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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Value
Sigma promises great image quality from the SD14, and unfortunately, we can't judge that in a First Impressions review, particularly when we weren't allowed to save any of our own images. It looked as though the prototypes had a serious noise problem at higher ISOs, and the sample images Sigma showed were shot at ISO 100, according to their captions.However, this may or may not represent the final production model's capabilities.
 
If the SD14 really produces superior color, it may well command the premium price Sigma is asking – just as Fujifilm has done well with its FinePix S3, with its extended dynamic range. The problem is, the mechanical aspect of the camera, including interface, burst capacity and auto focus performance, do not justify its price.
 
Who’s this Camera For?
Point and Shooters - Casual users won't like the SD14's lack of scene modes and full automation. They'll be happier, and spend less, get an entry-level camera
 
Budget Consumers  - The SD14 charges a premium for its unique sensor, and reputed higher image quality. Not many budget users will seek out those attributes.
 
Gadget Freaks - The SD14's prime gadget, the Foveon X3 sensor, is buried deep inside a pedestrian camera. Most freaks want their cool features to show a little more.
 
Manual  Control Freaks - The SD14 is a manual camera, and it promises the image quality that this group demands. If the image quality is really there, this group might be interested. We wish the controls made more sense, though.
 
Pros/Serious Hobbyists - Again, we expect this group to adopt the SD14 only if its image quality is something special – but most of these users will regard the camera's body as something to put up with, not an asset.
 
Connectivity / Extras Page 9 of 10 Conclusion
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