There are plenty of iconic Japanese photography brands that have become household names, like Fujifilm, Canon, Panasonic, and Nikon, just to name a few. But lest we forget about Sigma, a firm that opened its doors in 1961 and, aside from making its own cameras, has developed innovative lenses that are compatible with the cameras from many of its competitors.
Launching its first full-frame mirrorless camera in 2019 (the FP model), Sigma has now debuted a new minimalist unit called the BF, which has a few notable features, including the omission of an SD card slot.
Sigma BF Camera Basics
Rather than an SD card slot, the Sigma BF has 230GB of internal storage on a solid-state drive built into the unit. This goes along with the minimalist approach from the brand. Aside from the lack of SD slot, the cleanly-designed housing is constructed from a single block of aluminum that weighs just 13.7oz (sans battery) and has only four buttons and a dial on the back. However, the design of these select buttons is thoughtful with pressure-sensitive haptic feedback that minimizes their physical wear while giving you tactile feedback.
Aiding the 24.6-MP camera is a 3.2-inch hi-res touchscreen display that also simplifies things for a “distraction-free view” of just the necessary information you need to shoot and edit on the go. This is achieved with the help of a supplementary small Status Monitor screen to the right, which just delivers necessary information such as battery percentage, ISO, and f-stop, among other things, preventing the main screen from being too cluttered.
The camera itself utilizes a 35mm full-frame sensor to achieve a shallower depth of field and is capable of a full resolution up to 8fps. Along with navigating the menu, the rotating dial to the right of the main display will let you choose between 13 types of color modes for enhancing your artistry and vision prior to processing. Impressively, the camera also comes with up to 6K video at up to 120fps, but this would expectedly diminish the 230GB of SSD storage rather quickly.
Is Built-In Storage Actually Better?
If you asked most serious photographers, they’d likely balk at the idea of having no SD card slot. When I told him about Sigma’s new BF model, our in-house photographer said that SD cards are super convenient when it comes to storage in that you’ll always have an external hard drive that you can swap out, giving you virtually limitless storage (if you have virtually infinite SD cards, that is). Essentially, it allows you to control how much storage you have out in the field. And if you ever find yourself in the middle of nowhere and run out of space, built-in storage would create some serious limitations.
That’s not to say built-in storage doesn’t have its own advantages. For starters, internal storage is likely more reliable than flimsy SD cards that are prone to break or corrupt. Also, you can easily lose a small SD card. Sure, it requires more work on the photographer’s end — keeping up with off loading storage from the camera — but there probably are some users out there who would find this beneficial.
Spec Sheet
Type: Mirrorless
Sensor: Full-frame 35mm
Resolution: 24.6MP
ISO Range: 100 to 102,400
Display: 3.2-inch hi-res touchscreen
Video Capability?: Yes, 6K at 120fps
Pricing & Availability
Shipping without a lens but compatible with L-Mount standard, the BF camera will be available in black or silver colorways and priced at $1,999. Expected to arrive this April, the camera can be purchased through an authorized dealer. Head over to Sigma’s website to learn more.
Recap
Sigma BF Camera
Sigma’s newest full-frame camera sports a minimalist design and configuration, featuring only a few buttons, a secondary info screen to declutter the main display, and no SD card slot.
