SIGMA SD14 / SD15

This was recorded using SIGMA SD9/SD10 digital cameras.

Gallery
Impression
Specification
Option
Reference links

Gallery

Impression
SD14 and SD15 were Sigma digital cameras released in 2007 and 2010, respectively.
Four years have passed since SD10, and EPSON R-D1 has become my favorite camera, and I remember that I rarely used SD10 and sold it at some point. The SD10 I have now was bought back used around 2010.
When the SD14 was released, digital cameras were in their infancy, and the LEICA M8 was released in 2006, and my personal photography was now centered on Leica M-mount cameras.

Even so, I bought the SD14 when it came out and tried using it, but sold it after only using it for a hawk crossing on the Shirakaba Pass. Looking at the photos I took at that time, I could not feel the taste of the R-D1, although the resolution was good, like that of the SD10, so although the camera itself had become normal, I could not find the motivation to take photos of everyday scenery with it.
I was not satisfied, so I bought an SD15 during the “hawk migration” season at Shirakaba Pass, but I sold it after that and bought it back the following year, which was a waste of money. I think the fact that my mainstay at that time was the SONY α900 in the SLR era also had an influence on my decision.
If the SD15 had been released at the same time as the SD14, it might have been a little different, but it was a camera that I never got to use and it left little impression on me.
When I was writing this, I suddenly searched for a used SD14 for less than 30,000 yen, and since I don’t have a SIGMA-SA lens on hand, I snapped up a mail order for a 24mm F1.8 HSM for a total of less than 50,000 yen. I’m well aware that nostalgia never goes beyond practicality, but as I was sorting through my past photos, I felt like using the SD14/SD15.

The SD14, which I have been using for a while, has a small shutter sound, and I feel that its performance is sufficient for street photography that does not require continuous shooting. However, I still feel that the viewfinder is not up to the task. First of all, the viewfinder is almost 100% of the size of the sensor, so it feels very small when you look through the viewfinder. Someone once said, “It’s like looking into the bottom of a well. Personally, I prefer the sports viewfinder of the SD10. And the difficulty of finding the focus peak when using a wide-angle lens, which has not changed since SD10, is probably due to the use of a matte that is flat and has no undulations for AF. If the AF was extremely good, I would not be concerned, but when the surroundings become a little dark, the AF instantly fails to focus, and the camera still thinks it has focused and releases the shutter, so I was disappointed in some of the finished images.

Looking through the viewfinder, I had the feeling that it resembled the viewfinder of some other camera, and upon searching my memory, I realized that it was similar to the viewfinder of the Olympus E-1 four thirds camera.
Since the SD14’s sensor size is 20.7 x 13.8 mm and the four thirds sensor is 17.2 x 13 mm, almost the same height-wise, this imagination is not so wrong.

Also, the year 2007 when SD14 was released coincides with the release of the four thirds camera Olympus E-3, and if Olympus had chosen this Foveon sensor at that time, I think the history of digital cameras might have changed a little bit. It is interesting to imagine the ifs of history.

Specification

Digital camera with 2nd generation Foveon sensor.
It has 4.5 megapixels x3 with 4.5 megapixels of actual pixels, but JPEG recording and SIGMA PhotoPro could also combine pixels for higher pixel output.
Unlike the SD9/10, this digital camera was completely newly developed. From this camera, I think SIGMA has come to be recognized by the public as a digital camera manufacturer.
The differences between the SD14 and SD15 are the difference in recording media, the rear LCD, and the data buffer size of the camera. The enlarged buffer size of the SD15 (buffer memory capacity is twice that of the SD14, allowing 21 frames even when shooting RAW; source: Digicam Watch. 2010 article) allows the camera to shoot a reasonable number of consecutive shots such as eagle It was nice to be able to shoot a reasonable number of consecutive frames when shooting a
The fact that the shooting counter is set to 999 when a 16GB compact flash is installed is a sign of the times.
The battery is the dedicated BP-21 lithium-ion battery, and the BP-22 battery introduced in the SD1 can also be used. The difference between the two is the battery capacity: BP-21 is 7.4V-1500mAh and BP-22 is 7.4V-1200mAh. These batteries are often interchangeable in shape, with Konica Minolta’s NP-400 (7.4V-1500mAh) and Pentax’s D-LI50 (7.4V-1620mAh) having the same shape. Sigma’s BP-22 has the lowest capacity. Compatible batteries made in China are listed as 7.4V-2300mAh, but it is not known if they truly have that capacity.

Items	SD14	SD15
Camera Effective Pixels	Approx. 14.06 million pixels (2,652 x 1,768 x 3 layers)	←
Camera mount	SIGMA-SA baynet mount	←
Image sensor	FOVEON X3®(CMOS) 20.7×13.8mm	←
Back LCD	2.5-inch Approx. 150,000 pixels	3-inch Approx. 460,000 pixels
View Finder	Pentaprism type single-lens reflex viewfinder	←
Battery	Lithium-ion battery (BP-21/BP-22)	←
Record Media	Compact flash	SD-card(SDHC)
Size	W x H x D 144mm × 107.3mm × 80.5mm	←
Weight(g)	700g (Ext battery)	680g (Ext battery)
Release date	Sep.2007	Jun.2010