What's new
L-MOUNT Forum

Register a free account now!

If you are registered, you get access to the members only section, can participate in the buy & sell second hand forum and last but not least you can reserve your preferred username before someone else takes it.

Sigma fp/ fp L - would you buy it?

dirk

dirk

LMF-Founder
Administrator
The L-Mount alliance has the huge advantage, that we have a wide choice of very different bodies. This is not the case with other systems. Sigma for example offers 2 very different bodies for the L-Mount system, which you do not see somewhere else. It is the Sigma fp with 24MP and fp L with 60MP. Both Bayer sensor.

Sigma uses a very different body design for these 2 models. This is what attracts me. Both are so small, they almost rival my Lumix GX9 MFT camera. In my view this is very attractive for travelling and vacation with the family.

But the bodies are not cheap and at the moment out if my price range. But I follow very closely the second hand market. Teufel Grinsend Schwanz

I would love to hear from the fo users, what do you like and what you do not like with your fp. Above all: What kind of photos do you shoot with it. I am concerned with the AF and rolling shutter, since both do not have a mechanical shutter. But maybe there are other issues I am not aware of? And tricks to get around it?

Example images would be nice. Nothing fancy, can be snapshots to demonstrate a problem or an advantage.

Thanks
 
I'm also thinking about getting a FP and also the missing mechanical shutter is one of the major things that stops me from buying one. I don't know if the AF would be an issue. Missing IBIS is also a concern, but only a minor.
 
I love the concept of a camera being something you can completely and totally customize to fit your needs. That philosophy and the size really speaks to me.
 
I bought an fp L two months ago. I was originally intending to go for the fp but none of the UK dealers had stock. Then one of my preferred dealers had a decent discount on the fp L body only (less than the price of the fp + 45mm f/2.8 kit) so I jumped at the chance. I also bought the 24mm f/3.5 so I had a compact lens to go with the camera, choosing it in preference to the f/2 thanks to its 0.5x macro capability.

This combo was a replacement for my Sony RX1 that suddenly and completely failed after 11 years of regular use. I was looking for another small, full frame camera and I wasn’t bothered about the lack of a viewfinder or IBIS since the RX1 had neither.

My only real criticism is that the LCD isn’t quite bright enough. The RX1 has an unusually bright LCD that’s clearly visible, even in direct sunlight. The fp L can’t match it, and that can make it awkward to use on a bright day with the sun behind you.

In theory the rolling shutter should be terrible since it takes 0.1 seconds to read the sensor. And if you were to try and shoot a rapidly moving subject that filled most of the frame you’d undoubtedly have problems. But suppose something that’s taking 10% of the vertical height of the frame is moving: it’ll be scanned in 0.01 seconds, and that may be fast enough to avoid obvious distortion. Since I’m using the camera for landscapes and architecture I’ve only seen artefacts in three out of close to a thousand photos that I’ve taken so far, and those were all fast moving birds.

Otherwise I’m very happy with the fp L and 24mm f/3.5 combo. Colour and dynamic range are both outstanding and high ISO noise levels are very respectable, if not quite as good as the S5. And the resolution is amazing: I don’t need 60MP but it certainly is nice to have it.

JPEGs are excellent, the best I’ve seen from any camera I’ve owned.

RAWs can be problematic: I use a Mac, and Apple’s standard colour profile for the fp L is not good (the colour is noticeably off, with cyan tinged skies) so any apps that rely on it (such as Affinity Photo or Raw Power) produce disappointing results. Capture One is similarly disappointing. I’ve been using Iridient Developer which produces accurate colour, very close to the look of the in-camera JPEGs using the Standard colour mode. Also worth noting: the RAW files have an average size of around 102MB so they take up a considerable amount of space.

One other downside: the camera does attract a certain amount of attention from other photographers who are curious about what it is, and then, every time, I have to explain that no, I didn’t mean the lens, Sigma make cameras as well…

I’ve posted a number of images from the fp L and 24mm f/3.5 in the “May 2023 Image & Video” thread, and one in the “SHOW - Shots in 65:24 format (Xpan)” thread. I’ll try and find the photos that show the rolling shutter issues and add them to this thread to give you an idea of what can go wrong.
 
Here are two images that show problems caused by the fp L's rolling shutter. In both of them the shutter speed wasn't high enough to avoid motion blur, but there are also some distortions from the rolling shutter and the blurred areas appear to have been "smeared" in a way I wouldn't have expected from the motion alone. Both are actual size, cropped from the fp L's 9520x6328 resolution originals.

_SDI0413Roll.jpg
  • SIGMA - SIGMA fp L
  • 24mm F3.5 DG DN | Contemporary 021
  • 24.0 mm
  • ƒ/8
  • 1/200 sec
  • Pattern
  • Auto exposure
  • ISO 100


_SDI0768Roll.jpg
  • SIGMA - SIGMA fp L
  • 24mm F3.5 DG DN | Contemporary 021
  • 24.0 mm
  • ƒ/8
  • 1/100 sec
  • Pattern
  • Auto exposure
  • ISO 100
 
pdk42 said:
No EVF.
No tilt on the rear screen.
No stabilisation.
Not for me.
Click to expand...

Agreed. And also:

no 10-bit LOG
no practical internal video recording (4K is 8-bit only)
no AF in video
no mechanical shutter
ridiculous file sizes in CinemaDNG
limited photographic features

Camera looks cute, but much less so with an external recorder and monitor. And then the price for everything!

On the plus side, the EVF-11 tilts to 90 degrees, which is my favourite shooting posture.
 
Caveat: I don’t do video.

The fp L can record 4k MOV h.264 (ALL-I or GOP) internally at 30fps for up to 2 hours. Internal recording of 4K CinemaDNG is limited to 8-bit and 25fps.

There’s a “Constant AF” mode that keeps the autofocus running while shooting video.

Cinema DNG is a RAW format - a series of DNG files and a WAV containing the audio - so yes, the result will be very large.

Can’t say I’ve noticed any limitations in the photographic features - everything I’d expect to be there is there. Plus there are a couple of useful additions from the video side: waveform and false colour exposure displays. I find the latter far more useful than the usual histogram or zebras.
 
Loved the files, loved the portability, liked the quirky operation which I quickly got used to, liked the fact that it made me get my tripod out more often because the 60mps made me want to take landscape more seriously, loved using the smaller aps-c lenses yet still having enough resolution, Sigma's 18-50 2.8 along with the 56mm 1.4, small and light very capable set. I just didn't like the add on EVF, always felt so awkward to fit and the camera just lost it's appeal for me when mounted. I sold mine when I ordered the S5II but regularly get tempted to get another one.

On my path by Jayne Booton, on Flickr

Flying Dutchman Crinan by Jayne Booton, on Flickr

Window Shopping by Jayne Booton, on Flickr
 
AlanC said:
Caveat: I don’t do video.

The fp L can record 4k MOV h.264 (ALL-I or GOP) internally at 30fps for up to 2 hours. Internal recording of 4K CinemaDNG is limited to 8-bit and 25fps.

There’s a “Constant AF” mode that keeps the autofocus running while shooting video.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the correction. I am likely remembering the features of the original camera.

AlanC said:
Cinema DNG is a RAW format - a series of DNG files and a WAV containing the audio - so yes, the result will be very large.
Click to expand...

While that is true, both ProRes and BRAW have modes that produce visually indistinguishable video at much smaller sizes. This is of great practical benefit.
 
I am mostly a landscape photographer and was looking for a small and high quality camera to take landscapes mostly on our mountains here in Austria. So I bought the Sigma fp L last summer and I love this tiny camera! Especially in combination with the Panasonic 1.8 series. I own the 24 / 50 / 85 mm combination and use the 24 / 85 or only the 50mm for trekking tours in the alps, where for me every gram counts, because of the heavy sleeping gear and food for a few days.

I think there is no better solution for hiking and landscapes or macros. Lightweight, very high quality also with low light, water resistant,...
I use as tele the newest version of the Sigma 105mm / 2.8 with 2x teleconverter for landscape / wildlife / zoo pictures, with the high resolution cropping is no problem at all.
I use also the newest Sigma 28-70, also very lightweight and versatile.

Great and very underestimated camera! But slow and some problems as discussed earlier in this thread, but the perfect camera for me!
 
I could test the fp before I bought my S1R and brought back the camera with very mixed feelings!

I loved the size and weight for a travel camera, especially in combination with the new i-series lenses it would be great.
BUT: I will never buy a camera without viewfinder again! I did before and there are still a lot situations where you can see nothing on the display…
second I will also buy no camera without a tiltable screen anymore…

if the next fp will go into a direction like an Olympus Pen-F I will order at once!
 
RBecker said:
I could test the fp before I bought my S1R and brought back the camera with very mixed feelings!

I loved the size and weight for a travel camera, especially in combination with the new i-series lenses it would be great.
BUT: I will never buy a camera without viewfinder again! I did before and there are still a lot situations where you can see nothing on the display…
second I will also buy no camera without a tiltable screen anymore…

if the next fp will go into a direction like an Olympus Pen-F I will order at once!
Click to expand...
Exactly my thoughts. I’ll never buy a camera without an EVF and tiltable screen again.
 
It's just the size of the body and the files that make the FpL so very useful for a stills shooter anyway, if it had a rangefinder they could have called it the M11. Plenty of 24mps bodies around in a small package, but for L mount if you want higher megapixels then there is only the S1R or the SL2. Also if you've been an L mount Aps-c user, like me, your crop lenses have a good home. I wish Sigma had come up with a better viewfinder option than either of those offered so far.. having used both I actually find the original big box that fits on the back of the camera the easiest to get along with, much less fiddly to fit, looks ridiculous and doubles the size of the body, but it's a great view through it.

I would like Panasonic to put the FpL's (Sony - M11?) sensor in a S5 body (or smaller) please.
 
Jayneboo said:
I would like Panasonic to put the FpL's (Sony - M11?) sensor in a S5 body (or smaller) please.
Click to expand...
Sony did announce a pair of new sensors back in April: the IMX366AJK has 45MP and is capable of 8K60 so could well show up in a new hybrid S1, and the IMX455AQK has 60MP and appears to be a variant of the sensors in the A7Riv / A7Rv / fp L, quite possibly the one used in the M11 and Q3. The Q series do seem to have significant Panasonic involvement so here's hoping we'll see an S-series camera with that sensor, too.
 
I would like an S7 that forsakes some of the controls (the left dial for example) in order to shrink the body proportionally. Then Panasonic would have something to compete with the miniature models from Fuji and Sony. Though not that small, since the EVF is essential.
 
I thought I wanted to get serious about photography and bought a S1R to replace my starter camera the GX9. I hated the size and weight of the S1R and quickly switched to an FP L. I absolutely love this camera. I enjoy street and landscape photography. I’ve gravitated to the 16-28, 28-70 and the 100-400. I use the original loop viewer while landscapes and the rear screen for street. Could not be happier. You really can’t imagine how small this kit is unless you see it and lift it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top