Sigma has always made niche cameras with special sensors that were beloved by the devoted few who used them, but in the last year or so, they have started to venture into more mainstream territory. Now, the company seems set to release a rather unique camera that combines both their old and new philosophies.
Sigma’s Foveon sensor cameras always reminded me of Pentax: they were used by few people, but those users were fiercely loyal to the platform. The Foveon sensor is peculiar: it has terrible ISO performance, but produces scarily sharp images, thus the loyalty shown by users. These sensors were always APS-C size and generally appeared in fixed lens bodies with bizarre ergonomics and slow interfaces. On the other hand, Sigma recently released the fp camera, a tiny full frame mirrorless camera with a traditional Bayer system and the L mount, allowing it to take advantage of the L mount alliance’s library of lenses and have more traditional ISO performance.
Now, the company is expected to release a Foveon sensor full frame camera with an L mount and a resolution of 60 megapixels. Such a camera would likely produce stunningly sharp, high-resolution files (though would likely still have poor high-ISO performance), and with access to the L mount library of lenses, it could be an excellent option for studio, product, and landscape photographers. The announcement is expected on February 27.
Would you be interested in such a camera?