Japanese boutique imaging company Sigma will be launching its latest BF camera, 16-300mm f3.5-6.7 DC OS Contemporary lens and 300-600mm f4 DG OS Sports lens in Singapore in the coming weeks.
Sigma BF
Local pricing: S$2,988 (body only)
Local availability: 24 April 2025 (limited stocks)
If Apple is to design and make a camera, I think chances are it will be like Sigma’s latest camera – the BF.
Sigma BF is quite unlike any normal conventional camera. Like Apple’s MacBook Pro, the BF’s body is carved out of a single block of aluminium for a true unibody with minimalistic design. It does not have an electronic viewfinder nor a proper camera grip. In addition, there are very few buttons – just a dial, the shutter release and the power button. Very Apple…
Not to mention, there are not SD card slot. Instead, the BF comes with 230GB of internal memory with only a USB-C port for both fast charging and data transfer. So Apple…
For those interested in specifications, the BF comes with a 24-megapixel full-frame image sensor, a fixed 2.1-million-dot 3.2-inch semi-touchscreen, a fastest shooting speed of 8 frames per second, supports L-mount lenses and tips the scales at 446g (with battery).
I have been reviewing cameras for more than 20 years. And I dare say I can pretty much operate any camera (apart from maybe cine cameras) within seconds. But with the BF, it took me a few minutes to understand the menu interface and get acquainted with the controls. But once you get used to it, it actually makes sense.
And in my very short time with it, autofocusing with an attached 90mm L-mount lens is surprisingly fast when capturing a model. The photos it shot look really sharp with sharp rendition of pixels, accurate colour reproduction and natural skin tones. It also offers 13 colour modes from Teal and Orange to Rich and Calm. So you can always play around with colours out of camera.
In case you are wondering, BF does not stand for boyfriend. It actually stands for “Beautiful Foolishness”. Apple co-founder, the late Steve Jobs, might have coined the famous adage “Stay Foolish, Stay Hungry”. But “Beautiful Foolishness” comes from the seminal essay “The Book of Tea” by Kakuzo Okakura.
The name is as apt as it can be, if you ask me. The BF is beautiful, and it is kinda foolish to get one as it lacks so many things. But yet less is often more, more to experience and more to experiment. Plus, at only $2,988 (body only), the BF is very reasonably priced.
I hope to get the review unit soon, so as to get experience the beautiful foolishness of things.
Sigma 16-300mm f3.5-6.7 DC OS CONTEMPORARY
Local pricing: S$1,088
Local availability: 24 April 2025 (E-mount and L-mount); May 2025 (X-mount and RF mount)
Unfortunately, everything else will be lost with the BF news. But if you are looking for a lens that allows you to shoot from wide-angle to super-telephoto, this is the lens to get. Sigma said it is the world’s first mirrorless lens with an 18.8x zoom ratio.
With a wide-angle focal length of 16mm for your landscape photos to 300mm for sports and wildlife photography, this is really a versatile lens to rule them all. Plus, it will be available in different mounts, from Fujilfilm’s X-mount to Canon’s RF mount.
For a Canon RF user like myself, I might be tempted to get one for my travels. This lens would give me a focal length from 25.6mm to 480mm. I can practically shoot anything I want with this lens. Furthermore, the lens is said to feature a dust- and splash-resistant structure for use in harsh conditions. In addition, the front element features a water- and oil-repellent coating that helps keep the lens free of contaminants.
However, the dealbreaker is its rather small aperture ranging from f3.5 at 16mm to f6.7 at the 300mm. Usually, the softness is quite evident in lenses within these aperture range.
In my brief hands-on with the lens, I found the lens to be quite lightweight (615g) given its long zoom range. The image quality? Not bad, like what you see below. But I think I would need a long-term test to know if it will be worth the moolah.
Sigma 300-600mm f4 DG OS Sports
Local pricing: S$8,988
Local availability: May 2025 (L-mount, E-mount)
For those into sports or wildlife photography or for photojournalists who need to shoot National Day Parade, an ultra-telephoto lens is usually needed. The new Sigma 300-600mm f4 DG OS Sports lens will fit the bill nicely.
With a constant large aperture of f4 and a great telephoto range from 300mm to 600mm, this lens will allow you to shoot anything from far to even further.
It features 28 lens elements in 21 groups, including 6 FLD and 1 SLD glass elements, anomalous dispersion glass, and high refractive index glass. Sigma claims that its optical design provides excellent correction of various optical aberrations, such as chromatic aberration, throughout the entire zoom range. And Sigma said it delivers the optical performance of a prime lens despite being a zoom lens.
Not too sure about that, but I know this lens will not be light light. Weighing nearly 4kg, you will need a strong arm, sturdy tripod or monopod to use this lens. However, it is has a rather nice price point of S$8,988. That’s probably its most valuable proposition.
Unfortunately, during the hands-on, the rain was rather heavy and I could not shoot anything significant. That said, it was able to discern the rain from the subject that I am trying to shoot.