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Sigma Joining in soon

vincechu

New member
i saw the article earlier, its a very interesting development it really suprised me. I totally agree with u, the DP1 + 2 are very good cameras so I see lots of potential for their mirrorless camera.

Would be great if Sigma joine m4/3rds for their mirrorless cams... bcos it would probably make them produce m4/3rds lenses which would only mean good news for us m4/3rds users, the current and up coming lenses are a bit too pricey. Hope you know what i mean :)
 
K

Kirby Krieger

Guest
wow this would be awesome
A sigma EVIL camera.
...
Hope it get's to market sooner than later.
I wanted one of these before I bought into the MFT format. I still want one.

But ... :deadhorse: ... as I was saying, but you have to take Sigma's track record into account. Their _cameras_ so far have been late to market, under-featured, and poorly designed. As for your earnest "sooner than later", remember the SD15? Wasn't it announced two years ago, and to this day it is still smokeware. (Sigma just "re-introduced" it.)

A GH2ish camera w. a Foveon sensor -- bestill my heart.

Sadly, I suspect I will likely take more than 100,000 shots between now and when Sigma gets a well-designed Foveon MILC to market.
 

Jonathon Delacour

Subscriber Member
According to the DPreview piece:
Although there has been much interest in prime lenses for these relatively compact cameras, [Chief Operating Officer Kazuto Yamaki] sees the future as being zoom lenses: "Mirrorless systems are popular with photo enthusiasts at the moment but once they have a larger market share, zoom lenses will become more popular."
Yep, that's exactly what we need: more m4/3rds zooms. :wtf:
 

ggibson

Well-known member
Anyone find it a bit ironic that Sigma is betting on the popularity of zoom lenses for m4/3, yet their current mirrorless cameras (DP1/2) are both prime lenses?

I think that to current users, the strength of m4/3 lies in the small size of the system, and prime lenses are far more compact than zoom lenses. But I also know that to most other consumers, the concept of a prime lens is actually pretty foreign ("what? your camera doesn't zoom?!?").

Sigma recognizes that to get the masses to upgrade to an interchangeable lens compact, you have to offer an uncompromisingly better option.
 

Rawfa

Active member
According to the DPreview piece:
Although there has been much interest in prime lenses for these relatively compact cameras, [Chief Operating Officer Kazuto Yamaki] sees the future as being zoom lenses: "Mirrorless systems are popular with photo enthusiasts at the moment but once they have a larger market share, zoom lenses will become more popular."
Yep, that's exactly what we need: more m4/3rds zooms. :wtf:
I would not mind at all if they came up with a zoom with a constant f2.8, which is still missing from the current m4/3 lens bunch at the moment.
 

ggibson

Well-known member
Since when has a zoom ever been "an uncompromisingly better option"? :confused:
My comparison is really between an advanced compact (G11, S90, LX3) and a micro 4/3 camera. Moving up to a m4/3 should feel like an upgrade, but the lack of a zoom feels like a compromise. I believe that's why Olympus doesn't have a 17mm kit for their EPL-1.

I think Sigma is following Olympus' lead here: small, collapsible zoom lenses. I'm not arguing that this is the right/wrong decision or the best use of the format. It's just the market segment for which they are aiming and see the most potential.
 

Jonas

Active member
(...)
I think Sigma is following Olympus' lead here: small, collapsible zoom lenses. I'm not arguing that this is the right/wrong decision or the best use of the format. It's just the market segment for which they are aiming and see the most potential.
Small, collapsible zoom lenses... Yuk. How boring isn't that? Slow stuff, optically compromised and, well, plain boring. Colour matched maybe?

But I'm not arguing either. I understand close to nothing of marketing. All I know is that the stuff I want to buy seldom is produced. So, boring standard zooms will probably sell well.

I want well made luxury lenses, as explained in this thread. Not many agreed...

/Jonas
 

Brian Mosley

New member
Well, I'm very impressed indeed by the fixed lens on my DP1 - if Sigma can produce the same quality optics for m4/3rds I'd be quite happy.

I wasn't too impressed by this quote though :
"Mirrorless systems are popular with photo enthusiasts at the moment but once they have a larger market share, zoom lenses will become more popular."

How can the 'photo enthusiasts' be so misguided? to want primes?

Cheers

Brian
 

Jonathon Delacour

Subscriber Member
My comparison is really between an advanced compact (G11, S90, LX3) and a micro 4/3 camera. Moving up to a m4/3 should feel like an upgrade, but the lack of a zoom feels like a compromise. I believe that's why Olympus doesn't have a 17mm kit for their EPL-1.

I think Sigma is following Olympus' lead here: small, collapsible zoom lenses. I'm not arguing that this is the right/wrong decision or the best use of the format. It's just the market segment for which they are aiming and see the most potential.
Thanks for the clarification. What you say makes good sense, if one assumes -- as Olympus and Panasonic appear to -- that the target audience for m4/3 cameras is P&S owners wanting to "move up" to a more capable camera with interchangeable lenses. I'm more persuaded by the argument put forward by Thom Hogan (Nikon expert and E-P1/E-P2 user) that there's a strong demand coming from the opposite direction i.e. high-end DSLR owners wanting to "move down" to a small, capable supplementary/alternative camera with interchangeable lenses.

This view is supported by a DPreview interview with Seung Soo Park, Samsung’s Vice President, Strategy Marketing and Digital Media, who admitted that:
...the company had been ‘very surprised’ by the popularity of the 30mm f/2 pancake lens. "For every 100 kit zooms we sell, we sell 50 pancakes," he said and pointed to the NX10’s light weight and small body as a key to the success of the tiny lens.
One in three lenses they sell is a prime lens. The fact that Samsung admit to being "very surprised" suggests to me that, like Olympus and Panasonic, they don't really understand the prospective buyer for this kind of camera. Hint: it's not P&S shooters who are buying all those prime lenses.

I want well made luxury lenses, as explained in this thread. Not many agreed...
I meant to agree but allowed myself to be distracted by a troll in that thread. That's exactly what I want too. Well-made, high-end (albeit expensive) AF prime lenses. I have all the well-made, luxury MF lenses I'm ever likely to need.
 
"there's a strong demand coming from the opposite direction i.e. high-end DSLR owners wanting to "move down" to a small, capable supplementary/alternative camera"

That's me. Three Canon DSLR's. With a Ricoh GRD2 which "I gave to my wife" and use far more than she does.

"they don't really understand the prospective buyer for this kind of camera"

Or most buyers at all. Most buyers would prefer faster noisefree chips than even more megapixels. The proportion of photographers who NEED a dozen megapixels is miniscule. But 100% of them would love to be able to throw away their flash gun.

Tony
 
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