Produkt nyheder

Photo: Dale Baskin

On a recent trip to Japan, I found myself in one of those situations universally dreaded by travelers: showing up for an international flight with a pocketful of unspent local currency and nowhere to spend it except a duty-free shop. I was swimming in a Scrooge McDuckian sea of unused Yen.

The idea of bringing home yet another Toblerone bar, that triangular brick of duty-free despair, was soul crushing. I desperately searched for something – anything – else to needlessly throw my money at.

Then I saw the Hello Kitty Toy Camera, a small rangefinder-shaped camera complete with an optical viewfinder and removable memory card. You can find these toy cameras all over Japan at stores like Bic Camera, but I never considered buying one until I was in a use-it-or-lose-it cash scenario.

Watch our hands-on review of the Hello Kitty toy camera.

Given the choice of drowning my sorrows in yet another Toblerone bar, snagging a box of Tokyo Bananas or dropping a pocketful of Yen on the Hello Kitty camera, my duty to DPReview came first. Which is why, dear readers, I'm going to tell you about yet another camera you never knew you didn't want.

Key specifications

• 1.3MP Type 1/10 CMOS sensor (approximately 1.28 x 0.96mm)
• 3.2mm F2.8 fixed-focus lens
• Optical viewfinder
• ISO 100 (fixed)
• Single Micro SDHC card slot
• Video capture (720x480/30p)
• Fake buttons and controls
• Pink Hello Kitty styling

How it compares

It's hard to find cameras that are directly comparable to the Hello Kitty Toy Camera, so we decided the best course of action would be to compare it to another rangefinder-style camera: the Fujifilm X100VI.

As the table below illustrates, we can make the Hello Kitty camera appear competitive with the more expensive X100VI by picking just the right specs to compare.

Hello Kitty Toy Camera Fujifilm X100VI MSRP $45 $1599 Sensor size (crop factor) 1.25mm² *
(27x) 369mm²
(1.53x) Resolution 1.3MP 40MP Max aperture F2.8 F2 Viewfinder Optical Optical Hello Kitty-themed art Yes No Trendy color options Yes No Fake buttons to look more professional Yes No Memory card type Micro SDHC UHS-I SD Number of existential mid-life crises induced in the average camera reviewer during testing 3 0 Weight 18g 521g

On paper, both cameras earn superlatives in some areas. While the Fujifilm wins on key specs like sensor size and resolution, it's hard to ignore the price tag and uber-light weight of the Hello Kitty camera. Along with the fact that the Hello Kitty camera can fit in a real pants pocket, not the ambiguous 'jacket pocket' reviewers always talk about.

The number of existential mid-life crises induced in a camera reviewer is a spec that's often overlooked in reviews. The Hello Kitty camera definitely wins here. As long as we're clear that by 'wins', we mean 'loses'.

Body and handling Photo: Dale Baskin

The Hello Kitty camera is a rangefinder-shaped camera with silver-colored top and bottom plates and an optical viewfinder. I call it a 'rangefinder-shaped' camera because it's not actually a rangefinder. But, then again, neither is the Fujifilm X100VI.

You won't use the viewfinder. It's either so bad that it makes you dizzy, or it's a window into 4-dimensional space the human brain isn't wired to comprehend. Either way, it will drive you to madness.

The optical viewfinder is a nice touch, but trying to use it will drive you to madness.

Photo: Dale Baskin

The camera includes two functional controls along with two other controls that are just for show. The On/Off button on the top plate doubles as the shutter button, and the Mode button adjacent to it lets you switch the camera between photo, video and audio recording modes.

The other controls are fake, fooling absolutely no one.

The 3.2mm F2.8 lens, which I'm pretty sure is made of a chunk of polished candy, has ridged edges that beg to be rotated. But trying that would be a mistake as it would break the camera. You just have to embrace it for what it is.

Here's a picture of the Hello Kitty camera that better illustrates its size. Yep, it's that small. Also, that lever on the front is fake.

Photo: Dale Baskin

Taking photos is best accomplished with a 'spray and pray' approach. You point, shoot and hope. I say 'hope' because the camera doesn't actually take a photo of what's in front of you but something off to one side. It's like having an integrated AI that guesses what you're trying to photograph, then fails spectacularly every time.

Image quality

No DPReview camera review would be complete without our studio test scene.

A quick glance at the studio scene doesn't reveal anything except digital despair. The camera captures light, but it's notably short on fine detail. Or any detail. The sensor's dynamic range can best be described as 'on' or 'off'.

I have to come clean. I didn't take this photo in our studio because I couldn't justify the time it would have taken to do so. Instead, I used a life-sized print of the studio scene I keep at home, captured using a $45,000, 150MP Phase One camera. Don't worry; you won't be able to tell the difference in the images from the Hello Kitty camera.

For that matter, you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the real studio scene and an impressionist painting of it.

The photos from the Hello Kitty camera are so bad as to border on some kind of avant-garde art.

Photo: Dale Baskin

The one redeeming quality I can see in the images is that they're so bad as to border on some kind of avant-garde art. They have a certain je ne sais quoi, if the 'quoi' is 'blurry, pixelated and eye watering.'

Video This clip shows the video capabilities of the Hello Kitty camera, which captures 720x480 resolution at 30fps. And yes, of course it's a cat video.

It's incredible that this camera even shoots video, capturing 720x480 resolution, which I'm pretty sure is the same resolution my not-inexpensive Panasonic DVX100 vIdeo camera captured about 20 years ago. Though the Panasonic had the advantage of being a 3-CCD system. And having a lens that could fully resolve an image of an avocado.

If your idea of quality video is watching a bootleg copy of the movie ET your parents recorded on network television in 1984, you'll be delighted with the results.

Conclusion

With my journalistic integrity now hanging by a thread – or a pink piece of yarn – I have to find some way to wrap up this review. My professional reputation is in the hands of an animated cat, and I'm strangely OK with that.

Photo: Dale Baskin

I'm not sure if this camera is a toy or a subtle form of psychological warfare aimed at photographers. I've temporarily convinced myself it was a sound purchase, knowing a crushing pink wave of buyer's remorse will eventually hit me like a pixelated tsunami; after all, this is one of the worst photography products I've ever used.

And yet, I have a weird affinity for it.

My six-year-old niece loves using the Hello Kitty camera. So does my cat. But instead of taking photos, he mostly just wants to kill it. I don't know if he has some kind of Hello Kitty issue he's working through or if it's just because cats are basically little killing machines who happen to be cute.

But it does make me wonder if it might actually be possible to put a price on happiness: $45 (plus the cost of therapy).

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Product Photos: Richard Butler

The Fujifilm GFX100RF is a 100-megapixel medium format digital camera with a fixed 28mm equivalent F4 lens.

Key features

• Medium format (44 x 33 mm) 102MP sensor
• 35mm (28mm equiv) F4 lens w/ leaf shutter
• 5.76M dot OLED EVF
• Weather sealed when using filter ring and filter (included)
• Subject recognition autofocus
• Aspect ratio dial
• 3.2" tilting rear touchscreen
• 4K video up to 30fps
• Built-in 4EV ND filter
• 14 film simulations

The GFX100RF will retail for $4899 and will be available starting April 24th. It will come in either black or black and silver, and includes a braided strap, filter ring, filter and a color-matched square lens hood.

Buy now:

Buy at B&H Photo Index:

• What's new
• How it compares
• Body and handling
• Initial impressions
• Sample gallery
• Specifications
• Press Release

What's New Fixed lens medium format body

The GFX100RF occupies a new space in Fujifilm's lineup and comes with a new design. It's essentially the long-rumored 'medium format X100,' in that it takes the formula of classic styling, direct controls and a wideangle prime lens permanently mounted on the front.

Don't take the rangefinder implications of the letters 'RF' too seriously though: this is essentially the world's most ambitious compact camera, lacking not just a rangefinder but also the X100/X-Pro hybrid viewfinder that gives the appearance of a classic rangefinder camera. Instead, the RF's EVF is a relatively standard 5.76M dot affair located in the top left corner of the back of the camera.

While the body is nowhere near as large as the interchangeable lens GFX cameras, it still has a lot of presence. You'll never forget that you have it on you and would be hard-pressed to fit it into a pocket. That's especially true when it's fitted with the included square lens hood, which adds style points but has to be mounted on the adapter ring, adding a substantial amount of depth, substituting flare for flair.

Like the X100VI, the GFX100RF can be weather-sealed when the adapter ring and a filter, though this too makes it bulkier. The hood can still be fitted to the adapter ring when the filter installed.

The fixed lens

Fujifilm says it went with a 28mm equivalent for two reasons: to make the camera as compact as possible while also letting users shoot with relatively lower shutter speeds without the aid of IBIS or optical stabilization. That ability – which will largely depend on how still your hands and subject are – will come in handy given the lens' relatively slow F4 (F3.2 equiv) 9-blade aperture.

The lens is made up of 10 elements in 8 groups, with two aspherical lenses. It has a minimum focus distance of 20cm (7.9") and can accept 49mm filters when fitted with its adapter ring.

The fixed lens also allows the provision of a leaf shutter, allowing the GF to sync with flashes up to 1/2000 (technically, it can sync all the way up to 1/4000, but you risk cutting off some of the flashes' burst using such a brief exposure).

Aspect ratio dial

Looking at the back of the camera, the first thing that sticks out is the large dial above the screen. Its singular purpose is to let you apply various crops to your image, changing your JPEG's aspect ratio – and reducing how much of the sensor's area and resolution you're using.

There are nine options to choose from, and the camera gives you a few ways to preview your chosen aspect ratio. It can use black borders, a bounding box or raise the opacity of the portions of the image that will be cut off.

Amusingly, the label for the XPan-emulating 65:24 aspect ratio is a bit too wide for the window; you can see the labels for neighboring aspect ratios peaking through.

There's also a "C" setting that lets you control the aspect ratio via one of the camera's command dials or the menus. If you decide you're unhappy with the crop after the fact, you can use the in-camera Raw reprocessing feature to change the aspect ratio, assuming you've been shooting in Raw + JPEG, as the camera maintains the full sensor Raw file and saves the intended crop as metadata.

Crop zoom 28mm equiv. 35mm equiv. 50mm equiv. 63mm equiv. GFX100RF | F9 | ISO 80 | 1/125

Photos: Mitchell Clark

In addition to its choice of aspect ratio crops, the GFX100RF has a crop mode that punches in to give the impression of using a longer lens. You physically control the crop using a toggle switch situated under the power switch and front control dial.

As always, cropping reduces the area of the sensor being used, meaning a reduction in resolution and of total light capture. This has a consequent reduction in tonal quality if viewed at the same scale as full-sensor images. The table below indicates the equivalent focal length that each of the crops gives, both with reference to the camera's 44 x 33mm sensor, which is how the camera reports the 'focal lengths' of the crops, and in terms of their full-frame equivalents for reference.

In 44x33 terms In 'full-frame' terms Effective focal length Crop Equivalent focal length
(vs full-frame) Crop factor Pixel count
(4:3) 35mm 1.00x 28mm equiv. 0.79x 102 MP 45mm 1.29x 35mm equiv. 1.00x 62 MP 63mm 1.81x 50mm equiv. 1.42x 31 MP 80mm 2.28x 63mm equiv. 1.79x 20 MP

As you can see, hitting the lever once essentially turns the camera into a "full-frame" camera with a 35mm F4 equiv lens, before dropping down to nearer APS-C and Four Thirds image quality.

As with the aspect ratio crops, the zoom is only applied to the JPEG, leaving your Raw untouched. You're also able to remove it using the in-camera Raw reprocessing feature, though you can't select a different crop in-camera, though: it's the crop you shot the image with or the full sensor, only.

How It Compares

The fixed-lens camera market is small but has several strong competitors, especially if you're willing to spend this much money on one. Leica's Q3, with its high-resolution full-frame sensor and 28mm focal length, is the most obvious point of comparison, but Fujifilm's X100VI is also a potential competitor for those who prefer the 35mm field of view or want a substantially smaller, less expensive option.

We've also included the Hasselblad X2D, which has a similar sensor but with an interchangeable lens mount. The Fujifilm GFX 100 S II is perhaps a more direct competitor in both specs and price, but the Hasselblad's size and use of leaf shutter lenses prompted us to include it instead.

Fujifilm GFX100RF Leica Q3 Fujifilm X100VI Hasselblad X2D MSRP $4899 $6295 $1599 $8,199 Sensor 102MP medium format (Bayer) 60MP full-frame (Bayer) 40MP APS-C
(X-Trans) 100MP medium format (Bayer) Lens (full-frame equiv.) 28mm F3.1 28mm F1.7 35mm F3.1 Interchangeable - Hasselblad X mount Stabilization? No Optical IBIS / Optical IBIS Built-in ND? 4EV No 4EV No Weather sealing With included filter Yes With optional filter No Viewfinder res / mag 5.76M dot
0.84x
OLED
electronic 5.76M dot
0.79x
OLED
electronic 3.69M dot
0.66x
OLED
electronic / optical 5.76M dot
0.79x
OLED
electronic Video capture 4K/30p 8K/30p
4K/60p 6.2K/30p
4K/60p None Rear screen 3.2" tilting

3" tilting

3" tilting 3.6" tilting Storage formats 2x UHS-II SD,
external SSD 1x UHS-II SD 1x UHS-1 SD 1TB internal, CFexpress Type B Flash sync speed 1/4000 s 1/2000 s 1/4000 s up to 1/4000 s* Battery life
(CIPA) 820 shots 350 shots 420 shots 420 shots Dimensions 134 x 90 x 77mm 130 x 80 x 93mm 128 x 75 x 55 mm 149 x 106 x 75mm Weight 735g (25.9oz) 743g (26.2oz) 521g (18.4oz) 895g (31.6oz) *Flash sync speed is lens-dependent

The GFX100RF's sensor may appear to be in a class above many of its fixed-lens peers, and in good light, we'd expect its larger sensor to give it a proportionate image quality advantage.

But it's worth considering raw light-gathering ability if low-light shooting is a big concern for you. Wide-open, the Q3's much faster lens gives it a 1.7EV potential advantage despite its smaller sensor, and there are lenses substantially faster than F4 available for the X2D (though they do come at significant expense). Even the APS-C-equipped X100VI* can gather a bit more light per-whole-image than the GFX can in its 35mm crop mode.

While the difference in focal length is a deal-breaker for some photographers, those who like 35mm equiv may find that Fujifilm's smaller offering provides a more engaging shooting experience thanks to its standout hybrid viewfinder – the GFX100RF, meanwhile, has a good but otherwise standard EVF. It's also the only camera in this lineup without any form of stabilization, which further reduces its capability as light level drops, even if you take into account the reduced risk of shake from its leaf shutter.

*It's impossible to mention the X100VI without acknowledging that, over a year after its announcement, it's still extremely hard to get. Persistent stock issues mean you'll have to be patient or willing to pay a reseller a substantial premium over MSRP if you want one.

Body and Handling

The GFX100RF is relatively wide and boxy, though a small grip helps make it easier to hold. While it's undoubtedly large for a fixed-lens camera, it's not particularly heavy, making it easy to tote around all day.

The rear touchscreen display can be tilted up and down, though not left and right, as with some of Fujifilm's other cameras. The EVF is bright and crisp, making it easy to compose your shot.

From the top, the family resemblance to the X100VI is obvious. Though that top plate sits on an appreciably larger camera.

The GFX100RF is brimming with controls. There are two programmable command dials: a knurled barrel on the front and a conventional dial in the back, with the rear one being clickable to cycle through functions. There's also a dedicated exposure compensation dial and autofocus mode control.

Shutter speed and ISO control share a dial, with the latter requiring you to pull up on the bezel before rotating. The lens has an aperture ring, which includes an automatic setting and two opposed nubs that make it easy to turn.

On the left of this shot, top-to-bottom are the camera's power switch, the barrel-style front command dial and the 'digital teleconverter' toggle at the bottom. To the right is the front plate lever (designed to look like the self-time control on a film camera). This can be flicked in either direction to access two functions or held in either direction to access two more.

Also fixed in function is the zoom toggle on the front, as well as the aspect ratio dial; neither can be reconfigured. The lever on the front plate, however, is entirely customizable, and you can assign up to four functions to it, as it can differentiate between a flick and a pull and hold. The latter action takes around three seconds to activate. It also has a customizable button in the center.

The Q button, which by default brings up a customizable, on-screen control panel, is on the edge of the grip, which makes it difficult to press without adjusting your hand. This sort of placement makes a bit of sense on smaller cameras where there's nowhere else to put it, but is baffling on a camera that has so much room on the back. Also hard to hit while using the camera is the small, unlabeled button on the top plate right above the exposure compensation dial, which can be customized. As with many of Fujifilm's cameras, you can also have up to four settings that are controllable by swiping up, down, left or right on the touchscreen.

You can also use the touchscreen to position the autofocus point, though the camera has a dedicated joystick for that purpose.

The dual UHS-II SD card slots live on the right-hand side of the camera, while a door on the left opens up to reveal headphone and microphone sockets, the USB-C port, and a micro-HDMI port.

Battery

The GFX100RF uses the 16Wh NP-W235 battery, the same that powers cameras like the GFX 100 II or X-T5. It's rated to get 820 shots in its normal mode, which is a frankly stunning performance. We consider ratings – which rarely reflect the number of shots most people get but rather act as a standard benchmark to measure cameras against each other – of around 400 shots or more to be sufficient for a heavy weekend of shooting, and the GFX100RF almost doubles that figure.

Initial Impressions

By Mitchell Clark

Sometimes, it's just nice to see a swing for the fences. To an extent, the GFX100RF is a variation on the X100-series' winning formula, though the changes it brings may mean it's destined to be a cult classic rather than an immediate blockbuster. It has a different focal length – Fujifilm's 28mm fixed lens cameras historically haven't set the world on fire – isn't quite as pretty, doesn't have the hybrid viewfinder, comes in a much larger body and, of course, has a much larger price tag.

It's also a camera with plenty of quirks, though that could make it more appealing to a certain audience. The biggest are the two non-programmable controls, the zoom toggle and the aspect ratio dial. There is a cleverness to the former in that, in conjunction with the medium format sensor, it adds back a little bit of the flexibility fixed-lens cameras usually give up. It's not only a 102MP camera with a 28mm equiv. lens, but also effectively a 62MP full-frame camera with a 35mm lens, a 31MP ∼APS-C camera with a 50mm equiv. lens, and a Four Thirds-ish camera with a 63mm equiv. lens.

As fans of the RX1 series are likely to attest, a fixed lens camera with the a7R V's sensor and a 35mm lens could certainly be attention-grabbing. In some ways, the GFX100RF can become that with the flick of a switch – or, at least, a version of that with a lens that's substantially slower than what you'd normally find on a fixed-lens camera.

Fujifilm says it went with an F4 lens to make the camera as small as it could. And indeed, the GFX100RF isn't all that much larger than some of the company's ASP-C cameras, though it certainly weighs more.

That's where the camera's footing starts to wobble a bit. With the zoom and aspect ratio choices each cropping into the sensor, you're utilizing less and less of the light-gathering ability you paid so dearly for. The chart below shows just how much you're giving up: using an admittedly extreme aspect ratio and crop, you can get down to a 9MP image from a 19x7mm region of the sensor. The lack of sensor or optical stabilization also means that, even when utilizing the whole sensor, you have to be cognizant of lighting conditions and shutter speed if you want sharp images.

Aspect ratio 28mm equiv. 35mm equiv. 50mm equiv. 63mm equiv. 4:3 102MP
44x33mm 62MP
34x26mm 31MP
24x18mm 20MP
19x14mm

3:2

90MP
44x29mm 55MP
34x23mm 28MP
24x16mm 17MP
19x13mm 16:9 76MP
44x25mm 46MP
34x19mm 23MP
24x14mm 15MP
19x11mm

65:24

50MP
44x16mm 30MP
34x13mm 15MP
24x9mm 10MP
19x7mm 17:6 48MP
44x16mm 29MP
34x12mm 15MP
24x9mm 9MP
19x7mm 3:4 57MP
25x33mm 35MP
19x26mm 18MP
14x18mm 11MP
11x14mm 1:1 76MP
33x33mm 46MP
26x26mm 23MP
18x18mm 15MP
14x14mm 7:6 89MP
38x33mm 54MP
30x26mm 27MP
21x18mm 17MP
17x14mm 5:4 95MP
41x33mm 58MP
32x26mm 29MP
23x18mm 18MP
18x24mm Shaded to show highest resultions (dark) to lower resolutions (light)

Realistically, though, none of that is really what this camera is about. It's about being an object that proves to yourself and others that you are a 'Photographer' and about giving you direct control over the image-making process. And, yes, it's about being able to create some gorgeous, high-resolution shots while still having the freedom to crop away that resolution if it fits your vision.

In some ways, this camera feels like peak Fujifilm. It's a culmination of everything the company has been doing for the last few years, with its physical controls for the camera's key features and focus on creating the image you want in-camera without the need to crop or color grade in an external program. It's also one of the most photo-focused releases we've seen from the company in a while. Because while it has the same video capabilities as the GFX 100S II, in this instance, they almost feel vestigial; the company isn't really talking about them because that's not what this camera is about.

We'll have to wait until we can get our hands on a production model to fully evaluate its autofocus and image quality performance, but one thing is already clear: this camera is anything but boring.

Buy now:

Buy at B&H Photo Sample Gallery

Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter/magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review); we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.

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Product photos: Richard Butler

The Sigma BF is a minimalist 24MP full-frame mirrorless camera that offers distinctive design and an unconventional user interface.

Key specifications

• 24MP full-frame CMOS sensor
• Phase detection AF with human and animal detection
• No mechanical shutter
• 3.2" 2.1M dot rear touchscreen
• Pressure-sensitive buttons with haptic feedback
• 6K video up to 30p, 4K up to 30p
• 1080 up to 120p
• Leica L-Log profile
• Zebras and False Color exposure displays
• 230GB of internal memory
• 10Gbps USB-C port, external mic compatible

The Sigma BF is available in Black or Silver at a cost of $2000. Sigma has also made versions of all its i-series primes to match the silver version of the camera.

Buy now:

$1999 at Amazon.comBuy at B&H Photo Index:

• What is it?
• Body and controls
• Initial impressions
• Sample gallery
• Specifications

What is it?

The Sigma BF is explicitly not trying to be a do-everything, Swiss Army Knife of a camera. Sony's a7C II already exists, bringing an EVF, multiple dials, a mechanical second-curtain shutter mechanism and in-body image stabilization, for a list price just 10% higher than the BF's.

But if Sigma was trying to go head-to-head with Sony in the mass market, it probably wouldn't be spending seven hours milling each camera out of blocks of aluminium, nor doing so in Japan: neither of which is the approach you take if you're primarily driven to hit a specific price point.

Similarly, just looking at the specs, the BF might be mistaken for an unstabilized Panasonic S9 in a fancier body, but despite sharing a sensor, the two cameras couldn't be more different.

Instead Sigma explicitly says the BF is designed for 'everyday' photography. An elegant object designed to be carried with you, rather than a utilitarian device you take when you're taking photos. It's absolutely not optimized for rapid operation, it's not teeming with clever features. Instead it includes only the bare essentials for photography (or, arguably, slightly less than that, given its lack of mechanical shutter).

Think of it like a Moleskine notebook: in many respects it's not as practical for taking notes and recording ideas as the smartphone you're already carrying, but the very process of carrying it with you acts as a prompt to look at the world and capture the thoughts you were having. The BF is trying to do the same.

It's the difference between a camera that you'd grab when you want to go and take photos of something, vs a tool that encourages you to look for things to photograph.

Body and controls User interface

The best way to understand the BF is to note the dedicated settings display towards the top right-hand corner on the back of the camera. This displays one of ten parameters:

Drive mode File format Aspect ratio Focus mode White balance Shutter speed Aperture value Exp comp. ISO Color mode

These are also the ten parameters that appear on the main screen if you press the center button on the back of the camera, in the pattern shown in the table above.

You can navigate between them by pressing the cardinal points on the rear dial, then scroll the dial to change the current setting.

Pressing the center button lets you see and edit the camera's core ten parameters, but the chosen setting is also shown in the dedicated settings display to the top right of the screen.

In this instance the aperture value is shown in dark grey because it's being controlled from the lens.

But you don't have to press the center button and bring them up on the main screen: once you've learned their relative positions (and chances are it's the ones in the bottom row you'll change regularly), you can navigate around them just using the settings display. And, for me, that's the key to understanding the BF: it's designed so that the core settings can be adjusted without looking at the main screen. You can set the camera to show all the settings on the main screen,

In keeping with this idea, the touchscreen is almost solely used for positioning the AF point or selecting a subject to track: even if you summon-up the settings on the main screen, you can't tap to change settings, just choose what to focus on.

Exposure modes

The BF has no mode dial, so exposure mode is set by selecting which parameters you want to be controlled by the camera. This is done via the main screen. Press the center button to bring up the settings then press it again to edit them, and the ISO, aperture value and shutter speed indicators show 'Auto' options above them, letting you engage and disengage automated control of each parameter.

Any of the exposure parameters that can't be changed by spinning the dial, either because they're set to Auto or because aperture value is being set by an aperture ring, is rendered in darker grey, both in the settings display and on the main screen display.

Other settings Ten further settings, including the level gauge and options to display information such as focal length and focus distance are accessed via the three-dot button. Navigating down to the word 'System' takes you to the menu where fundamental settings such as date and time are edited.

Another ten settings, six of which relate to how much detail appears on the main screen (exposure parameters, guides, virtual horizon, etc), can be accessed by pressing the 'three dots' settings button. At the bottom of this settings menu is the word 'System' which gives you access to a ten-option-long list of fundamental camera settings, including firmware information, copyright information, menu language and date/time.

That's the extent of the BF's interface: ten top-level parameters, ten settings and ten menu options. But what this doesn't fully convey is the degree to which it's a camera in which Shutter speed, Aperture value, Exposure compensation and ISO can all be set using just the settings display, leaving the monitor solely for focus and composition.

Handling

The BF is a very solid-feeling camera, as you might expect from something hewn from a solid block of metal. The body itself is relatively light but the weight adds up as soon as you mount a lens of any appreciable size on it.

Despite it's minimalist appearance, it's quite easy to hold. The textured front-plate and raised thumb rest at the back mean you can get a pretty solid grip on the camera, and you can cradle the weight of the lens in your left hand if you're working with anything larger than one of the compact primes offered by Sigma or Panasonic.

However, we found that it was common for our ring finger to wrap around to the base of the camera as we held it, which quickly makes apparent how sharply angled the edge of the BF is. It's not hard to imagine users adding a little tape to the lower edge of the camera or being tempted to chamfer the edge with a fine file, once they come to live with the camera.

I've primarily used it with the Sigma 35mm F2 prime and the Panasonic 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 lenses, both of which are small and light enough that it's been comfortable to use.

Battery

The BF uses a new 11.88Wh BP-81 battery. This will power the camera to a CIPA rating of 260 shots per charge. As always, the CIPA figure will tend to under-represent how many shots you're likely to get, and we found it's the camera's propensity to show its charge percentage on its settings display that caused us to worry a little disproportionately.

Still, a rating of 260 is pretty low and means you may want to consider carrying a power bank if you plan to do more than occasional shots each day. Putting it on to charge overnight, just as you might do with your phone will probably be sufficient for everyday casual use, though.

A gentle press of the power button puts the camera into standby mode, but the battery will continue to drain at an appreciable rate. The BF starts up from cold quickly enough that this is usually a better approach.

Initial impressions

By Richard Butler

Even the body cap is an over-engineered delight.

The Sigma BF is one of the most unusual cameras we've ever encountered. On paper it looks like an under-specced rival to the Panasonic DC-S9 or even the Sony a7C II. Or, perhaps even a slightly re-purposed Sigma fp. But, even though it shares components and a small rectangular body, the BF is quite unlike any of these cameras.

Sigma's CEO, Kazuto Yamaki talked about completely re-thinking the camera's interface to pare it back to the fundamental things a camera needs to offer, in an attempt to make it simple to use, with the aim of making a camera for everyday use. And the more I use the BF, the more I think I understand this intent.

The idea of a dedicated settings display, leaving the main screen as a means of composing your image and positioning the focus point is a refreshingly simple one, undermined only by the challenge of viewing a fixed LCD in bright light. The decision to display only one setting, rather than a full array of settings and icons makes it very quick to interpret and I did find it made me consider what changes I wanted to make, shot-to-shot, in a way I don't on a more conventional twin-dial camera.

Playback mode has three levels of information that can be displayed, this is the most detailed, but you can also opt just to see the top two rows of information, or just the first.

Touching, rather than pressing, the playback button lets you review the last image you shot, without entering the full playback mode, for as long as your finger remains on the button.

This really hit home when I realized I prefer to set aperture from the camera, rather than using an aperture ring; I think the camera works best with everything controlled from the settings display, rather than trying to increase the number of control points.

Another surprise was how good the BF's autofocus appears to be. Its subject tracking is very simple to use and impressively tenacious, while its eye detection works well and can be left turned on without minimal risk of the camera prioritizing nearby faces ahead of a different subject you've selected.

There are distinct downsides, though. The lack of mechanical shutter not only means there's a risk of rolling shutter and that the camera can't be used with flash, it also means it's quite prone to banding caused by the inherent flicker of artificial lights. This can be fairly subtle at longer shutter speeds but becomes increasingly apparent in short exposures, limiting its use as an indoor camera, despite a sensor that works well in low light.

Sigma 35mm F2.0 | F4.0 | 1/500 sec | ISO 400

Photo: Richard Butler

Sigma's sometimes quite dramatic color modes may not be to everyone's tastes, and I'm not wholly convinced by the 'Light Source Priority' auto white balance mode, that tries to maintain some of the character of the detected light source. But even when the results are unexpected, they're often interesting.

The BF's battery life is also quite short. An external charger is available, if you want to keep a second battery topped-up, but mainly it's a case of remembering to put the camera on to charge regularly, just as you might for your smartphone.

Other than a slight concern about the sharp lower front edge, I'm really looking forward to spending more time with the BF. It's not a camera that lets you respond quickly to the unexpected; instead it's one that makes you slow down and look for the photos you might otherwise not notice.

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