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The new Sigma Digital SLR Camera the Sigma SD14 Digital Camera. The ideal camera for every impressionist. All cameras have evolved to capture the moment better. To create a more vivid record of emotion. To deliver better image quality, better performance, better everything. Digital cameras are the ultimate in clever technology. Yet, when it comes to conveying atmosphere, texture and other ineffable qualities perceived by the human eye, they just don't compare with old-fashioned film cameras. A digital camera takes in basic optical data, and spins it into beautifully-colored shapes. We take this mechanism for granted, but it achieves its results at the expense of true optical fidelity. Unless, that is, you use the only digital SLR camera in the world designed for high image quality that makes no compromises at all: the Sigma SD14. With the Sigma SD14, none of the optical data is lost. There's no distortion. Light is transformed into a faithful image, with nothing left out. High image quality that cannot be achieved by manipulating optical data artificially, and synthesizing colors. The SD14 uses a unique, groundbreaking direct image sensor capable of detecting red, green and blue light at every single pixel. The elements of this 14-megapixel sensor are arranged in three color sensing layers, comparable to the three layers of emulsion in photographic film. The result is a camera that reflects the user's visual sensitivity, and gives fresh impact. It also delivers the kind of extremely vivid feel and texture that will overturn existing standards of image quality. Only one camera tells the whole truth: the SD14. Just wait. It’s going to stir your inmost, undiscovered photographic desires. It’s unique. It's groundbreaking. It’s an image sensor that reproduces colors as faithfully as film. The conventional image sensors used in most DSLR cameras can only detect light intensity. Using a color filter, they use complex computations to fill in the gaps in their color perception, interpolating colors that aren't really there, and artificially synthesizing hypothetical hues. This essential weakness of the color synthesis mechanism is why most digital cameras produce images that are sharply-defined, but weak on natural texture. Most digital cameras, but not all. Thanks to the Foveon X3®, a unique and ground-breaking direct image sensor, the SD14 is about to turn conventional wisdom on its head. The Foveon X3® has three layers of color-sensing pixels — one for red light, one for green and one for blue — just like the three layers of emulsion in photographic film. These three layers capture absolutely all the color directly, and record it faithfully. Color is recorded without any distortion, creating an extremely vivid feel which out-performs the pixel count by a long way. The image quality is pure, and the colors feel satisfyingly natural. The SD14. It’s the only camera truly faithful to the colors of nature. With its wide dynamic range, pure RAW data opens up new possibilities in image quality. The image data generated by the unique and groundbreaking Foveon X3® direct image sensor includes a full complement of color-resolution data, captured and recorded directly by three separate layers of pixels, sensitive to red, green and blue light respectively. To make the most of the superb richness and purity of this data, Sigma recommends recording in the RAW data format. Of course, the dynamic range of JPEG mode can also be used for taking photos and exporting files, but when you need the utmost in image quality with data rich enough to allow plenty of scope for artistic expression, the RAW format comes into its own. So rich is the SD14's data that even after you've taken the picture, there's still vast potential for improving the image quality. The result is impressive image quality, which brings out the color and texture of the subject, and puts you firmly in control of contrast and color adjustment. The SD14. The only camera that truly expands the capacity of your images. The Sigma SD14 is unique. It is currently the only camera that uses a 14-megapixel Foveon X3 Direct Image CMOS sensor, which operates on a different principle to the Bayer-mask mosaic sensors used by every other digital camera on the market. It isn’t the first one to do so, since the two previous Sigma digital SLRs, the SD9 and SD10, used earlier smaller versions of the X3 sensor, but since those cameras are no longer in production the SD14 is the only model available that uses this innovative technology. The main advantage of the Foveon sensor is that it detects all colours at every pixel location on the sensor, whereas conventional sensors can only detect either red, green or blue at any one location, with the full-colour image being interpolated from the combined signals of several individual sensors. In theory the Foveon X3 sensor is capable of producing sharper pictures, more accurate colour rendition and superior dynamic range. We’ll come back to this in a while, but first let’s take a look at the camera itself.
The SD14 is not a cheap camera. It costs around £799 body only, which is about the same price as a Nikon D200, and £200 more than the Canon EOS 30D. Add the superb Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC which arrived with my review camera and you’re looking at around £1,100, which is a lot of money to spend when there are several very good DSLRs on the market for under £500.
The initial impression of the SD14 is that this is a big, heavy camera. Admittedly I’ve been a little spoiled by the lightweight Olympus E-series DSLRs I’ve been using recently, but by any standards the SD14 is a substantial piece of kit. It measures 144 X 107.3 X 80.5mm and weighs 750g including the battery, which is about the same size and weight as semi-pro cameras such as the Canon EOS 30D or the Pentax K10D, and much larger and heavier than any of the 10-megapixel mid-range or entry-level cameras such as the Sony A100, Nikon D40x or Canon EOS 400D. It is a bit smaller and lighter than the D200 though. Fortunately that size and weight translates into solid construction and excellent build quality. The body is high-density plastic over a metal chassis, but it is very well made with close tolerance on all joints and control mountings. Sigma has been making some of the best third-party lenses in the world for over 40 years, and that experience shows in the construction of the SD14.
