Posted at Tue May 24 12:00:00 2011
Sigma's Foveon sensor has made its way into an SLR. The Foveon X3 captures all three colours at each photo-site, unlike a traditional sensor which requires a Bayer array in front of it that allows only one colour through, generally reducing the true resolution to 1/3 of the advertised pixel count. This also allows the X3 to forgo the bluring (anti-aliasing) filter that reduces resolution as a artifact of reducing moire. Sigma's price the SD1 to compete with the highest resolution cameras from Canon (EOS 1Ds) and Nikon (D3X), but most prospective users will be unlikely to see it as being in the same ballpark. The X3 sensor is great technology, but Sigma will be looking to get users to either buy directly into an expensive camera amateurs are unlikely to understand, or for pros to switch to a Sigma-only lens ecosystem; both are unlikely.