The Sigma SD10 is a

digital single-lens reflex camera A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...

(DSLR) manufactured by the

Sigma Corporation is a Japanese company, manufacturing cameras, lenses, flashes and other photographic accessories. All Sigma products are produced in the company's own Aizu factory in Bandai, Fukushima, Japan. Although Sigma produces several camera models, ...

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 cameras are unique in the digital DSLR field in using full-color sensor technology, and in that they only produce

raw format A camera raw image file contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, a motion picture film scanner, or other image scanner. Raw files are named so because they are not yet processed and the ...

images that require post-processing on a computer.

Foveon X3 image sensor

Like its predecessor, the SD10 uses a sensor with the unique

Foveon X3 The Foveon X3 sensor is a digital camera image sensor designed by Foveon, Inc., (now part of Sigma Corporation) and manufactured by Dongbu Electronics. It uses an array of photosites that consist of three vertically stacked photodiodes. Each o ...

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-color data (three values) at each photosite; the actual resolution contained in its 3.4 MP images is about the same as a conventional Bayer/CFA sensor of 7–9 MP. 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 sensor A Bayer filter mosaic is a color filter array (CFA) for arranging RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors. Its particular arrangement of color filters is used in most single-chip digital image sensors used in digital cameras, camco ...

cameras also count each single-color 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 JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and imag ...

and

TIFF Tag Image File Format, abbreviated TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is widely supported by scanning, faxing, word processin ...

. 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 Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Microsoft Windows, Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas Knoll, Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the indu ...

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 The Sigma SA-mount is a lens mount by the Sigma Corporation of Japan for use on their autofocus single-lens reflex and mirrorless cameras. It was introduced with the '' SA-300'' in 1992. Originally, the SA-mount was a dual-bayonet mount with inner ...

lenses. Only Sigma produces lenses to fit this mount, although their range is fairly broad. Third-party converters exist for a number of other lens mounts, although no automatic features are supported. Many Canon EF mount-based lenses can be converted to

Sigma AF mount Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...

retaining autofocus and camera controlled aperture setting, however optical stabilisation will not work.

Software

Sigma Photo Pro

Postprocessing of raw X3F and JPEG of all digital SIGMA cameras Version 6.x is no-cost download for Windows 7+ and Mac OSX 10.7+ (6.3.x). Actual versions are 6.5.4 (Win 7+) and 6.5.5 (MacOSX 10.9+).

Pros and cons

The SD10 is an unusual camera with both advantages and disadvantages compared to most other digital SLRs, and tends to polarise opinion. It has a fiercely loyal base of support and some rather vocal detractors. Commonly cited advantages and disadvantages of the camera include the following:

Pro

* Excellent color in daylight and good light. * Excellent detail, comparable to 6.5 MP Bayer-sensor DSLR cameras.Michael J. McNamara, "Hands On: Sigma SD14", ''Popular Photography'', Nov. 27, 2006
online
* Noise-free image of the at low ISO speeds * Pixel sharpness achievable * Moiré effects less visible when photographing high-detail patterns compared to Bayer senor based cameras; thus no need for sharpness-degrading antialiasing filters to reduce moiré effects * High-quality PC software allows images to be tuned easily to the best quality * Takes easily obtained AA or

CR-V3 A CR-V3 battery (sometimes CRV3) is a type of disposable high-capacity 3-Volt battery used in various electronic appliances, including some digital cameras. It has the shape and size of two side-by-side AA batteries. This allows CR-V3 batterie ...

batteries instead of proprietary format * Dust protector stops dust entering the mirror box while changing lenses * Sports finder allows viewing area outside picture area, letting photographer see if a better composition could be made by zooming out * Inexpensive when it can still be found * Shooting-priority user interface means always ready to shoot * Unique histogram feature shows distribution of

RGB The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...

values in zoomed-in area of image * Simple and intuitive menu system * Mirror lock up on dial * Removing the dust protector converts the SD10 into an

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

-sensitive camera

Con

* Does not produce JPEG files in-camera * Fewer photographs per image card because no JPEG mode available. Raw files are compressed to about 8 MB per image * Slow to clear the shot buffer * Originally expensive, listing at $1599 in U.S. * Only takes Sigma lenses; no third party support except via adapters * Poor low-light performance; high-ISO modes produce noisier images * Image quality degrades in long exposures (over 4 seconds) * No built-in flash * Single autofocus sensor instead of three or more in competition