subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 9 May 2020 53
Makingmovies
WHENit comestomovies,thefp is a heavyhitter.It canrecordraw
videoin theCinemaDNGformatat upto24fpsin 4K,or60fpsin Full
HD.Although4Krawis limitedto8-bitinternally,12-bitoutputover
USB-CstraighttoanSSDis supported,whichwillbegoodnewstoa lot
of filmmakers.FullHDcanberecordedupto12-bitinternally.In
additiontoraw,thefp canalsoshoot.MOVvideoat 440megabitsper
secondin 4Kat 24or30fps,orupto120fpsin FullHD.Thecamera
is abletotakenumerous‘boltons’socanworkwellaspartof a bigger
rig,butthesometimeserraticcontinuousAFforvideocouldbeanissue
forsomefilmmakers.Aswithsomeof thestillsniggles,weanticipate
thatthiswillbefurtherdeveloped if the fp shows it can fi nd a big-
enough market on release.L-mountlens,themanualfocus
ringrevealsa detailed‘picture-in-
picture’magnifiedviewfor
accuratefocusing.Focuspeaking
alsoworkswell,witha choiceof
colours.Giventhelackof any
formof imagestabilisation,thisis
allgoodtoknow.
Asmentionedin myinterview
withSigmaCEOKazutoYamaki,
(7 Days, 11 April)theSigmafp
includesa comprehensiverange
of optionsforadjustingthe
camera’sJPEGcolours,accessed
usinga buttonontheback.Teal&
Orangeis particularlypopular
withJapanesecustomers,
apparently,andI toogotsome
goodresultswithit whenshooting
theworld-famousDaibutsu(Big
Buddha)in thecharmingtownof
Kamakura.Combinethiswitha
long,wide21:9aspectratioand
youcangetsomecool
‘cinemascope’effects.Other
optionsincludeSunsetRedand
ForestGreen,buta biggerdealis
theamountof in-cameraediting
youcandowiththefp.Youcan
adjustthetonecurve,with
highlightsandshadowsset
independently,ortakeadvantage
oftheimpressiveFillLight
feature.Thein-cameraraw
processingworkswell,andsaves
time later on the computer.
Otherneatextrasincludean
intervalometeranda
comprehensivearrayof
bracketingoptions(exposure
focus,whitebalance,colourmode
andfill light).NeitherWi-Fior
Bluetoothis includedin the
camera,however,soit willjust
staremutelyat yoursmartphone.
Weassumethiswillbeaddedto
lateriterationsif thefp takesoff.
OnthesideareUSB-C,
microphoneandmicro-HDMI
ports,alongsidea connectorfor
theadd-onhot-shoeaccessory.
Themicsocketalsoacceptsthe
CR-41cablerelease.There’sa
singleUHS-IItypeSDcardslot,
butyoucanalsorecordfilesto
anSSDconnectedtothe
USB-Cport,whichvideographers
willappreciate.
Lastbutnotthatleast,thereis
thatlens.It’simpressivelysharp,
especiallywhenyoustopdown,
andverywellmade.Thefocal
lengthis idealfortravelportraits
whereyoualsowanttokeepthe
subjectin context,andcapturing
detailin buildings.SometimesI
wishedit waswidersoit could
soakupa bitmoreof thescene,
butgenerallythis45mmglassis
oneof thebestthingsaboutthe
fp experienceand I was sorry to
give it back.Aninterestingmix
Toconclude,wouldI buythe
Sigmafp?Ataround£2,300,it’s
hardlyanimpulsebuy,especially
in thesestraitenedtimes.If I was
justusingit asa stillscamera,
probablynot.Whilethefp has
manygreatqualities,it’smissing
outona lotof featuresthatmany
of itsrivalssupplyasa standard:
in-bodyimagestabilisation,a tilting
screenora viewfinderthatyou
canraisetoyoureye,fast
phase-detectionAF,a batterythat
lastslongerthana mayfly when
youusethecameraprofessionally,
andsoon.TobefairtoSigma,
however, this camera is very muchbeingmarketedasa powerfulstills
andvideohybrid,soif youare
alreadyintohigh-qualitymovie
making,orwanttogetintothis
areamoreseriously,thefp
becomesa muchmoreattractive
andcompellingproposition.The
compactdimensionswillbe
appreciatedbyvideojournalistson
themove,andtheL mountoffers
plentyof choicewhenit comesto
high-qualitylenses.It is a verywell
madecameratoo.Thereis a lot
rightwiththefp,andwehopeit
hitstheinitialsalestargets,so
someof thenigglesandomissions
getaddressedviafirmware
updates or future releases.Thecompactdimensions
andelectronicshutter
makethisa goodcamera
forstreetwork,although
thelackofa tiltingLCD
screen is a drawback