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| Photo: Sigma |
On Monday, Sigma kicked off what looks to be a very busy week in camera news by announcing a new full-frame mirrorless camera called the BF. The company says it’s an exercise in “radical simplicity,” and the camera features only five buttons and a single dial, integrated storage and a menu system designed to put all your exposure settings at your fingertips.
Given how much of a departure this camera is from the mainstream, it’s unsurprising that it’s generated a fair bit of conversation among the camera enthusiasts in our forums and in the comments. We thought it’d be interesting to highlight a few to give you an idea of how the community has reacted to this bold new camera.
Read our launch coverage of the Sigma BF
One important caveat: these opinions are entirely the commenters’ own and don’t necessarily reflect those of DPReview. Once we’ve had time to review the BF, our thoughts will be in our official review.
“Intriguing”
There are some launches where people see the camera and immediately decide they want it without further questions. That hasn’t necessarily been the case with the BF, though the design and interface do seem to make people interested in at least trying one out.
“I’d love to handle one for a day, it looks super interesting,” said MJ_Photo38. “Paying $2000 for one though? Hmm. Not sure about that.”
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| Image: Sigma |
SigmaChrome was also unsure about actually buying one – early in the thread, they showed some trepidation. “I’m sure it’s a beautifully made piece of engineering but it doesn’t seem to have been designed for human photographers. Sharp edges, no grip, not enough controls, no removable storage, only one port, no viewfinder…. This is not a versatile camera. Not for me I’m afraid.”
After a bit more time to think about it, though, SigmaChrome seemed a bit more open to the idea. “I’d sure like to have a play with one too. The menu system seems to be nice and simple; Sigma is good at menu design. Maybe shooting with it for a day or two might make me change my mind. You never know… I might fall in love, or a least become infatuated.”
ArchiMark, who owns a Sigma fp-L, says the BF “Looks very intriguing…..,” and that it “will be interesting to see how it compares, especially in stills” to the company’s compact, high-resolution camera.
Too minimal?
Sigma says the BF “cuts out everything that distracts, limits or stifles creativity.” As a result, it lacks many of the things you’ll find on most other $2000 cameras: there’s no mechanical shutter, stabilized sensor, wireless connectivity, hot shoe, viewfinder, memory card slot or tilting screen, and there’s only a single 10Gbps USB-C port for I/O.
A fair number of commenters aren’t fans of the radical minimalism, with both SigmaChrome and SandyF saying that the camera isn’t very versatile. “I see few positive selling points. It’s more like what it does not have, rather than positive features,” said the latter.
MJ_Photo38 agreed. “To me the BH only makes sense for the few people that want to have a extremely high end build quality, super modern design and UI, etc. This doesn’t look like a pragmatic camera decision.” Some people, like Jeffry7, were even harsher: “By ruthlessly stripping down the concept of a camera, Sigma has made a far less capable, and far less versatile a device.”
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The BF isn’t exactly bursting with controls, and you’ll have to compose using the fixed display. However, the company says the UI will provide a “distraction-free view.” Image: Sigma |
The lack of a viewfinder seems to be the biggest sticking point, with Tom Schum lamenting: “why oh why did they not put an EVF in the BF? Can we have a BF2, a little bit bigger and with an EVF?” SnowBeard expanded on that thought in a separate thread: “Again, they left off a decent viewfinder – no EVF. The hype about this and some other cameras is ‘we strip it down to its simple form so you can focus on the subject and what you want to say’. Maybe so but you still have to view the subject, no viewfinder makes that frustratingly hard. Viewing a 3 inch LCD from 10-12inches away is more like aiming a shotgun. Viewing the scene through an enlarged viewfinder is like being in the scene.”
That’s not to say that everyone agreed. Some of our members praised the design, with SigmaTog saying “Fantastic idea, wish I was younger, I would take it up immediately,” and SandiWay saying that “It is ‘beautiful’ for sure.”
“Beyond Foveon”
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The BF’s sensor is a conventional full-frame, 24MP BSI model that we suspect we’ve seen in several other cameras. Image: Sigma |
The other elephant in the room for the BF is its choice of color filter. Like the vast majority of cameras on the market, it uses a Bayer pattern to capture color. Normally, that wouldn’t be notable, except that Sigma has been the flagbearer for Foveon technology, which works completely differently, capturing full-color data across the entire sensor rather than relying on interpolation. The company has said it’s working on making a full-frame Foveon sensor – its previous efforts have maxed out with a 476mm² APS-H sensor – but that’s not what’s in the BF.
Unsurprisingly, this comes as a disappointment for those who have been waiting years for a new Foveon camera. Responding to a joke about “BF” standing for “Beyond Foveon” (we’re told it actually stands for “beautiful foolishness”), Heritage Cameras hopes it actually means “Before Foveon.”
Roger also bemoaned the choice, saying “I was hoping to see something with a Foveon sensor, but maybe those days are gone.” In another thread, Manzur Fahim and Tirpitz666 both cited the lack of Foveon as their reasons for not buying the camera, with the latter stating “No Foveon No Party, will happily continue to use my Merrills and Quattros.”
Like a Leica
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| The BF’s design reminded several people of the Leica TL2. |
Several users said the BF reminded them of something you’d see from Leica, specifically models like the TL, which was also machined out of aluminum, featured a photo-focused interface and did away with things like an electronic viewfinder.
“The entire design reminds me of the Leica TL & TL2,” said bs1946. “A handful of simple controls and milled from a solid block of aluminum, even though Sigma claims the BF’s milled aluminum block is a first.” SaltyDogStudios agreed, saying that “Sigma seems to be taking a lot of cues from Leica on this camera,” especially when it came to a focus on design. “I remember reading a blog post about the Leica TL and how it was a real conversation piece of a camera. [..]. That’s clearly what this camera is intended to be.”
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| Photo: Sigma |
DavidMillier made a similar connection, commenting: “Interesting, Sigma goes Leica/Hassie! Not for me, though. Whilst I love minimalist industrial design, there are certain things I demand of any camera: a built in viewfinder, a hand grip, minimum of two command wheels (I prefer 3 or even 4).” Roger had a similar take. “The camera reminds me of the Leica TL series which I wouldn’t buy either.”
Heritage Cameras, meanwhile, said the design “seems to make little sense logically, but (as with the Leica T) I want one anyway. I suspect I’m not alone.”
Leica wasn’t the only reference point people jumped to, with several commenters saying the design reminded them of something produced by Apple or Teenage Engineering. Another common point of comparison: the Panasonic Lumix S9.
Not the last word…
We’ve had the chance to get some hands-on time with the BF and plan on writing an article detailing our experiences and answering some of the most frequent questions we’ve seen about it. However, we want to get one out of the way right now: yes, it does have a tripod thread.
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This article comes from DP Review and can be read on the original site.
