Sigma Corporation announced yesterday in a press release that their flagship DSLR, the SD1 will hit stores in June with an estimated MSRP of $9,700. The SD1 will be packing a 46 megapixel Foveon sensor along with a magnesium alloy body, 11 autofocus points, and an ISO range of 100-6,400.
Foveon? What’s that?
Unlike other DSLRs the SD1 will be using a Foveon sensor, which stacks three silicone sensors on top of each other. The bottom sensor being red, middle green, and top blue, according to Foveon’s website. This will allow for better resolution and color reproduction along with an simultaneous RAW and JPEG reading, which is a first for Sigma cameras according to the press release.
“The SD1 will carve out a new category in the marketplace by providing high-end photographers with an alternative to very expensive medium-format cameras and digital backs, while offering unrivaled image quality,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America.
Here’s a neat website you can check out to help familiarize yourself with the basics of digital photography. CameraSim is a website that allows you to experiment with different ISO, aperture and shutter settings to see how they affect the end product. It’s nice for those who are looking to learn the basics before picking up a DSLR.
I remember when I bought my D60. I ended up driving all over to find a Best Buy that had one in stock. When I had it in my hands a big smile spread across my face and while it wasn’t as awesome as this video it was something special.
Back in the day, when DSLRs were first emerging on the market Kodak partnered with Nikon and Canon to help get DSLRs in the market.
It worked by Nikon and Canon providing the camera bodies, and Kodak providing the sensors and the rest of the electronics according to Wikiapedia. Perhaps the designers thought that shooters would have a lot of downtime and put games into the software. The video shows a Kodak DCS 560 which allows the user to play Pong, and other models such as the Kodak DCS 620 had a sliding block game, according to the video.
Have you ever taken the lens off your camera, clicked the shutter and watched the shutter open? I have, and while trying this on an expensive DSLR runs the chance of getting dust and stuff on your sensor, it’s less of a problem with an old school SLR.
The video shows a Nikon D3 shooting 11 frames per second (fps) at a shutter speed of 1/4000 and an aperture of f/16 filmed at 5,000 fps.
