SIGMA SD1 / SD1 Merrill

Reviews and photo examples of the SIGMA SD1 / SD1 Merrill.

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The SD1 is a digital SLR camera equipped with a third-generation Foveon sensor that Sigma launched in 2011 for 700,000 yen. The 700,000 yen price tag would not bother the wealthy, but the comments from Sigma fans and onlookers at the time, when there were relatively many low-price users, were harsh, so in 2012 the price was reduced to 200,000 yen and the camera was renamed the SD1 Merrill and released.

As the name SD1 suggests, it is the pinnacle of SIGMA’s SLRs, and as of 2022 it is Sigma’s last SLR camera.

The sensor size is APS-C size, and the actual pixels are 14.5 million pixels at 3 x 14.5 million, but JPEG recording and SIGMA PhotoPro can output higher pixels by compositing the pixels.

The battery remains the same as the SD14/15, the BP-21, but the model number was changed to BP-22 midway through. The difference between the two is the battery capacity, BP-21 is 7.4V-1500mAh, BP-22 is 7.4V-1200mAh. There are many compatible batteries, such as Konica Minolta’s NP-400 (7.4V-1500mAh) and Pentax’s D-LI50 (7.4V-1620mAh). Sigma’s BP-22 has the smallest capacity. A compatible battery made in China is listed as 7.4V-2300mAh, but it is unclear whether it actually has that capacity.

I wasn’t interested in buying the SD1 when it was first released, so I got it when it became the SD1 Merrill, but I was disappointed when I used the M42 lens and got a huge green cast. I decided to only use SA lenses with the SD1, so I bought several lenses and took it to the hawk crossing at Shirakaba Pass. If you look at the upper right corner of the cat example, you can see that even the Sigma lenses produce suspicious colors. The double line blur in the same place may be a problem with the lens, but it doesn’t look very good.

The SD1 processes about nine times as much information as the SD15, so it loses the lightness of the SD15, and in terms of usage, it feels like a throwback to the SD10. Also, the 15MP*3-layer Foveon sensor was a peaky and nervous image element that was meant to be used only during the day.

Perhaps because I’m used to Leica’s low-passless images, the increase in actual pixels to 15MP was not that impressive, and I got rid of it before I could use it much because it was sensitive to blur when shooting and I couldn’t tell the difference between the reduced images and the Bayer.

After that, I found a cheap second-hand SD1 (without a brand name) and tried it out, and it was no different from the SD1 Merrill, as you’d expect. I think it would have been better to keep it because an SD1 without the Merrill logo on the rear LCD screen would be rare. Even now, the daytime photos are almost too high-resolution, and you can get a glimpse of the Foveon’s capabilities.

When I was using the SD1, my main photography equipment had shifted to Leica Digital, so I sold it after just playing around with it a little. I had many chances to buy it back, but as of 2024, it is not repairable and the price remains high, so I have no intention of buying it.

The following is just my own speculation, but considering the gap between the release of the SD1 (released in 2011) and the SD15 (released in 2010), the release interval seems too close for a camera manufacturer with small development resources, so the SD15 and SD1 were developed in parallel, and while the development of the SD15 was delayed, the SD1 ended up being released sooner than expected, so it seems like the SD1 was released without any sales strategy in mind.
It may be that the company culture doesn’t care much about the manufacturer’s image, but I think it would have been better for Sigma’s image if they had saved the SD1 until 2012, when it could be released at the price of the SD1 Merril.
Alternatively, if the SD1 had been released in 2024, the price of 700,000 yen might have been justified, since the prices of flagship cameras from all companies would have risen sharply across the board and 700,000 yen would not have been too expensive.
These are all hindsights, and we don’t know what actually happened on the ground, but Sigma’s inconsistent sales strategy is confusing to users.

After this, the manufacturer’s announcements became more accurate, and it was announced that when the sd quattro is released, there will be a high pixel version “H”. The development status of the full-frame Foveon sensor is also announced from time to time. When I read an article that the development status of the sensor is not good as of 2024, I worry about how long Sigma will continue to invest in the asset Foveon, which is not currently generating profits.

If there is a demand for used Foveon sensor cameras, I would like them to supply products even if it is only a small amount, but if the selling price of the SD1 is 300,000 yen in stores, taking into account the material costs as of 2024, will it sell? If asked, it is probably not enough to maintain the production line. There is also the option of selling it only at the regular price on Sigma Online, but the manufacturing issues are the same as in-store sales, so I think it is quite difficult for companies to maintain products in this day and age. And I am impressed that they were able to sell such a thing for just under 200,000 yen.

Specification and Compare

Items	SD1	SD1 Merrill	sd Quattro	sd Quattro H
Camera effective pixel count	48 million pixels (total pixels) 46 million pixels (effective pixels) (4,800×3,200×3 layers)	←	33.2 million pixels (total pixels) 29.5 million pixels (effective pixels)	44.7 million pixels (total pixels) 38.6 million pixels (effective pixels)
Image sensor	3rd generation FOVEON X3® (CMOS)	←	4th generation FOVEON X3® (CMOS)	←
Image sensor size	APS-C 23.5×15.7mm	←	APS-C 23.4mm×15.5mm	APS-H 26.7mm×17.9mm
Camera Mount	Sigma SA bayonet mount	←	←	←
Back LCD	3inch, 0.46 million dots	←	3inch, 1.62 million dots	←
Finder	Pentaprism single-lens reflex finder	←	Electronic viewfinder (approximately 2.36 million dots color liquid crystal)	←
Battery	Lithium ion battery (BP-21 / BP-22)	←	Lithium ion battery (BP-61)	←
Size(mm) W x H x D	145.5 × 113.5 × 80.0	←	147 x 95.1 x 90.8	←
Weight(g)	700g (Exclude battery)	←	625g (Exclude battery)	←
Release date	2011.06. 10	2012.03.09	2016.7.7	2016.12.20
Price(Yen/No-tax)	Open Reference price (700,000 yen)	Open Reference price (200,000 yen)	Open Reference price (81,000 yen)	Open Reference price (126,800 yen)