Sigma, known mainly to photographers for their affordable lenses, recently caused quite a stir among discerning photographers. How? By building three compact cameras around the incredible sensor taken from the SD1, which initially cost $10,000. The image quality is simply incredible, and the cameras themselves are small, light and unobtrusive. For photographers seeking the best possible image quality on a budget, they’re unmatched.

But there are lots of compromises. Foremost among them is battery life. The small batteries don’t last long so you’ll need to buy spares. Fortunately, they’re cheap. Second compromise; usability. It’s pretty good for a compact camera, and the controls are well laid out for photographers, but there’s some shutter lag, the auto-focus can’t match dSLRs and the huge RAW files take a while to write to the card.
The main …











