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The Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)

LAS VEGAS--Offering some higher-end alternatives and expanding image stabilization more broadly, Sigma announced a trio of lenses for digital SLRs Monday at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show.

The three new models, which will work on Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, and Sigma cameras, are a higher-end 10-20mm ultrawide-angle zoom, and 18-50mm and 50-200mm zooms that unlike earlier models come with optical stabilization. The lenses are due to ship this spring, but pricing isn't yet announced, said Christine Moossmann of the company's marketing department.

(Credit: Sigma)

Sigma has announced two new teleconverters for Sony mount tele-photo lenses--the APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG and the APO Teleconverter 2x EX DG.

The two new teleconverters are designed to work with fast-focusing HSM (hyper sonic motor) lenses; they are HSM-capable and are able to maintain the HSM's fast focusing speeds. Any lens used with the teleconverters must be a fast lens, f2.8 or higher, to make use of the teleconverter. If a non-HSM lens is used, focus is manual only, the autofocus will not work. Both teleconverters employ Sigma's Super Multi Layer coatings to reduce flare and ghosting.

Teleconverters go between the lens and the camera body, extending the len's focal length. They are for use with fast telephoto lenses, and are a favorite with wildlife and nature photographers. A 1.4x teleconverter extends the focal length by 1.4x, so a 200mm lens acts like a 280mm lens. A 2x teleconverter extends the focal length by 2x, so 200mm lens acts like a 400mm.

No pricing or availability information is available yet.

Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM

Sigma has announced a 50mm f1.4 lens for Four Thirds system DSLRs, the Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM. The 50mm lens, long considered the standard in 35mm SLR photography, will have a 35mm equivalent of 100mm on a Four Thirds camera, making it a 100mm f1.4 lens effectively. That is a very fast medium telephoto lens, great for lowlight shooting, or portraits with a very shallow depth of field. The lens features Sigma's Hyper Sonic Motor(HSM) for faster and quieter autofocusing; it also has full-time manual focus override. Pricing and availability information were not available yet.

Sigma DP1

Sigma has announced the DP2, a high-end 14-megapixel compact camera and a follow-up to the DP1. It's almost identical to the DP1, in fact, except with a 41mm f2.8 fixed lens, compared with the DP1's 28mm f4.0 lens. It also incorporates Sigma's new True II image-processing engine for a performance boost over the DP1. It should be available in the spring of 2009. No pricing is yet available, but for reference, the DP1 can be had for around $699.

(Credit: Sigma)

Sigma this week has released another firmware update to its high-end compact camera, the 14MP DP1, which became available in March 2008. The firmware update, version 1.04, adds several improvements to the camera. The zoom buttons can now be customized to control other functions such as ISO. A feet indicator has been added to the display in MF mode. For more details and information click here.

We generally recommend installing the latest firmware updates for your camera, so you can get the most out of your gear. For more information on firmware updates for a specific camera, visit the manufacturer's Web site. Before installing any firmware upgrade, always take the time to read all of the documentation and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

Sigma's DP1 should go on sale this spring for $999. This working model was on display at the PMA show in Las Vegas.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

LAS VEGAS--Sigma announced its delayed DP1 camera Thursday, a high-end compact model whose unusually large image sensor is matched by an unusually large price tag.

The 14-megapixel camera likely will ship this spring for a retail price of $999, said a Sigma representative, Desiree Gaige, at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here.

The camera uses the same Foveon X3 sensor as Sigma's SD14 SLR camera. In comparison, compact cameras almost invariably have sensors that are much smaller and cheaper, but that are at least theoretically responsive for a given megapixel count.

The camera uses a 16.6mm f/4 fixed-focal-length lens, equivalent to 28mm in 35mm film camera terms. It produces raw image files for those who want the higher quality possible from using the unprocessed sensor data.

Sigma showed off the DP1 at the PMA show in 2007, and the camera has caught the attention of photo enthusiasts who want a large, sensitive sensor in a compact camera body. However, Sigma delayed the DP1 because it had to redesign the image-processing components later that year.

Probably the closest thing to an SLR shooter's compact camera today is Canon's PowerShot G9, a 12-megapixel model with raw-image capture, a 6X zoom lens, a price tag under $450, and a sensor that's larger than average for compact cameras if not actually as large as the DP1's.

The 18-125mm F3.8-5.6 DC OS HSM has Sigma's optical stabilization technology built in to counteract camera shake. It's for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, and Sigma SLRs. The stabilization feature doesn't work on Pentax and Sony cameras, which have that built in.

(Credit: Sigma)

LAS VEGAS--Sigma, a third-party maker of lenses for SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, has expanded the range of Optical Stabilization (OS) lenses, those with a moving lens element that can compensate for camera shake.

Of eight mainstream lenses the Japanese company announced at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here, three new telephoto lenses include OS. (I'm not counting Sigma's 200-500mm f/2.8 super-telephoto behemoth as mainsream.)

The three stabilized lenses are the 18-125mm F3.8-5.6 DC OS HSM, the APO 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM, and the APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM.

However, several new 70-200mm telephoto zooms, each with a wide f/2.8 aperture, lack the stabilization feature.

Sigma also announced two lenses for Four Thirds System SLRs, which are sold by Olympus, Panasonic, and Leica. Those are a wide-angle zoom, the 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM, and the telephoto zoom, the APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM.

Update 1:20 p.m. PST: There's no price or availability information yet on the stabilized lenses, said Sigma spokeswoman Desiree Gaige, but they'll likely arrive sometime this summer. The 50-150mm will cost about $1,350, the 70-200mm models $1,420, and the 10-20mm $730, and those probably will be available in the next couple months, she said.

Here are some photos and details on the other lenses:

The APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM is for Pentax and Sony SLRs.

(Credit: Sigma)

The APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM is designed for Four-Thirds system cameras.

(Credit: Sigma)

The APO 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM is an optically stabilized model for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, and Sigma SLRs. Its close-focus distance is 59 inches.

(Credit: Sigma)

The APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM is for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, and Sigma SLRs. It's got optical stabilization built in.

(Credit: Sigma)

The APO 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC HSM is for Pentax and Sony SLRs.

(Credit: Sigma)

The 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM is for Four-Thirds cameras from Olympus, Panasonic, or Leica.

(Credit: Sigma)

Sigma's 200-500mm f/2.8 (or 400-1,000mm f/5.6) behemoth.

(Credit: Sigma)

LAS VEGAS--Riddle me this: What's green, is 28.6 inches long, weighs 34.6 pounds, and wears a custom-fitted hood?

The answer: a mammoth supertelephoto zoom that Sigma announced this week at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here. The product is geared for photographing wildlife, sports, and astronomical objects.

The lens, called the APO 200-500mm F2.8/400-1,000mm F5.6 EX DG, has a 200-500mm zoom range and an f/2.8 aperture that's very wide for this class of lens. It also comes with an extender that pushes the range to 400-1,000mm but reduces the aperture to f/5.6, Sigma said. To reduce chromatic aberration, it uses three special low-dispersion glass elements and three extraordinary low-dispersion glass elements.

Update 1:20 p.m. PST: A Sigma representative, Desiree Gaige, told me how much this lens will cost, though there's still no pricing information.

Brace yourself.

$34,000.

The lens has a dedicated lithium-ion battery to power the autofocus, zoom, and an LCD display that shows the zoom setting. And a slot near the camera end can be used to insert filters.

Sigma, one of the better-known manufacturers of third-party lenses for SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, said the lens will be available for Canon, Nikon, and its own SLRs.

And don't get too attached to its green color. Sigma cautioned that the camera's appearance is "subject to change without notice."

Sigma's DP1 camera, shown here in prototype form in March 2007

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Sigma has delayed the release of its DP1 to revamp the high-end compact camera, but one thing that won't change is the Foveon sensor at its heart.

When Sigma said last week that it was changing the DP1's image processing "pipeline" to meet quality and performance goals and that the Japanese company "had to change some of the specifications that we had announced," I naturally wondered whether the changes might have evicted the image sensor.

Not so, according to Richard Turner, vice president of marketing and applications at the San Jose, Calif.-based start-up.

"Foveon is not able to comment specifically on Sigma's product plans or status. However, what we can say is that Foveon and Sigma continue to work together very closely, and Foveon's sensor will be used in the DP1 camera," Farmer said. "Foveon and Sigma enjoy a very good working relationship and we fully expect this to continue into the future."

Most cameras employ image sensors whose pixels gather either red, green, or blue light, with a checkerboard-pattern filter determining which color strikes each pixel. Later processing interpolates data so each pixel gets a value of red, green, and blue, a process called de-mosaicing.

Foveon sensors, though, record all three colors for each pixel. That can get around some articacts that de-mosaicing can produce in areas of fine detail. But Foveon's sensors haven't caught on widely.

Most compact cameras employ a small image sensor, but the DP1 is designed around a Foveon chip large enough for use in SLR cameras. Indeed, the chip is used in Sigma's SD14 SLR.