Five brand new lenses and three cameras are on their way from Sigma

At PMA in Anaheim last month I was fortunate to have a long chat with Sigma UK's general manager, Graham Armitage. Sigma launched no less than five new lenses and three cameras at PMA. You can find some pictures and notes on the new products in our PMA Sneak Peek report. Graham, as ever, was able to add another dimension to some of the product information by going into finer detail.

FLD glass

He explained that Sigma has started to use 'FLD' glass, which is exclusively manufactured by, of all people, Hoya. If you didn't know, Hoya owns Tokina, an arch-rival lens manufacturer to Sigma. FLD is a special low dispersion optical glass that has characteristics similar to fluorite, an exotic mineral glass that has been used in high performance lenses in the past. The problem with fluorite is that its optical qualities aren't stable and can change noticeably with modest changes in temperature. It's also very expensive.

FLD glass is one of several tools at the disposal of Sigma's lens designers to minimise flare and ghosting, which tends to be a greater problem with digital cameras. The other solutions include the use of aspherical elements, and multi-layer lens coatings. The Sigma lenses that now employ FLD glass elements are the new optically stabilised 70-200 f/2.8, the new 8-16mm super-wide zoom, and the new 17-50mm f/2.8. Only Sigma's fifth new lens, the 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, makes do without FLD glass, but it does feature glass moulded aspherical elements and SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements.

Incidentally, the new Sigma 70-200 and 50-500 lenses, which are G-series (full-frame compatible, as well as for smaller sensor DSLRs) are complete redesigns, forced by the introduction of on-board moving element optical image stabilisation. The 50-500 now has a larger front element, necessitating an increase in filter thread diameter from 86mm to 95mm. Thoughtfully, and mindful of existing 50-500 Bigma users potentially upgrading to the new version, an 86mm to 95mm stepping ring is available for use by users of the new 50-500 if their cameras aren't full frame. If this is the case you can continue to use your 86mm filters without fear of chopping the corners of the frame.

Thinking of those not using full frame

Sigma has also been considerate to small sensor DSLR users with the new 70-200; its lens hood is adjustable so it can extend further forward than the position set for use with full frame cameras. The closest focus distance of the new 70-200 has been sacrificed, though. It has increased to 1.4 metres compared to only 1 metre with the old version. It's a price that enabled the optical design to be better optimised for overall image quality.

Sales of full frame lenses steadily increasing

Sigma now sells ten DC (small sensor compatible only) lenses for every G-series lens. That may sound like a big difference, but the sales of G-series lenses has been growing steadily as the choice of full frame bodies from Canon, Nikon and Sony has widened. Of course many of these lenses are being used on smaller sensor DSLRs too.

The new 17-50mm f/2.8 DC HSM is an interesting addition to the range. I was told at Sneak Peek that the new stabilised 17-50mm f/2.8 would supplement the original and impressively compact and affordable 18-50mm f/2.8,which isn't stabilised or HSM-equipped, but I got a hint from Graham that stocks of 18-50s are being run down to make way for the 17-50. Graham is very enthusiastic about the new 8-16mm DC HSM, even though it's relatively slow at f/4.5-5.6. He believes the excellence of the in-house designer responsible for the 8-16 will shine through when reviewers get their hands on the new ultra wide zoom. I got the impression that Sigma's existing 10-20 mm wide zoom will continue as it's particularly popular with landscape photographers and Graham thinks the new 8-16mm will probably be considered by many as being too wide for this particular use.

The cameras

First of all Sigma's much-previewed SD15 DSLR, first shown at Photokina back in September 2008, it is just about ready to ship according to Graham. The list of improvements over the old SD14 is long. The LCD screen has been increased in size to a 3 inch panel, and the number of dots has been doubled to 460,000. The exposure sensor now features 77 segments instead of only 8. Sigma is now standardising on SD memory cards, so out goes Compact Flash; a decision that may polarise opinion.

The older Sigma SD DSLR models have a reputation for sluggish shooting and noise at even modestly high ISO settings. Sigma has addressed these issues with a cooler running Foveon X3 sensor and improved Analogue Front End for better high ISO noise. The sensor also consumes less power. The True 2 image processor that has already been used in the Sigma DP2 compact is now featured in the SD15, speeding up image processing, while improving colour. The SD14 had a six frame buffer, but the SD15 gets a 21 frame buffer. The list continues; the SD15's focal plane shutter unit is now rated for 100,000 shutter actions during its life and the blind material has been changed to prevent the shedding of dust particles. Finally, there are now two separate motors for operating the shutter and the reflex mirror, resulting in lower vibration and noise. On the negative side, there is no live view facility and, therefore, no video recording option. Nevertheless, the SD15 really does promise to be a radically different beast compared to the SD14.

Finally, a few words on the DP compacts. Using the same new and improved Foveon X3 sensor as the SD15, the DP1x and DP2s now feature revised white and red legends and the same dimpled exterior on the back of the camera for better grip and handling. It's actually quite difficult to tell the two models apart unless the lenses are extended. The LCDs of both models are improved, and the DP1x gets the True 2 image processor, following the example set by the DP2 last year. Noise reduction is improved at ISO 400 and higher. Last of all, Sigma has released its Sigma Photo Pro version 4.0 RAW conversion software for both Mac and PC, and the Mac version is now as fully-featured as the PC version, and both offer much-improved noised reduction with separate actions for chroma and luminance noise management.

Sigma has a growing band of fans and the company is certainly not failing to keep them happy.

Reader feedback:

Discuss this story: