Enrieco said:
Hi all:
Just wondering whether any of you are using or have used this cam? Hows the image quality? And how much is the cam cost?
Interested to know as this is the only cam, apart from SD9, that uses Foveon X3 image sensor; claimed to be able to capture more details as there are R-G-B photodetectors at each pixel location
Thanks
Well, yes and no. In theory, each photosite (ie, each pixel sensor ) senses all 3 colors instead of just 1, so it SHOULD produce truer colors. But in reality, the implementation is fraught with problems, and in many cases, it's results are no better than good old Bayer sensors, which as you know interpolates ( or guesses ) 2 colors out of 3 at every photosite. In fact, there are many cases where the Sigma introduces artifacts in the final image. Whether its a X3 problem or a Sigma problem is anybody's guess. The thing is that Bayer is getting very mature, and all the various companies have refined and further refined the interpolation algo that it is pretty accurate, as can be seen by the countless fantastic photos taken using Bayer sensors posted on the web. Sometimes, a good, calculated estimate is better than a poor measurement.
Remember also that the Foveon X3 is actually a 3.4 MP sensor ( it has 10+ million sensors arranged in 3 layers to give it 3.4 million photosites/pixels ). So in terms of resolution, sharpness and details, it might match, but is unlikely to be better than a real 6 MP sensor with 6 million actual pixels.
There's a raging debate going on in rec.photo.digital, and while most agree that there are some cases that X3 can produce good results, there are also many cases when Bayer sensors are superior. At least for now.
Finally, since Sigma is the only company using this X3 sensor, and they've stupidly limited you to only using Sigma mount lenses, it means you have only 1 source of body,lenses and flashes. Not exactly an attractive option. I've handled the SD10, and while it feels big and solid, it's also way too bulky for my hands ( and probably for most Asian hands ). I just can't get a good grip on the oversized handgrip. So ergonomics wise, I'll not rate it high either.
You can read the SD9 review at
www.dpreview.com for more details.
