Sigma fp – Review 2020

The Sigma fp ($1,899, body only) is billed as the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame camera with support for interchangeable lenses. It makes weight by cutting out some features we’ve come to expect in a stills-first camera, like a mechanical shutter and electronic viewfinder. It makes up for it with superlative video chops, headlined by internal Raw recording at 4K. It might be the right camera for you, but we recommend most shoppers looking for a full-frame model at this price go with the Sony a7 III.

Extensible Body

As you’d expect from anything billed as the smallest and lightest, the fp is svelte. The body measures 2.8 by 4.4 by 1.8 inches (HWD) and weights 14.9 ounces without a lens, but with the battery and a memory card loaded. If you’ve shot 35mm film with a Leica CL, the fp’s form feels familiar.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/50-sec, ISO 500

The body is magnesium alloy, with internal seals to prevent dust and splashes from getting inside. It feels absolutely solid in the hand, though it lacks a built-in grip. You can add one, as well as a number of other accessories. As for color, you’ve got one option: basic black.

In addition to the body-only option, Sigma sells the camera bundled with the 45mm DG DN Contemporary for $2,199. It’s a good deal, just $300 more for a $549 lens. The 45mm balances quite well with the fp’s slim body, and is an excellent optical performer.

I received the 45mm along with the camera, as well as the 14-24mm F2.8 and MC-21 Canon EF lens adapter. I spent most of the time with the 45mm, and reached for a Canon 400mm F4 lens for telephoto work. It’s a Sigma camera, but the L-mount is also used by Leica and Panasonic, and you can use their lenses with the body as well.

Accessories Necessary

Without adding anything, the camera’s facade is flat—not ideal for handheld photography. There are two grips available, the small HG-11 ($58) attaches at the side, while the larger HG-21 ($95) attaches at the bottom.

The HG-21 leaves an open space so you can swap out the battery and memory card without having to take it off. It works fine with most memory cards, but if you’re a fan of Sony’s rugged Tough SDXC memory, you’ll find it to be a tricky exercise to remove cards with the grip attached, but not an impossible one.

There’s also a viewfinder attachment. I didn’t receive one to try with the fp, but have used a similar accessory with the Sigma dp Quattro line of fixed-lens cameras. The LCD View Finder LVF-11 ($292) attaches to the rear LCD, enlarging it and making the kit comfortable to use at eye level.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/60-sec, ISO 3200

The LVF-11 is pretty big in its own right. Using it kills the fp’s slim form factor, but it’s your only option if you want to hold the camera to your eye. There’s no traditional EVF available, nor any way to add one. It’s a design decision that I don’t particularly like, as it limits what types of lenses make ergonomic sense. I was limited to tripod work with a 400mm telephoto lens; the pair is just too unwieldy to handhold.

The camera doesn’t have an integrated hot shoe, but does come with one in the box. It attaches to the left side, and uses the USB-C port for power and connectivity. It’s most useful for mounting an external microphone or video light. Sigma’s engineers opted to omit a mechanical shutter, so you’re limited to a paltry 1/30-second flash synchronization—most competitors can sync to 1/250-second. This isn’t the camera you buy if you love working with monolights.

Controls and Interface

Looking at the fp from the top you’ll see the power and Cine/Still switches, along with Record to start and stop videos, and a two-stage shutter button for stills. There’s a control ring around the shutter, with an opening at the front so you can turn it with your right index finger when handholding.

The second control wheel is set flat against the rear. It doubles as a four-way directional pad, for menu navigation and focus point selection, and has an unmarked OK/Enter button at its center. The full menu system is accessible via the Menu button, below the wheel, and the QS button above it launches the on-screen Quick Shift interface. At the top, near the rear thumb rest, you’ll find Autoexposure Lock (AEL).

The other control buttons run in a row at the bottom. They provide direct access to playback, display settings, color and tone options, and the shooting mode.

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO II USM, Sigma MC-21, f/4, 1/1,2500-sec, ISO 100

Despite having a distinct mode switch to change between stills and video, the fp doesn’t split these options between the two—if you change color, mode, or exposure parameters when shooting stills, the settings will stick when you switch to Cine mode. It’s not ideal, especially since you’ll typically use different shutter speed settings for video than for stills, even in the same conditions.

The Quick Shift menu does split between the two modes, though. It houses up to eight entries, giving you quick access to the settings you change the most. The default options are sensible, with things like file format and aspect ratio, and metering settings in the Still section, and file format, frame rate, time code, and the like in the default Cine set.

You’ll interact with everything via the fixed rear LCD. It’s a 3.2-inch panel with support for touch. It’s perfectly crisp (2.1 million dots), but even at maximum brightness, it can be hard to see under bright sunlight. There’s no articulation available either, so you can’t tilt to avoid glare, or to frame a shot from an askew angle.

Connectivity and Power

The battery and memory card both load in the bottom. It has a single SD slot with support for the latest cards and the fastest UHS-II transfer speeds—you’ll want to buy the fastest possible card, currently around 300MBps, if you want to take advantage of Raw video recording.

Other ports are on the left—there’s micro HDMI to connect to an external recorder, like the Atomos Ninja V I used to screenshot its menus, along with a USB-C port and a 3.5mm microphone input. Oddly enough, there’s no headphone jack, so you can’t monitor audio as it’s being recorded. For as serious a video camera as the fp is, this is a puzzling omission.

Battery life isn’t spectacular. The fp is rated for 280 shots per charge, far fewer shots than the Sony a7 III (710 shots). You can top off via USB-C, but I’d still recommend carrying a charged spare or two for any sort of extended outing. Sigma sells the BP-51 battery for $40 and third-party replacements can be found for less.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/100-sec, ISO 10000

Unlike most modern cameras, the fp doesn’t offer Wi-Fi. You’ll need to offload shots via a card reader or USB connection.

Autofocus Speed and Performance

The fp takes a beat to start, so you’ll wait about 2.5 seconds before you can make an image. The autofocus system isn’t slow, but it’s a beat behind the best we’ve seen. The fp locks onto a static subject in about 0.15-second. Models with phase detection systems, like the Sony a7 III and Nikon Z 6, are a bit faster, doing the same in about 0.05-second.

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO II USM, Sigma MC-21, f/4, 1/1,2500-sec, ISO 250

Sigma’s contrast-based focus is pretty basic in features. You can select a flexible spot, let the camera choose the point of focus on its own, or select an object for tracking. Face and eye detection are available too, and work well.

Subject tracking isn’t as effective—the camera can lose track of an identified object readily. I clocked the burst rate at 3.8fps when setting focus between each shot; the hit rate is middling. Some shots were perfectly focused, but there’s definitely a delay in catching up with a moving target, resulting in soft and misfocused images in a sequence.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/50-sec, ISO 640

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For subjects that aren’t moving, there’s an 18fps high-speed burst mode available. Even with a fast memory card, you can’t keep going for very long. With Raw or Raw+JPG you get 14 shots, less than a second of real life, and with JPG you get a few more, 19. The camera will keep shooting as the buffer fills and empties, but at a slower rate. You’ll wait about seven seconds for a full burst to clear to memory.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contempoary, f/2.8, 1/60-sec, ISO 6400

The fp is not the first, second, or even third full-frame camera I’d reach for if your photographic interests skew toward sports or wildlife capture. A model with a deeper buffer, more reliable phase detection and better subject tracking, and better ergonomics for use with big, long lenses is in order. I was able to get some shots of ducks and gulls with the fp and a 400mm lens, but ended up throwing out more shots than I kept, and certainly didn’t find the experience to be as pleasant as using a camera with an eye-level EVF. 

No Foveon Here

Sigma is famous for its Foveon image sensors, a technology that delivers exquisite detail and color reproduction, but doesn’t do well at high sensitivity and is a nonstarter for video. The fp has a 24MP CMOS sensor with a Bayer color filter—the same type you find in most cameras.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/50-sec, ISO 125

The sensor supports an ISO range of 100 through 102400, suitable for use in both bright and very dim light. The electronic shutter comes in handy when working with wide aperture lenses under the sun, it can fire as quickly as 1/8,000-second.

There’s no mechanical shutter, which does come into play when making images. On one hand, the camera is entirely silent (assuming you turn its beeps and bops off), but it is limiting when working with flashes—at its best, the camera syncs with flashes at 1/30-second, not quick enough to freeze motion. For fast-moving subjects—think passing trains and traffic—you’ll see some distortion. The sensor reads out line by line, instead of all at once—avoiding the effect is one of the reasons most digital cameras still include mechanical shutters.

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO II USM, Sigma MC-21, f/4, 1/1,250-sec, ISO 200

When working in JPG format, the sensor manages excellent detail and little noise through ISO 3200. There’s a step back at ISO 6400 and 12800, and a bit more visible smudging of fine detail at ISO 25600. It’s at ISO 51200 where we start to see color fidelity suffer, and more loss of detail. It’s exacerbated at the top ISO 102400 setting, but you’ll likely only need to use either in extremely dim lighting.

You’ll get a bit more detail at the higher end of the sensitivity range by opting for Raw format. The fp captures shots in Adobe DNG, so there’s no need to update your processing software to garner support. Images show stronger detail and have more noticeable texture—even though the fp’s JPG compression engine is quite good, there’s still more to be found in a Raw image.

Standard Color (Left) versus Teal and Orange (Right); Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/125-sec, ISO 160

It’s not just clarity. Raw images retain more information, so you’ll have room to adjust colors, exposure, and make specific adjustments to open shadows and curb highlights. There are a number of in-camera color options available, and if you process Raw images in Lightroom you’ll have access to them there as well.

I used the Teal and Orange look quite a bit—it’s a color style you see quite often in Hollywood productions. Other options include a yellow-heavy Cinema look, as well as settings to emphasize red, green, and blue channels. And the standard Vivid, Neutral, Portrait, Landscape, and Monochrome options are there too.

4K at Raw Quality

Any of these can be applied to video just as well as stills. But there’s no flat profile available, so you can’t capture footage with a low-contrast, low-saturation look for additional editing flexibility. It’s a shame, because the rest of the fp’s video feature set is quite good. On the plus side, Sigma promised to bring the feature to the fp via a firmware update in 2020 in a recent interview with Cinema5D.

It supports 4K UHD capture at 24, 25, or 30fps with ALL-I or GOP compression in QuickTime. The same frame rates are available in CinemaDNG format, though internal recording is limited to 8-bit Raw files at 4K; you can push to 12-bit quality if you use a USB-C SSD drive for storage instead of a memory card. If you drop resolution to 1080p you’ll have access to faster frame rates, up to 60fps in 8-bit, 10-bit, or 12-bit Raw, and up to 120fps with H.264 compression.

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO II USM, Sigma MC-21, f/4, 1/1,2000-sec, ISO 250

Keep in mind Raw video is huge—each frame takes up 8.5MB, so a minute of 24fps footage is about 12.2GB. You also need to use the right software to edit it. The footage won’t load in the 2020 edition of Adobe Premiere Pro CC—we reached out to Adobe to ask if support is coming, but haven’t yet received a response. I was able to load clips to edit in BlackMagic DaVinci Resolve, a free download, but it’s not my favorite NLE.

The fp doesn’t include sensor-based stabilization like most of its rivals—it’s something you’ll find in the Nikon Z 6, the Sony a7 III, and the Panasonic S1—but it does offer some digital correction. I employed it for handheld video along with the 45mm F2.8 Contemporary, a lens without stabilization, and was happy to see that the digital IS smoothed out footage effectively. But it’s simply not as effective as a 5-axis IBIS system or a powered gimbal for stabilizing footage when you’re moving along with the camera.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/30-sec, ISO 6400

The fp still has a lot of appeal as a video-first camera. Its Raw video is almost unmatched in the class—the Nikon Z 6 supports it, but only after sending it in for a hardware upgrade—it’s more typically a feature you find in dedicated video cameras like the BlackMagic Pocket 6K, or pricey hybrids like the Panasonic S1H. Its ultra-small design makes it a good fit for directors looking for a camera to squeeze into tight spaces—you’ll be able to rig it into spots where a Z 6 or S1H won’t fit.

The Right Camera for Some

The Sigma fp is definitely not a big tent camera. But there’s room for niche products, especially when it’s not expected to sell the same number of units as the latest from Canon or Sony. And, while the fp’s autofocus system isn’t as advanced as its competition, its image quality is as good as any other 24MP full-frame camera.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/40-sec, ISO 125

It’s priced aggressively, especially when you consider its video capabilities, but there are hidden costs. Expect to spend some money on a grip at a minimum, and add a few hundred bucks to the price if you want the viewfinder magnification loupe too.

As a stills camera, the fp has some drawbacks. The fully electronic shutter is the big one when it comes to imaging capabilities, at least for photographers who work with strobes and flashes. In terms of ergonomics, the lack of a viewfinder and small frame make it much better suited for wider focal lengths and smaller prime lenses than with telephotos and weight zooms.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/100-sec, ISO 16000

Typically we’d look at a small camera as one that’s great for world travelers, especially if you don’t want to have to check luggage. But the fp’s battery life isn’t great, and the rear screen suffers in bright light—a problem when there’s no real viewfinder. If you care about social media posts, the lack of Wi-Fi is worth noting too.

The fp is a stronger recommendation for video use. Its 4K quality is excellent, and there are some good in-camera color profiles available. It’s the CinemaDNG support that pushes it ahead of the pack, though—the files are huge, so be prepared with some high-capacity memory cards. A flat log profile isn’t included right now, but is on its way this year, another boon for video.

Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary, f/2.8, 1/100-sec, ISO 6400

If the Sigma fp appeals to you, and your style of photography doesn’t rely on fast action, long lenses, and whiz-bang autofocus features, don’t count it out. But most will be happier with a camera with more standard ergonomics, like our Editors’ Choice Sony a7 III. We also like the Nikon Z 6, and, for video-first creatives, the Panasonic S1 is a strong 4K contender. Of course, the S1H is also there if you want to push all the way to 6K.

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