!!! SIGMA SD1 - 46Mpx !!!

[jeff tchaderjian]

Requirements:
Let`s hope there will be great colours and absolute colour consistency from shot to shot and none of those "freeze" problems in continuous shooting that we all experienced with SD14.

To me, this is the most important issue Sigma has to fix with the SD1: colour consistency. If SD1 still produce the green/magenta cast that many, if not all, SD14 has experienced when shoting under different circumstances, they will lose many users, I being among the first.

My SD14 has become a great disappointment, because the minute a take a high dynamic photo, with highlights and deep shadows, the shadows will be smudged with a magenta cast if I expose not to blow the highlights. That never happened with my previous camera, a Lumix FZ-30, even though it would blow the highlights to get details in the shadows.

 

[Taz]

Sigma just needs to make SPP4 as good as Silkypix and the color problems everyone has would be eliminated. Since I started using Silkypix I don't get a green cast or color blotches any more even at ISO 1600 .

 

[eazo]

There is no any further information for this machine....

Hope it can keep on schedule.

 

[FoveonX3]

I am considering a SD1, but like others need to see samples. I was not happy to hear they were using compact flash, why not SD cards? but can live with CF if they insist.

What I would like to see gone is the integrated flash. I suspect it will be close to useless and the camera would be a bit lighter and have a better look more like the Sony 850 without the flash.

 

[jeff tchaderjian]

I was not happy to hear they were using compact flash, why not SD cards? but can live with CF if they insist.

Personally, I am happy that Sigma keeps CF card, that will allow me to reuse those I have for my SD14. This is one of the many reasons I did not switch to the SD15. Because of the change to SD cards I would have had to make. Now that the SD1 is coming with CF cards, there is no reason for me to buy the SD15. I just have to wait for the promising SD1!

 

[Peter D]

Other flagship features also missing.

Just lost a three paragraph post to a not logged in message.

 

[Peter D]

Where's the interchangeable focusing screen?

Surely a "flagship" model camera would feature an interchangeable focusing screen so that fine tweeking of focus is possible under low light or using a slow lens with a polarizing filter fitted.
I can't even ascertain whether live view will be available to compensate, can anybody shed any light on this?

 

[Peter D]

Lens issues likely for the SD1 used as a landscape camera

The lack of available Sigma prime lenses under 50mm focal length that have decent resolution performance out to the edge of an APS size frame is likely to be an issue that shows up as the SD1 as the sensor resolution will be greatly superior to what is on offer lens wise from Sigma.
One or two of the low ratio Sigma zoom lenses may be passable in the interim but really Sigma needs to offer some prime lenses with good performance out to the edges for landscape fans.
Nikon for example offer a 35mm f1.8 lens that sells new for under US$200 that easily outperforms the edge resolution of the more expensive (and faster ) Sigma equivalent prime.
Prime lens design is not rocket science these days and price points for a good range of f1.8 -f2.8 primes could be kept reasonable.

 

[dirk]

The lack of available Sigma prime lenses under 50mm focal length that have decent resolution performance out to the edge of an APS size frame is likely to be an issue that shows up as the SD1 as the sensor resolution will be greatly superior to what is on offer lens wise from Sigma.....

Buy a M42 Adapter for 20 USD on ebay and a new Zeiss ZS 35/2.0. It will easily handle the resolution of the SD1

Best wishes

 

[dirk]

Hi

so let us see, what we can find currently on the net about the SD1

Theer is this CP+ fair at the moment. Most information about the SD1 come from this fair.

Information, which Carl collected on his blog:

http://www.rytterfalk.com/2011/02/14/sigma-sd1-what-we-dont-know/

EDIT: We now know that MED resolution is 3264 x 2176! (directly from Sigma). Yes!
EDIT2: Eric Magnusson corrected resolutions on the SD9 – which is Hi: 2268 x 1512 Med: 1512×1008 and Low: 1134 x 756
EDIT3: Info about batteries. Same as SD14/SD15.
The last three days has been very interesting as Maro, a Japanese photographer and some others – has been able to scratch a little deeper into the hidden spec list of the Sigma SD1. Now, I might have missed something so please add your own info and we’ll try to make this as complete as possible. Will be kind of interesting to compare to the real deal later.
The “known” story can be found here. Also Sigma’s SD1 site is up! with one sample shot and leaflet. You can also see the “back stage” photo session here.
Resolution(s) and speed.
Sigma has gone back to the way it was – and once more added the HI, MED and LOW resolution. They use a technology called VPS – where they cluster pixels together in order to get faster readouts (higher frame rates) and slightly better noise ratio. We don’t know the exact resolution numbers yet but so far we sort of know the following: (Update: We know at least image sizes – speed and buffer is still only vaguely known)
HI: 4800×3200 (15,5MPx3 – 46MP) @ 3,5-4fps 7-8 frames.
MED: 3264 x 2176 (7,1MPx3 – 21,3MP) @ 4fps 12 frames (my guess)
LOW: 1600×2400 (3.8MPx3 – 11,5MP) @ 5fps 15 frames (Maro wrote 15 frames in this mode but I think it must be more as it has the same amount of internal memory as the SD15 – and that one can handle 21 RAW at 4.6MP – Or my Google translation is wrong!)

Noise (ISO): 100-6400.
According to Maro, the new ISO100 is the old ISO50 – and ISO200 will be the new “standard”. ISO1600 on the SD1 has similar noise levels as todays ISO400 which is really unbelievable! ISO400 is truly useful on todays SD’s. Auto ISO could be between ISO100 and 800 but I really hope they make that one jump longer.
Batteries are the same as with SD14/SD15 (Wohoo for us old timers!).
Battery pack (vertical grip) from old SD14/SD15 will fit although there is a new enhanced version especially made for SD1 available.
There are now also RAW + JPEG which is a very welcome edition.
View finder now carries numbers of pictures left in buffer (Yes!) and smaller focus boxes!
What we’re still missing: (read comment below by Maro to get som answers)

• File size in MB (RAW)
• Speed of saving file – utilizing that UDMA6? (really important to us wedding photographers)
• Number of pictures per charge.
• Focus micro adjustments .. at both ends on a zoom or only at one spot? And does this work with all Sigma lenses?
• Can camera settings be adjusted while saving a file? Menu reached? See numbers of files left on card? (NO LCD on topp makes this a question).
• Max / Min shutter speed.
• Tethering?
• Video out – mirror of LCD or better?

Alright, thats about it for now.

Then there is this japanese Blog and teh translation of a user in the dpreview forums:

http://xeno63.exblog.jp/12102588/

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=37733089

Some additional SD1 notes posted by xeno63 on his blog:
http://xeno63.exblog.jp/12102588/
Some of these are my own personal opinions, and I'm probably leaving something out.

• X3F RAW file sizes range from 45-50MB
• The JPEG in RAW+JPEG mode are around 7MB
• There is little to no difference between write times for RAW+JPEG and plain RAW
• One RAW file takes about 10 seconds to write to card
• At present the camera is verified to utilize UDMA Mode 6 cards
• They (Sigma?) is currently verifying UDMA Mode 7 cards and these should be faster than Mode 6 cards.

• A new version of SPP will be needed to process SD1 RAW files. (You get an error if you try to open SD1 files in the current version of SPP.)
• The RAW processing algorithms are completely different.
• SPP for the SD1 is currently under development (It will support RAW files from current cameras.)
• [ed: hmm...] An additional "Adjustment RAW mode" will be added due to the increased complexity of the RAW data coming from the SD1
• In "Adjustment Mode" you won't be able to use the loupe or magnify the image, however, processing speed will be increased ten-fold.
• You will be able to use this mode with current RAW files, but there won't be an equivalent speed increase
• The workflow will be where you modify a RAW image in "Adjustment mode" then you convert it to a Full RAW file.
• Sigma is looking into a Kelvin-based white-balance adjustment, but they are finding it difficult to achieve. This is mainly because with Bayer sensors you deal with a two-axis adjustment, but with Foveon it is a three-axis adjustment.
• High sensitivity is an algorithm with a goal to keep as much color information as possible. So with the current Foveon sensors (in current cameras) produce a large amount of noise as sensitivity increases. With the new Foveon sensor there is barely any noise.

• ISO sensitivities from 100 to 6400
• ISO800 produces almost no noise and ISO1600 is very usable
• ISO6400 is available in "Extended Mode"
• The SD1s shown at CP+ had a Firmware version of 0.5. It looks like there are quite a number of incomplete functions and a number of bugs remain.
• The back-side AF button was on the camera, but it currently doesn't function.
• Autofocus on the demo units was clearly faster than the SD15 and will only improve over time.
• All 11 AF points are twin-cross sensors and every sensor is equally sensitive.
• The AF sensor was announced to be sensitive from -EV2 to 18, but the final unit will be sensitive from -1EV. [ed: there was perhaps a typo here. I couldn't tell if the announced sensitivity was -2EV or just 2EV...]
• AF Micro-Adjustments will be available on a per-lens basis, but it's not clear how many lenses worth of storage the final unit will support.
• The top LCD was removed from the SD1, but each button will display information on the LCD screen when pressed.
• The SD1 specs show the rear LCD to be the same specs as the unit on the SD15, but the LCD on the units at the show seem to be different and much better.
• All of the SD cameras have been easy to hold, but the SD1 is even more so.
• There is a mysterious menu item selection that seems to indicate that you will be able to change the lens information (this is unknown and may not even end up in the final product)
• Even though the camera might record the lens information, Sigma does not and will not apply and lens corrections to the files in-camera.
• There is a "Cleaning Mode" in the menu system (The feature was in previous SD cameras, but it was never easy to remember how to do it.)
• The shutter sound is even quieter in the SD1
• Mirror-shock is smaller (even though it was small enough even in the SD15)
• The viewfinder looks even brighter now that the crop-factor is 1.5x instead of the 1.7x in other SD cameras.

-Scott

In addition, there is a spanish interveiw with Kazuto Yamaki from Sigma:

http://www.dslrmagazine.com/profesi...ntrevista-con-mr.-kazuto-yamaki-de-sigma.html

And the basic Google translation:

http://translate.google.com/transla...ntrevista-con-mr.-kazuto-yamaki-de-sigma.html

There is also a Video about the Sd1 from the CP+ fair. If someone knowss how to translate it, can add this below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBo4pf0LoGo

And images SD1 side by side with SD15

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/img/dcw/docs/426/161/html/13.jpg.html

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Look at the missing LCD display on the top, bigger grip, bigger Pentaprism.

Best wishes