![]() Can we expect faster autofocus technologies such as linear motors in future Sigma lenses? We don’t know what kind of technical issues or challenges we’ll have to solve with the sensor yet. I don’t think we’ll have a product to show in 2021. It will take some time to have a prototype of the new 3-layer X3 sensor and then we'll see if we can move to the next stage, which will be a product. It’s mainly being worked on by Sigma engineers here. We’re still at the research and development stage for the sensor. ![]() Can you give us an update on the progress of your planned full-frame Foveon camera? You were hoping that the camera would be released in 2021. I’ve personally learned that using the fp for two years, and it’s what our fp customers are experiencing. A small camera makes a big difference when it comes to real photographic experience. They’re really small, really easy to take anywhere, and easy and intuitive to use. I hope that customers try the fp and fp L and discover how much fun they are to use. What do you think are Sigma’s unique selling points right now as a camera manufacturer? Yamaki tells us that this form factor, with a fully electronic shutter, represents the future of cameras. The new fp L brings higher resolution and provision for an external EVF to the basic body shape established by the original fp. Also, while I believe that lenses are the most important piece of gear for photography, people are generally more interested in cameras. We invest a lot in our camera business, so it’s important for us that we’re recognized as a camera manufacturer. We have a significant number of engineers inside Sigma who work on the cameras. Now that the fp range is getting established, how important is it for you that Sigma is seen as a camera manufacturer, as well as a lens manufacturer? I hope so, but history doesn’t necessarily suggest so! I expect that bigger companies will produce similar cameras in future, and will take a big market share. Has your experience of making the fp and fp L given you a headstart when it comes to planning future cameras, when faster sensors become available? Yamaki tells us that it wasn't intended to be marketed so narrowly. The original Sigma fp offered several features that appeared to suggest it was aimed at a more video-focused audience, but Mr. Secondly, if I consider our business, I see more stills photographers out there as potential customers than videographers. This is the future of cameras, I believe, and people will decide for themselves how to use cameras like this. In future, most cameras will not have a mechanical shutter, and they’ll have a similar structure to the fp. ![]() I’ve had no problems using it for my style of shooting. Right now there are some issues for stills photography, because the sensor readout is quite slow, but for the past two years I've only been using the fp. ![]() I believe that this is the future for cameras. Customers can decide how to use it however they want. We never defined a customer for the fp cameras. "In future, most cameras will not have a mechanical shutter, and they’ll have a similar structure to the fp" I think that was a communication problem. But except in Japan, I recognize that the fp is seen more as a video camera. We never intended to promote the fp as a video camera rather than a stills camera. Did that reflect a deliberate attempt to cater to the filmmaking market, in the US? When the fp was launched in the US, the video features were very central to the marketing. It’s not heavy, it’s easy to carry around for any purpose. It’s a very handy camera, and very enjoyable to use. Here in Japan, most of the sales have been to stills photographers, I believe, but some of them have started shooting video with it. Do you have a sense of how many stills photographers are buying your fp cameras, versus videographers? But the fp L has only recently been released so we’ll have to see. Sales in Japan are OK, and sales are picking up in China, but for the rest of the world, our sales of the fp are still not great. How have sales of the fp and fp L changed over time? You mentioned to me that sales of the fp had started well, but dropped. The last time we spoke was March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID crisis worldwide. ![]() In a wide-ranging interview he spoke about his vision for the future of his company as both a lens manufacturer and camera manufacturer, what he learned from Covid, and what the future holds for Sigma. Kazuto Yamaki, CEO of Sigma, pictured in 2018 at the Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany.Īfter a long, eventful year since we last spoke, we connected with Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki recently, over a video call from his headquarters in northern Japan. ![]()
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