Sigma SD1 User Manual download pdf (Page 3)

GEAR

Sigma SD1

84 September 2011 Taking your photography to the next level

Conclusion

On reection I have to say that Sigma

should be applauded for taking on the big

boys and tackling a market sector they

seem very keen to conquer. The SD1 is

by far the best camera that Sigma has

produced to date by a long, long way;

however, this alone may not be enough.

The SD1 produces les that are as good

as those from Canon and Nikon’s nest,

but at a high cost: nearly three times as

much as a 5D Mark II for example. I feel

the biggest problem of all is that the SD1

doesn’t really fall into any category. It isn’t

a pure studio camera due to some of the

issues outlined.

It also suers, in my opinion, from the

fact that it features a Sigma-only lens

mount, which means, for example, that

you don’t have access to any tilt and shift

lenses, which are a must for commercial

product photographers. This really could be

a sticking point for some purchasers.

It isn’t a studio fashion camera either,

due to the poor write speed issues;

however if this were to be addressed then

it easily could be great for this kind of work.

Outdoors the poor ISO performance is a real

problem for the SD1 compared to pretty

much all of its competitors.

The biggest issue I think the SD1 will

encounter is its price, especially in the

current global economic climate. Too

much for too little I fear. With all of these

reservations, will the camera be a game

changer for Sigma? Only time will tell, but I

would have to say it will face a struggle.

Scores:

Build quality: 5/5 Superbly

built with little to fault.

Ease of use: 3/5

Easy to use from the outset but

slow write speeds really hinder

the camera’s usability.

Image quality: 4/5

Image quality is good but in my

opinion isn’t really up to the

medium-format promise

“The biggest

problem of all

is that the SD1

doesn’t really fall

into any category ”

ABOVE:

As can be seen

from these

sample images

high ISO isn’t

the SD1’s

strong point.

Noise is edging

in as low as

800 ISO and

the images

from just 1600

upwards are all

but unusable

with grain and

desaturation

very prevalent.

At this price

point this is

a worrying

characteristic

Thanks go out

to both Sigma

for such a long

loan period

and to Georgia

(the model) for

allowing me

to use images

from her very

ﬁrst shoot

ISO Comparison

ISO 200

ISO 800

ISO 3200

ISO 400

ISO 1600

ISO 6400

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