The BF, a new small 24.6-megapixel full-frame camera from Sigma, features a simple, minimalistic design with only four button controls and a dial. According to a press statement from the firm, the BF’s body is made from a single piece of aluminum, its user interface has been updated with a “completely new information structure compared to conventional digital cameras,” and it replaces a memory card slot with an integrated SSD.
The Sigma BF is anticipated to ship in April 2025 and will retail for $1,999 in finished black or silver. A lens is not included at that price. The BF works with the L-Mount lens standard, which was first created by Leica but is currently also utilized by Panasonic and Sigma. To complement the BF, Sigma will be adding a new silver color option to its I Series line of prime lenses.
The back of the camera is where the BF’s simple design is most noticeable. There are three touch controls with haptic feedback that simulate real buttons next to a 3.2-inch touchscreen display without any articulation. A smaller status monitor panel that displays settings options to prevent the camera’s primary display from becoming unduly crowded with information is located above them, along with a dial for menu navigation that has an extra haptic button in the middle. On top of the camera, adjacent to a few tiny microphone holes, is the shutter button.
Shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and EV correction are among the shooting-related parameters that surround the live preview in the BF’s simplified user interface. Camera management features are buried in a system menu, while secondary settings are concealed in an optional menu.
With the BF, Sigma has added 13 different color modes, which is becoming prevalent with digital cameras and enables photographers to create a certain appearance in-camera without the need for post-processing. In addition to more imaginative settings like forest green, sunset red, warm gold, cinema, and monochrome, these also contain selections like normal and rich.
The Sigma BF does not have a memory card slot, but it does have a USB-C connector for charging and file transfers. The manufacturer claims that the 230GB SSD inside can hold 4,300 uncompressed RAW files or 14,000 JPEGs. At its best quality, the camera can record up to 2.5 hours of video and record 6K video at up to 29.97 frames per second.
The Sigma BF has a hybrid autofocus technology that combines phase and contrast detection to take pictures at up to eight frames per second at full quality. Additionally, its AF system employs what the business refers to as “state of the art algorithms” to swiftly identify and concentrate on particular subjects, such as humans, dogs, and cats.
