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July 19, 2007
[ REVIEW—SIGMA SD14 digital SLR ]
Price: $2695 body only
Recommended
The low-down: This camera’s unique feature is its Foveon sensor. All other digital cameras use a two dimensional CMOS or CCD sensor with an overlaid Bayer RGB filter. The Foveon is a three layer chip with 4.7 megapixels on each layer and separation into RGB is achieved by utilising a characteristic of the way in which red, blue and green light passes through silicon to different depths. The SD14 is the latest development of the Foveon technology and it is incorporated into a body that is also eccentric in its control layout and ergonomics. Controls and menus are limited and rough compared with the competition. Where the Nikon/Canon cameras have four or more layers of menus this has just one, which is indicative of its scarcity of features.
Like: The image quality. (See below) There is a dust protection screen in front of the sensor that is easy to clean.
Dislike: The LCD screen is poor. It has low resolution and crude image rendering. We reviewed pictures and concluded that exposure, focus and white balance were all unacceptable and then found that when the images were opened on the computer they were perfect.
Verdict: The price of the Sigma is the problem. It is more expensive than the Nikon D200 and the Canon 30D. Happy Sigma owners argue that the image quality from the Foveon sensor is so superior to the conventional CCD/CMOS that the price is justified. We did a crude subjective comparison with a Nikon D80 (10 megapixels) and concluded that the Sigma has better edge definition without any nasty sharpening artefacts and therefore has more apparent resolved detail. The Nikon colour was more accurate, although inclining to cold. The Sigma was warm, which is an attractive distortion, but a distortion nonetheless. We shot in RAW mode so it was easy to adjust the colour balance before opening in Photoshop. The Sigma has better apparent dynamic range. While the differences between the cameras are small they can be seen. The Sigma feels rough compared with the Nikon and it costs $1000 more and it produces slightly better images. Decisions decisions!
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Posted by terry at July 19, 2007 07:05 AM
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Comments
Having purchased a Sigma SD9 together with the Sigma EF-500 DG ST dedicated flash Plus two Sigma Lenses: The Sigma 28-200mm F/3.8 - F/5.6 and The Sigma 17-35mm F/2.8 - F/4, it was a natural progression for me to upgrade to the Sigma SD14.
It was a decision that I have not regretted.
The Sigma SD14 leaves all the competition way behind, in my humble opinion.
But at the end of the day, if one doesn't own either a Nikon or a Canon, nobody is going to take you seriously are they?
Well, are they?
Posted by: Flickers Photography at November 28, 2007 11:45 PM
It's not the camera, it's the photographer...
day in & day out, I still use my Sigma SD9 for my studio product photography, one day I sent my assistant out to shoot some products on location having a schedule conflict. I used my Canon 30d instead in the studio, guess who noticed the difference? My client asked if I shot the bottles in a lower resolution or if it was their display, good thing was the lights were still setup & when the Sd9 came back, I quickly reshot the bottles & the client was happier. NO they didn't care about the brand of camera I use, they always knew I use only the best. I also have a Canon 5d & yes there are situations the SD9 works better too in the studio (not all the time though). I'm waiting for the price of the SD14 to dip in the $500-600 range (body)(currently around $700)& then (maybe) I'll retire the SD9 (keep as backup for those conflict days!). Guess I'm a happy Sigma shooter. Keep on shooting everyone.
Posted by: Ed at February 19, 2008 07:27 PM
Awesome image quality . Very easy to use . Sure it is kinda backward in some features eg. Info readout is primitive but image quality is second to none . You are limited to SA mount sigma lenses but I believe the EX range is good glass .
Posted by: Kenway at July 11, 2008 01:10 AM