Sigma SD10

The Sigma SD10 is a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) manufactured by the Sigma Corporation of Japan. It was announced on October 27, 2003, and is an evolution of the previous SD9 model, addressing many of the shortcomings of that camera. The Sigma SD10 is unique amongst DSLRs in that it uses a full-colour Foveon sensor (Instead of one with a Colour Filter Array) and that it only produces raw format images that require post-processing on a computer.

Sigma SD10

Overview
Type	Digital single-lens reflex
Lens
Lens	Interchangeable (Sigma SA mount)
Sensor/medium
Sensor	20.7 mm × 13.8 mm Foveon X3 sensor
Maximum resolution	2268 × 1512 × 3 (10.3 million effective pixels, 3.43 megapixel output image size)
Film speed	100–1600 in 1 EV steps
Storage media	CompactFlash (CF) (Type I or Type II) and Microdrive (MD)
Focusing
Focus modes	One-shot, Continuous, Manual
Focus areas	1 point
Exposure/metering
Exposure modes	Programmed, shutter-priority, aperture priority, manual
Exposure metering	TTL, full aperture, zones
Metering modes	8-segment evaluative, center area (about 7.5%), Center-weighted average
Flash
Flash	none, sync at 1/180 second
Shutter
Shutter	electronic focal-plane
Shutter speed range	30 s to 1/6000 s
Continuous shooting	up to 2.5 frames per second
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical, pentaprism
Image processing
White balance	6 presets, auto, and custom
General
LCD screen	1.8-inch (45 mm), 150,000 pixels
Battery	4×AA NiMH or 2×CR-V3
Weight	785 g (body only)

Foveon X3 image sensor

Like its predecessor, the SD10 uses a sensor with the unique Foveon X3 sensor technology. The 10.2-million-pixel raw file generated from this sensor is processed to produce a 3.4 megapixel size image file. Although the image file is smaller than images from competing 10 megapixel cameras, it is made from the same number of measured data values because the Foveon sensor detects full-colour data (three values) at each photosite; the actual resolution contained in its 3.4 MP images is about the same as a conventional Bayer filter sensor of 7–9 MP.^[1] Sigma and Foveon count each red, green, and blue sensor as a pixel, and state the camera has 10.2 million pixels; similarly, companies selling Bayer filter cameras also count each single-colour sensor element as a pixel.

Raw output only

Unlike other DSLR cameras marketed concurrently, the SD10 performs no in-camera processing to common image formats such as JPEG and TIFF. Instead, it saves images in its own .X3F format, which retains all the information the camera captured. Processing on a computer is required to use these files. Sigma provides the Foveon-written SIGMA Photo Pro application for this purpose; in addition, Adobe Photoshop CS2 supports the format, as do several other image-processing applications.

Shooting modes

The camera supports single-shot, continuous, 2 or 10 second self-timer, mirror lock-up, and auto exposure bracketing.

Exposure modes

Four different exposure modes are supported: aperture priority (A), shutter speed priority (S), manual (M) and program automatic (P).

Lens availability

The SD10 supports only Sigma SA mount lenses. Only Sigma produces lenses to fit this mount. Third-party converters exist for a number of other lens mounts, although no automatic features are supported. Many Canon EF mount lenses can be converted to SA mount while retaining autofocus and camera controlled aperture settings, however optical stabilisation will not work.