Sigma Unveils Slate Of New Products

By Greg Tarr On Oct 4 2010 - 4:01am

COLOGNE, GERMANY — Last month’s Photokina, here, brought a preview of some forthcoming new d-SLR lenses, camera and flash items from Sigma.

Underscoring its role as a camera maker as well as a lens manufacturer, the company showed an advanced d-SLR in its model SD1. The camera is said to have a huge 46-megapixel resolution level using a 1.5x crop Foveon X3 sensor. Exact pricing and availability plans were not revealed, however.

Similarly, the company did not give marketing specifics on a new 150mm f/2.8 Macro lens with an internal HSM AF motor. The lens offers a 1:1 magnification ratio and a nine-blade circular diaphragm.

It was joined by the new APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens, which is said to include optical image stabilization and other improvements over the previous 120- 300mm f/2.8 lens.

Also announced was a pair of hot shoe flashes, in the EF-610 DG Super and EF-610 DG ST. Both feature a guide number of 61, manual flash mode and TTL auto flash exposure with most popular d- SLR models.

The SD1 d-SLR features a 3-inch LCD and 11-point AF system.

The APS-C-sized X3 direct image sensor has 46-megapixel resolution (4,800 by 3,200 by 3 layers), the company said.

All primary RGB colors are captured at each pixel location. The three silicon-embedded photo-detector layers are stacked vertically to take advantage of the silicon’s ability to absorb red, green and blue light at different respective depths, enabling more accurate color reproduction without the generation of moiré. Therefore, no low-pass filter is required, enabling the capture of light and color with a more 3D feel, the company said.

Combined with the camera’s dual True II processing engines, the SD1 is said to quickly process high-resolution images while allowing a smooth graduation of color, the company said.

The company’s new flagship camera is designed with a lightweight, solid magnesium alloy body and weather-resistant O-ring sealing.

The camera uses Type 1 Compact Flash cards, and is compatible with UDMA, enabling fast processing of large amounts of data.

Other features include an 11-point twin cross sensor and 3-inch 460,000-dot TFT color LCD monitor.

Sigma said the camera will be compatible with more than 40 Sigma lenses.

In addition to the internal HSM AF motor, the new 150mm f/2.8 Macro lens includes Sigma’s integrated Optical Stabilizer function. The lens is said to be weather-resistant and includes a floating focusing system that moves two different lens groups in the optical path.

The Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) is said to be quiet and fast while also allowing full-time manual focus capability.

The new APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens adds optical image stabilization and optical improvements over the previous version.

It includes a weather-resistant design and an HSM for quiet, high speed AF.

Meanwhile, the EF-610 DG ST flash offers manual power control down to 1/16 power, while the EF-610 DG Super covers an 8-stop range down to 1/128 in manual mode.