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The Background
On May 20, 2011, some eight months after it was first introduced at photokina, Sigma announced the price and availability of its new flagship camera, the SD1. 
The camera itself seems like a decent enough lower-mid range DSLR, with features and specs that are mostly comparable to cameras currently selling in the $900 – $1,400 range. The Pentax K5, Nikon D5100 and Canon 60D come to mind. But the SD1 has a Foveon X3 sensor, which purports to offer significant advantages over a similarly sized Bayer pattern sensor: higher apparent resolution and superior colour rendition.
This means that the SD1 can command a modest pricing premium. Conjecture, fueled by comments by some Sigma executives at trade shows and meetings during months prior to launch, hinted at $1,600 – $2,300 as the likely price point. Fine.
But then on May 20 the Manufacturer’s Retail Price was announced at US $9,700. Web discussion forums lit up like a tree at Christmas w...

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Michael Reichmann
Michael Reichmann
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Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.
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