arhphotographic

Sigma are known more for their camera lenses not cameras. However during the 1990’s and early 2000’s they produced half a dozen SLR models. The Sigma SA-5 which I am about to review was released in 1997 and was billed as top of the range. Reviewing their press release, found here they were clearly quite pleased. Having crammed so many features into the camera they felt it would turn the heads of any professional photographer.

Heads were indeed turned. In their December 1999 issue, Popular Photography magazine included it in their review of 56 cameras for the year 2000, found here.

In the review they mentioned how surprising it was to find “segmented, centerweighted, and spotmeter exposure, mirror lockup, remote cordless release and off camera flash, depth of field preview, illuminated LCD, panorama provision, flash synch to 1/4000 sec … a lot of features for a reasonable price.” In fact the SA-5 could be bought with a 28-70mm lens for the special introductory price of £499.95, £780 by todays standards. Good value indeed!

So, promising much, what is the camera like to use?

It’s plastic black body with ZEN finish/coating is comfortable to hold, not to heavy or overly light. As is true of many cameras of the time, the coating has degraded into a sticky un-zen like state .. nothing a bit of surgical spirits can’t remove though.

All functions are within easy reach, a refreshing change from the multitudinous menus of today digital equivalents.

One issue that became obvious was the auto focus. It does suffer from the soft shoe shuffle, hunting for focus and whirring away musically. It certainly couldn’t be used with fast moving subjects, in fact even some stationary subjects took a while to focus. However it does have a reasonably bright screen that allows accurate manual focus.

When reviewing any camera the lens plays an equally important part in the picture taking process. I was impressed with the 28-105mm 4-5.6 Sigma lens that I have attached to the camera. I was surprised how close I could get.

Even though it was extremely foggy, the camera’s exposure was very accurate.

Judging by the number of photos I’ve included, more than I normally include, I clearly enjoyed my time with the SA-5. In view of the number of features included in the camera that I did not try out, I will definitely be looking for an excuse to go out with it again.

The……