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[OM] Re: Sigma SD10

Subject: [OM] Re: Sigma SD10
From: Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 22:24:41 -0400
At 3:26 AM +0200 6/22/04, Listar wrote:
>From: "Tom Scales" <tscales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [OM] Re: Sigma SD10
>Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 12:06:55 -0400
>
>
>It is a 3.4 mp camera. You cannot magically count each color sensor and call
>it a pixel.  The output files are interpolated up to give the appearance of
>higher resolution, but it is a marketing scam.

The Foveon sensor does in fact work that way.  Each pixel directly 
senses all three colors, and there are no Beyer filters.  It's not a 
marketing scam at all, and Carver Mead (the inventor) is a very big 
name in the electronics world, and has been for years, long before 
Foveon.  Especially in analog circuits.

Actually, a pox on all their houses.  It's all Marketing Megapixels. 
Non-Foveon cameras are rated by adding up the number of red, green, 
and blue pixels (usually in the ratio 1:2:1), so the Foveon folk are 
playing the same game.  If I had my way, we would count only the 
green pixels.  But I didn't have my way.


>They reportedly do very well with Asian skin tones, but caucasians look like
>they have jaundice.  Lots and lots of post-processing.

Well, one cannot tell how much post processing it took for the ad 
photo, but the model appears to be half Chinese, half Caucasian.  Her 
coloration seems to be Caucasian.  No sign of jaundice.   The ad is 
on page 23 of the July 2004 issue of Outdoor Photography.


>The camera only produces raw files, so you have to post process to 
>even view -- no JPEG or
>TIFF output.

That appears to be true.  This is intended as a studio camera.  Given 
previous discussions on the advantages of RAW, why is this a problem?


>Everything I've read says "cool idea, lousy implementation".

Can you suggest some URLs?  I'd be interested; I've always wondered 
how well the Foveon sensor worked in practice.  By the way, the 
Foveon sensor is CMOS based, not CCD based.

Joe


>Tom
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joe Gwinn" <joegwinn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 9:09 AM
>Subject: [OM] Sigma SD10
>
>
>>  Perhaps I'm the last to notice, but I just saw an ad for the "new"
>>  SD10 camera from Sigma, with Foveon sensor.  The showoff picture (of
>>  an asian model with world-class smooth and finely-detailed skin) in
>>  the ad shows stunning detail and smoothness.
>  > <http://www.sigma-photo.com/html/Cameras_sd10.htm>
>>
>>  Specs:  10.29 mpixels (3.4 Mpix red, 3.4 Mpix green, and 3.4 Mpix
>>  blue), 12 bits per color per pixel, 1512 by 2268, 13.8 by 20.7 mm
>>  sensor area (1/3 that of a 35mm frame), pixels 9.13 micron square.
>>
>>  Joe Gwinn
>  >

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