Sigma SD14 Foveon DSLR First Impressions!

Here are my thoughts on the Sigma SD14 camera after a month of use. I'll admit... It's a little weird, and I wouldn't recommend it to everyone unless you know what you're getting yourself into! The controls are a little weird, the performance is subpar even for the time - but does the sensor make up for it? I'll dive more into that in my next video on this camera. For now, here's what I've run into while using it.

Shot on Pentax K-1 as usual, but using with the SATOBI profile! Kinda makes me look like a zombie. Same exposure settings, but came out looking underexposed. I'll get something right one of these days.

0:00 Intro
1:00 What it's like to use the camera
1:52 Weird controls
4:40 Autofocus is inaccurate and slow
6:18 Lens situation
7:38 Image quality quirks
7:58 Don't crush the reds
8:52 Auto White Balance, more like random white balance
9:58 Editing X3F files
11:30 Removable hot mirror filter!
12:17 Conclusion

Where I buy old camera gear (shopping through links supports this channel)

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#sigma #foveon

[snappiness]

I wanted to be really honest with my initial experience, so as to not over hype this camera. I wouldn't want someone spending the money on one only to be disappointed.

It's a camera that makes you really work for it, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

That said, there's a lot to love here, and the final review will reflect that in both word and images. :)

[bscura]

I'm a long-time Sigma shooter. I had the SD9 and still have an SD14 and SD15. Everything you're staying is true. Carry a gray card and shoot manual white balance. That way you can get consistent results and speed things up when doing your raw conversions. Compared to modern cameras it's got a steep learning curve. Once you've figured it out the Foveon sensor can deliver amazing detail and beauty.

When my daughter was little we went on many photo shoots and Sigma used one of the images on their web site. One day I asked if she wanted to do a photo shoot and she did. I set up strobes and she picked up the camera and pointed where she wanted me to stand! She was so small she could barely lift the camera up. That photo is the one I still use as my thumbnail.

[OneMonthTwoCameras]

So excited you just released this! I was planning to record my DP2 Quattro review tonight and this makes me even more enthused to get all of my large and varied feelings onto tape.

[Xitrun]

After having tried many brands, I am finally became Pentax user and have many nice crop cameras&lenses (all limited+many others). To try and enjoy fullframe I decided to get a couple cheap Nikon bodies like d700 and d610 (because K1 from Pentax is still ridiculously expensive). But. Once I tried Sigma merrill dp 1, 2, 3, I was totally impressed with the image, its sharpness and deepness of the colours. Wow. I left all them three in my collection forever. And the cameras itself are well done and very strong, but really small and convenient. Couple years ago I got mirrorrless Sigma SD quattro and was also very impressed, however, newer sensor gave me different results. It is difficult to judge which on is better, merrill or quattro. However, due to interchangable lenses, I got M42 adapter my Sd Quattro successfully permitted me to use many soviet lenses like Mir, Helios, Jupiter and many others. WOW. The result was just fantastic. Due to I already had A Lot of cameras, I took a very difficult decision to sell sd quattro first, because of its size (it is really big and heavy). I prefered to keep my little babbies dp merrils.
Overall: Bayer sensor will never beat Fofeon and Sigma always will give better picture, even than fullframe or middle format. There are, however, some little issues with Sigma cameras, like battery life, ISO (only 100-200 are working, 200+ is acceptable for black&white), and AF speed. Thats why I have Sigmas as a secondary cameras in addition to my great Pentax collection.

[fosterb]

Glad you’re trying out a Foveon sensor! I’m enjoying the colors you’ve been posting on the forum out of it. I’ve been eyeballing eBay for too long for a great deal. My camera shop in Minneapolis had an SD10 modified to R Mount for a while, but the Leica glass prices threw the idea of owning it out the window. Anyways I’ve got way too much gear at this point.

[PaulWilkinson]

As you know from my previous comments, my Foveon experience is with the DP1. The menu still isn't great on it but it's definitely better and the issue around red highlights still exists. I often shot underexposed then slightly boosted shadows in processing, however, you can't push the file much. It's about finding a fine balance 🤷‍♂️ When I used my DP1, I treated it like a film camera, I took my time, double and tripled checked settings and I often used a tripod, mainly because anything above iso 400 is completely unusable. They are slow cameras, and although I never had any issues with the autofocus in the DP1, it was still slow. They are completely different from your average DSLR or pro compact but stick with it. They're not for everyone but as I've said before, my biggest photography regret is selling my DP1, I still pine for it! If you get a chance, I'd highly recommend the DP2 Merrill, it's got all the Sigma Foveon quirks but the image quality is unreal!

[kmcsmart]

I know nothing about Sigma cameras so it is fun to live vicariously through you. Thanks for the video.

[erichstocker]

If you think of it as a camera providing digital kodachrome then you won't go far wrong. Meter it like it was that film. Restricted range, meter for the highlights, etc. I had a Quattro-H and got really lovely color shots out of it using this approach. Quattro-H let you write DNG files and I always felt that worked fine for me.

[johnsalamh]

As someone who is rather young and interested in photography but could never afford modern cameras pick up modern cameras vintage dslrs (which are about as old as I am 12-15 years old ) were the best thing ever thanks for the idea :)

[taohe]

Great taste and good job! I brought my SD14 after having my DP2, and I modified my SD14 from SA mount to Nikon F mount, so that I can use my lots of nikon F mount lenses. The camera is a monster with raw file and SPP, no mater color or BW photos, OMG! it is unbelievable.

[boxoweasels]

I had an SD10 for a while back in 2008. I don't remember any AF issues. I did like the files out of it, I'd like another foveon camera one of these days, but at the time Lightroom did not support them and I hated the sigma software so much I ended up getting rid of it because I rarely used it. The removable IR filter is a really nice feature I wish more cameras had.

[stevenunez]

Love your channel....I suggest you try a Sigma SD love to see your take on it.

[rATRIJS]

It's interesting seeing the first experience with a Sigma Foveon camera. I've had Sigma Merrill DP2 for two or so years and have bought a DP3 Merrill just a few weeks ago. Foveon sensor in these cameras is my favourite digital sensor that I've tried. Lenses are pretty good as well. The cameras and process can definitely see some improvements.

I believe that the SD14 and other SLR Foveon cameras have an older generation Foveon sensor. RAW files from Merrill definitely aren't supported in Lightroom. Some of the experience I've had with the newer Foveon sensor is likely different in older ones. For example I haven't found too much trouble with blown highlights. Be it red or not. I have the histogram always visible and tend to expose on the right of it whilst making sure that nothing gets blown out. Even if something may appear blown initially, you can recover surprising amount of detail in Sigma Photo Pro.

White balance can be weird but I ignore it and fix it in Sigma Photo Pro. It seems to work better that way rather than exporting to TIFF and fixing it in Lightroom.

Anyway I could write about Foveon cameras forever. Hopefully you will find some joy in the files that these cameras can produce but it's OK if you don't. Not every camera is for everyone. And Sigma is definitely not always easy to love :D

[chrisdwyer]

Between you and "One Month Two Cameras" I am in camera heaven... Also my wish list has grown quite a bit 😅

[Bscrambler]

Cool camera and nice video. Controls remind me of late 80s/early 90s era Canon film cameras (ex. EOS RT/630).

[dylandigby]

Foveon sensors make amazing images, but the ISO limitation really hurts it outside of daylight shooting or a studio

[leehaze]

Interesting camera. Always fun to try the oddities. Thanks for sharing

[Animaduniversum]

I've got the SD14 since like 10 years. Shoot it at ISO 100 for color. Use any other ISO for black and white. For landscape use a tripod and multi exposure.

[precociousmonkeyproductions]

What do you like better… Super CCD or Foveon? You should do a video comparing the pictures out of the Fujifilm Finepix S2 pro and the Sigma SD10 or SD14… I know you also have an SD10 but I haven’t seen as many videos with that one as the SD14

[PiDsPagePrototypes]

Biggest problem Sigma had with these, is they didn't do any support of Video, and Sales to Film Students and Filmmakers is what's really driven the shift away from DSLR to Mirrorless. Have you tried any Film Era SLR lenses? the nature of the Foveon sensors layers, matches the colour layers in film emulsion construction, so a lens that was great on film, and has chromatic aberration when used on something with a single plane bayer sensor, like a GH4 or BMD Pocket Cine camera, when put in front of the Foveon sensor should be back to the quality they were on film.
The 'highlights on red' issue - yes, that's a "photographer specific" technique issue - for video and digital cinema, we'll run the image in to an external screen with waveforms and vectorscope displays, so we adjust the image to match the waveforms, because we have a live display of what is clipped and what is underexposed. It's one of the reasons we've been asking manufacturers for proper 'scopes on DSLR's and Mirrorless for years.
Also, yeah yeah, our Pentax is staying DSLR. It's not a big deal, after all, we get to keep using thousands of lenses in K-mount and M42, .. but, here's the thing, That button marked "Live View" on the back of our Pentax's, that's how you access "Mirrorless Operation" :)