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I love it. It add the features that were missing from the fp (for me): 6K full frame, and on-board log recording. Not only is it log, but it's L-Log, which is especially convenient for me. My only real concern is the new battery, which is too small, like the old one. It's only rated for 260 images. Thankfully, it looks tiny, so I can stuff a few in my pockets.

My other concern is the lack of a mic input.

The fp is my go-to for video and travel. Frankly, it's brilliant at what it does, and it doesn't try to do anything else.

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As usual, the manufacturer does not tell us the thickness of the sensor's protective glass, which is important. The BF camera could be interesting for M lenses, if the glass is of reduced thickness, about 1mm, as Leica M

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13 minutes ago, Moreno said:

As usual, the manufacturer does not tell us the thickness of the sensor's protective glass, which is important. The BF camera could be interesting for M lenses, if the glass is of reduced thickness, about 1mm, as Leica M

Cover glass thickness isn't the only relevant factor at play, so it wouldn't tell us much. I'll try-out my M lenses when/if I get the BF, but my guess is that will behave like the fp: fine with longer lenses, but blurry with some of my favourite wide angles.

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It looks beautiful, getting the same vibes as when the T was first announced!  I was sad when the TL2 was discontinued, this is basically the spiritual successor.

Wish I could use my TL lenses with it, but with 24 megapixels it’ll probably crop down to 10 which isn’t ideal.  But excited Sigma has picked up the torch 11 years later.  Also shows how far ahead Leica was at the time, frankly I think they were too far ahead.

Can’t wait to see some reviews and hold this in hand.  It’ll probably need some pancake lenses though, it doesn’t look like a great fit with SL lenses.

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4 hours ago, BernardC said:

I love it. It add the features that were missing from the fp (for me): 6K full frame, and on-board log recording. Not only is it log, but it's L-Log, which is especially convenient for me. My only real concern is the new battery, which is too small, like the old one. It's only rated for 260 images. Thankfully, it looks tiny, so I can stuff a few in my pockets.

My other concern is the lack of a mic input.

The fp is my go-to for video and travel. Frankly, it's brilliant at what it does, and it doesn't try to do anything else.

I'll be interested to see if there's a recording limit in the absence of a heat sink.

Edit. I should have checked the specs. Sigma says about a hour, which I assume is the internal recording limit or a battery limit. I wonder if it can run on USB-C power.

 

Edited by LocalHero1953
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9 minutes ago, mboerma said:

As long as it comes with a dark cloth in the box I’m fine with it!

I've been wanting a 'ground glass' mode for an LCD camera for ages. Can't beat that feeling of composing upside down and back to front.

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1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Sigma says about a hour, which I assume is the internal recording limit or a battery limit. I wonder if it can run on USB-C power.

The specifications say that it can store "2.5 hours of video at the highest-quality setting", so the one hour number must be the battery. USB-C can be used for external storage, or for power, but not both at the same time. Maybe it can be used for both if it's in webcam mode (USB UVC), but you need a laptop for that.

It will be interesting to see what serious testers make of it. I know we'll get a lot of AI reviews, and quite a few that are appalled that it doesn't have every feature from (their favourite camera that costs 3 times as much), but I really want to know about the L-log implementation, and what can be done about sound recording.

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1 hour ago, BernardC said:

The specifications say that it can store "2.5 hours of video at the highest-quality setting", so the one hour number must be the battery. USB-C can be used for external storage, or for power, but not both at the same time. Maybe it can be used for both if it's in webcam mode (USB UVC), but you need a laptop for that.

It will be interesting to see what serious testers make of it. I know we'll get a lot of AI reviews, and quite a few that are appalled that it doesn't have every feature from (their favourite camera that costs 3 times as much), but I really want to know about the L-log implementation, and what can be done about sound recording.

I see it also says you can use external mics via USB-C as well. It'll need a USB-C hub to connect everything up. (I usually record audio via a separate Zoom recorder, so external mics are not critical for me).

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The FP was superb for video. The BF is more aimed at photography.

I used the onboard FP sound to help me sync up my separate recorded audio.

I took my FP to the South of France many times and couldn't see anything on the rear screen. You had to use auto-focus lenses you had to point them at the subject and listen for the bleep. Not a lot of fun or very creative.

Good luck to Sigma. I like the company. 

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And again, the original FP was mercilessly slammed by younger, hipster Youtube influencers at launch. Often very unfairly I thought.

I have been defending the FP against unreasonable criticism for years, here and on Youtube. So it isn't just about Leica owners, or older photographers.

The auto focus system was old hat. No Ibis, no log video just CDNG raw, unwieldy to hold, greatly over priced.

 

 

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In any case, yesterday I asked the manufacturer for information on the thickness of the sensor's cover glass.

Mr. Kazuo Yokosuka, a customer service representative of SIGMA Corporation (the headquarters office in Japan), immediately replied:

"… First of all, thank you very much for your interest in our newly-announced camera "SIGMA BF" … Regarding your question, unfortunately, that is technical information that cannot be disclosed to our customers...So, we cannot answer your question... We are so sorry, we would appreciate your understanding." 

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If it's the same or similar to the FP.....? My M lenses performed superbly on the FP. Sharp, accurate and beautiful colour rendition.

It was a shame that the rear screen in sunny conditions made it impossible to focus my M glass. I eventually sprung for the exorbitant EVF (£600).

 

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1 minute ago, roydonian said:

 my immediate reaction as a technical journalist is to wonder what they are trying to hide.

 

That would be cynical. I guess one waits for a YouTuber to test the BF with some M lenses.

In the music industry I work on new products all the time where I sign an NDA not to divulge technical details.

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I just replied to Mr. Kazuo Yokosuka:

"First of all, thank you very much for your prompt response.

My question was aimed at understanding if your beautiful Bf camera could be usefully used with my Leica M wide-angle lenses.

Anyway, I will try your BF camera myself as soon as it is available in the market.

Best regards"

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11 minutes ago, Chris W said:

If it's the same or similar to the FP.....? My M lenses performed superbly on the FP. Sharp, accurate and beautiful colour rendition.

It was a shame that the rear screen in sunny conditions made it impossible to focus my M glass. I eventually sprung for the exorbitant EVF (£600).

 

... but not with wide angle lenses, I suppose

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3 minutes ago, Moreno said:

... but not with wide angle lenses, I suppose

I used it with 28mm and 35mm. I'm not a fan of 28, but it still was crisp and detailed. The 35 Summicron was outstanding on the FP. I used it a lot.

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I have a 28 summicron (model 11604). I tried with a FP, but found low resolution in the angles, italian flag, blur .

Instead, summilux 50mm asph, elmarit M 90mm, tele elmar 135, apo-telyt R 180mm were very performing

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Yeah, I'm not one for peeping in the corners. I generally shoot between f3.5 and f5.6 too.

The images with the 35mm looked glorious. I never looked for edge to edge sharpness as I generally have the outer permitter out of focus anyway.

It seems a bit funny to stress about absolute sharpness when you can only manual focus with a rear screen anyway.

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