giving up on cameras, but its past releases have always been experimental and avant-garde designs aimed at auteurs rather than the mass market, and we don't see that changing any time soon."

Whoopee! I'm an Auteur.

How about you ?

Don

Tirpitz666 wrote:

Since they are so late with the FFF sensor, I think that an APS-C or APS-H Foveon camera with the SD body but an L-mount and an improved AF tech could be quite the stopgap for Sigma at the moment to maintain the attention high.

If sensibly priced, I'd buy one in an iffy

Well, they probably COULD do that, and maybe they should have done that, but since they haven't done that yet, maybe now is the right time to just wait. No doubt they'd sell a camera with a smaller sensor, like an SD Quattro H in L mount (especially if it has a faster processor and an improved viewfinder, and they sell it for less than $2,000). I have no doubt the FFF camera will be well over $2,000. To me this means that Sigma will probably sell something less expensive at some point anyway. You might say the fp is that camera, I think Sigma wants thr three layer sensor to succeed, so maybe they will make a range of cameras with three layer sensors.

David Eastwood wrote:

The embedded link to the article about a possible APS-C offering is actually from 2019.

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/sigma-to-release-l-mount-cameras-with-non-foveon-aps-c-sensors

It's remotely conceivable that it hasn't been commented on here before, of course

Thanks for the link!

D Cox wrote:

Tirpitz666 wrote:

Since they are so late with the FFF sensor, I think that an APS-C or APS-H Foveon camera with the SD body but an L-mount and an improved AF tech could be quite the stopgap for Sigma at the moment to maintain the attention high.

If sensibly priced, I'd buy one in an iffy

They don't have a stock of APS-C Foveon sensors, any more than they have a stock of FF sensors. And APS-C is out of fashion.

Huh?

Ummm . . . Fuji just came out with a camera that has a 40 MP APS-C sensor. Nikon's Z mount cameras with APS-C size sensors probably sell more than any other Z mount camera, and it's not like Sony stopped selling cameras with APS-C sensors or something.

APS-C isn't just about price, but the price is very compelling. They're far from out of style . . . though I do admit full-frame has become much more popular than it was in the past.

The world economy is in a very shaky state and I think Sigma, like everyone else, has to play safe. They may be able to justify getting a few thousand FF sensors made, if they can find anyone willing to make them.

The metalwork of a camera body is no problem for Sigma. Shutters are probably available.

Don

D Cox wrote:

I like this bit at the end of that article:

"We don't see Sigma giving up on cameras, but its past releases have always been experimental and avant-garde designs aimed at auteurs rather than the mass market, and we don't see that changing any time soon."

Whoopee! I'm an Auteur.

How about you ?

Don

Yep, I'm an Auteur too.

SigmaChrome wrote:

According to this rumour it's a possibility, although the article does a fair bit hedge betting.

I still hold out hope for a full-frame Foveon.

Vitée,

That rumour has been around for some time.

It would be nice to know if they have moved to stage three of their trials of the prototype(s) of the proposed FF X3 sensor.

They did say it would be done by year end, I wonder.....

S

I would be very interested if it's Merrill based with refined AF.

However, if it's based on Bayer like fp, Sigma is unlikely to be able to match Sony/Canon otherwise in that space (or even Fuji).

motiwala wrote:

I would be very interested if it's Merrill based with refined AF.

However, if it's based on Bayer like fp, Sigma is unlikely to be able to match Sony/Canon otherwise in that space (or even Fuji).

Well, Sigma beats Canon and Fuji, in the image quality category at least, with the fp L, don't they?

. . . and doesn't Sigma beat EVERYONE in the full-frame camera small size and low weight category?

In my estimate, if you can beat two (actually three) of the four biggest camera companies on Earth in two major categories, you're doing o.k. (as long as the cameras are actually selling, and I think they are).

I believe that in the future Sigma will make another version of the fp, which will do at least 4Kp60, and it might even do it in CDNG raw, which would be spectacular, because that seems to be the king, though it would be very cool if they could add BRAW too (which I guess would require some sort of hardware chip to be added to the main board of the camera). Of course, making a camera that can do 4Kp60 raw in 12 bit color just might require some serious processing power, but that just means Sigma needs to use a chip that's twice as fast as the old one in the original fp, which is over two years old now. Of course COVID 19 may be holding things up a bit, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sigma shows off a prototype of such a camera next month or in February or March, with deliveries beginning in May or June. I mean they already have the cameras made, right? All they need to do is modify the main board (and make a run of them . . . maybe five thousand), and possibly upgrade to a new sensor, which is faster, which just might offer the ability to make the flash sync speed faster too (i.e. 1/125 sec. or even 1/250 instead of the slow 1/30 sec. sync. that the fp is handicapped with currently). Such a camera would not have the same rolling shutter affect as the fp, and many of the people shooting video with fp cameras now would likely upgrade to the newer fp (maybe it would be called fp 2). I think a lot of people who would have bought the previous fp, but decided not to because of the rolling shutter and slow flash sync. speed, just might do so if a new fp model, such as the one I'm describing is released. It COULD be the most successful fp model ever.