Sigma postpones full-frame camera with Foveon sensor until next year

Sigma has revealed details of its upcoming L-mount full-frame camera. The camera has been delayed until 2020 and will receive a Foveon X3 sensor with a total of 60.9 million subpixels. It concerns three layers of 20 megapixels.

Sigma told the news at a presentation during the CP+ trade show in Japan. That appears from photos on Twitter published by an attendee. Sigma has not yet shown any images of the camera, but has provided some details about the sensor.

Sigma will use a Foveon X3 sensor that consists of three layers with the same number of pixels. This makes the sensor different from that of recent Quattro cameras, where Sigma used layers with different resolutions. Sigma has entered into a partnership with TSI Semiconductors for the production of the sensor. Sigma makes the design itself, but has the sensor produced by that American chip manufacturer.

With the Foveon technique, colors can be captured better than with a Bayer sensor that is in almost all cameras. Also, photos taken with a Foveon sensor are sharper per pixel, because all color information is recorded on the three layers that are broken down by primary color. The downside is that the lower layers capture less light, resulting in poor low-light performance.

Last year, Sigma already announced that a full-frame camera with Foveon sensor was on the way. Then the manufacturer said that the device would be released in 2019, so that has now been postponed. The camera will have an L-mount, just like the Panasonic S1 cameras and the Leica SL. Sigma, Leica and Panasonic announced a partnership around the L mount last year.