46 14 March 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Thankstoitsback-
illuminatedfull-frame
sensor,thefpoffersfine
high-ISOimagequality
Sigma45mmF2.8DGDN,
1/100sec at f/2.8, ISO 16,000lookclunkyandobtrusive
(andthelevelsdisplayin
particular),whichis compounded
bythefactthatthebuttonfor
switchingthroughdisplaymodes
fora cleanerviewbecomes
awkwardtoreachwhenyou’re
shootingat eyelevel.
TheLVF-11’sbiggestdrawback,
though,is thatit hasthe
unfortunateeffectof turningthe
world’ssmallestfull-framecamera
intooneof theworld’sbulkiest.It’s
alsoimpossibletoremovequickly
orhingeawayfromthescreen,so
you’reobligedtouseit allthe
time,includingforreviewing
images,changingsettingsand
navigatingmenus.Thisalsomeans
thatit blocksanypossibilityof
usingthetouchscreen,which
forcesyouintousingthattortuous
methodof selectingtheAF-area.
Soif youreallywanttoshoot
usinga viewfinder,you’dbebetter
offbuyinga camera that’s got
onebuiltin.
Autofocus
Withthefp relyingoncontrast
detectionforAF,it’snevergoingto
bethebestchoiceforfast-moving
action.Butwithstatic,oronly
slowlymoving,subjectsit generally
worksjustaswellaswe’dexpect
froma moderncamera.It’srapid,
silentandinherentlyaccurate,and
hasnoproblemsfocusing
correctlyonoff-centresubjects
with large-aperture lenses. In low
lightit perhapshasa greater
tendencytohuntthanitspeers,
butthatcanoftenbefixedby
switchingtoa largerfocusarea.
Movingsubjectsposemoreof a
challenge.If yousetthecamerato
AF-Sandfacedetection,it’llmake
a decentattempttokeepyour
subjectin focusastheymove,but
notsurprisingly,youcan’texpect
togetthesamespeedand
hit-rateasyou’dgetfroma
high-endphase-detectionsystem
likethatontheSonyAlpha7 III.
Havingsaidthat,thefp’sform
factorlendsitselffarmoreto
casual,across-the-tablesocial
shootingthananythingthatlooks
likeactionphotography,andfor
thispurposeit’lldofine.
If youprefertofocusmanually,
thefp hassomeneattricksupits
sleeve.Whenusinga nativelens,
turningthemanualfocusring
activatesa detailed‘picture-in-
picture’magnifiedviewfor
accuratefocusing.Focuspeaking
is alsoavailable,in a choiceof
colours,andthecameracan
displayeithera basicdistance
scaleorthecurrentfocus
distance.Withanadaptedlens,
pressingthebuttonin thecentre
of thereardialtogglesmagnified
view,whichis temporarily
dismissedbya half-pressof the
shutterbuttonforclearer
composition.It allworksverywell,
makingthefp a finevehiclefor
using small manual-focus primes.Performance
PreviousSigmamodelshave
tendedtosufferfromobvious
operationalflawsof onesortor
another,butwiththefp,thefirm
hascreateda camerathat
generallyworksverywell.It does
takenoticeablylongerthanits
peerstoturnonwhenyouflick
thepowerswitch,at abouttwo
seconds,andthiswillirritate
thosewishingtouseit forquick
grabshots.Butonceit’supand
running,it respondssnappilyto
thecontrols,anddoesn’toften
leaveyouwaitingwhileit goes
aboutitsbusiness.Theonly
exceptionis whenusing
compositelowISOsettings,
whichtieupthecameraforup
tosixsecondswhilethey’re
processedandstored.
Thefp isn’tthebestchoiceif
youwishtoshootanduse
JPEGseasily.Itsmeteringis
distinctlycautious,oftengiving
underexposedimages,andits
autowhitebalancefrequently
veerstowardsthecoolside.
ItsdefaultStandardcolour
paletteis alsosomewhatneutral
anduninspiring,andasa result,
itsJPEGsoftenlookdulland
muddy.If youwantattractive
files directly from the camerawithminimaleffort,you’dbe
betterofflookingintocameras
fromthelikesof Canon,Fujifilm
orOlympus.
Rawfilesare,however,a
differentmatter,andonthewhole
everybitasgoodasthosefrom
largercameraswith24MP
full-framesensors,givena littlebit
of workin yourfavouriteraw
converter.There’slotsof fine
detailthankstothelackof a
low-passfilter,dynamicrangeis
excellentat lowISOs,andyou
caneasilylifttheshadowsby
threeorfourstopswithoutany
problem.Likewise,noiseis kept
impressivelyundercontrolat
highISOs.Theconservative
meteringalsomeansthatyou
rarelyendupwithhighlightdetail
beingirretrievablylost.
It’sworthnotingthatthefp’s
batterylifeis nothingtowrite
homeabout.Evenobsessively
managingthepower,and
switchingthecameraoff
wheneverI wasn’tusingit, I
struggledtoget 200 shotsfroma
singlecharge.Soif youtendto
takea lotof picturesin a session,
it’sbesttomakesureyouhavea
spareortwo,andmaybecarrya
powerbanktotopupwhile
you’re not shooting.‘Ifyoudemandfull-frameimagequalityandinterchangeablelensesin the smallest
possible package, this is it’