Sigma SD14 Digital Camera Review

Sigma SD14

Digital Camera Review

Sep 29, 2006 - By Patrick Singleton
The Sigma SD14's unique sensor, the Foveon X3, is not the camera's only unique feature, but it calls attention to the camera more surely than anything else. Most sensors – CCDs, CMOSs, and NMOSs chips – put the three color sensors for each pixel side by side. The Foveon stacks them, which should eliminate any problems produced by having a lateral shift between color sensors. Sigma announced only a European price for the SD14, a substantial 1499 euros. For the hefty price, the SD14 shoots at an advertised 14 megapixels, although since the pixels are stacked, the total resolution is interpolated. The camera also has a dust protection feature, and an easily-accessible mirror-lockup control. Other aspects of the SD14, including a 2.5-inch, 150,000-pixel LCD, 5-point auto focus, and 3-frames-per-second burst speed, fall just short of some entry-level DSLRs that cost much less.
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Connectivity
Software
The Sigma SD14 ships with Sigma's Photo Pro 3.0, which the company touts for a RAW workflow. Look for our full review to learn more about the software.
 
Jacks, Ports, Plugs
The SD14 has a USB jack, analog video out, and a jack for an external power supply. Its hot show is compatible with Sigma dedicated flashes and non-dedicated generic flashes. It also has a PC terminal for studio flash. The SD14 can be controlled with a wireless remote as well.
 
Direct Print Options
The SD14 does not appear to offer PictBridge or DPOF printing capability.
 
Battery
The SD14 uses a small Li-Ion rechargeable battery. Li-ion has become the leading battery technology for digital cameras, combining low weight, small size, and high capacity. Look for our full review for our impressions about the SD14's battery performance.
 

 Memory
The SD14 accepts Compact Flash cards, the most common media for DSLRs. Compact Flash is relatively cheap, available in many sizes, and durable.
 
 
 
 
 
Other Features
Image Dust Protector - Sigma hit upon a simple solution to dust on the sensor – the SD14 has a glass cover just under the lens mount, in front of the shutter and the reflex mirror. It's easy to clean there, and according to Sigma, if any dust lands on it, it's too far away from the sensor to leave a focused shadow on the image – hence, no dust spot.
 
Pentaprism - With many cutting corners by using mirrors instead of prisms in their viewfinders, it's good to see Sigma use the more robust prism.
 
Image Parameters Page 8 of 10 Overall Impressions
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