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Let's talk about the Sigma BF's missing card slot
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission. Image: Sigma Sigma announced its BF mirrorless camera today, with a "purposefully minimal" design that "cuts out everything that distracts, limits or stifles creativity." The "radical" simplicity is obvious looking at it – it only has five buttons, including the power and shutter release, and a dial. The biggest concession to minimalism, though, may be what the BF lacks. It's not the first camera to omit a viewfinder or mechanical shutter, but it is one of the only modern cameras we've seen without a slot for a storage card of any kind, be it SD, CFexpress or something more exotic. Instead the camera will only record to its 230GB of internal memory, which you can access via its admittedly quite fast 10Gbps USB-C port – the only port on the camera, by the way. It almost goes without saying that this is a very unusual decision. There are obvious benefits to a camera having internal storage – most photographers have had the experience of going to take a picture only to realize they've left their SD card at home. That's why it's not surprising that a few other photographer-focused cameras, such as the Leica M11 and Ricoh GR III, have it. However, its inclusion (almost) never comes at the cost of the ability to use external storage. The BF is undeniably small. Maybe there was just no room for a card slot? Image: Sigma The company hasn't said much about why it decided to forego a card slot on the BF, though we have reached out for comment. There's an argument to be made that it helps achieve the company's ultra-simplistic vision; with the BF, you won't have to worry about remembering your SD card or making sure that it's fast enough to record 6K video. And while SD card slots are small, it's possible excluding one made it easier to make the camera as compact as it is. Cynically, it also gives people something to talk about, generating extra buzz around a major launch. In a market full of 24MP full-frame cameras around $2,000, this is just one more thing that sets the BF apart. There are some downsides, though, beyond just the lack of flexibility. If you want to offload images to your computer but don't have a USB-C lead, you'll be out of luck. The same goes for if you're planning a mammoth shooting session that will generate more than the 14,000 JPEGs, 4300 uncompressed DNG Raws or 2.5 hours of video that Sigma says the internal storage is good for. You also don't have the option to shoot redundantly, like you can with cameras that have internal storage and a card slot or dual card slots. We'd like to hear what you think, though. Is internal storage enough, or is the lack of a card slot more foolish than beautiful? Sound off in the comments below. Buy now:Buy at B&H Photo
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| Image: Sigma |
Sigma announced its BF mirrorless camera today, with a "purposefully minimal" design that "cuts out everything that distracts, limits or stifles creativity." The "radical" simplicity is obvious looking at it – it only has five buttons, including the power and shutter release, and a dial.
The biggest concession to minimalism, though, may be what the BF lacks. It's not the first camera to omit a viewfinder or mechanical shutter, but it is one of the only modern cameras we've seen without a slot for a storage card of any kind, be it SD, CFexpress or something more exotic. Instead the camera will only record to its 230GB of internal memory, which you can access via its admittedly quite fast 10Gbps USB-C port – the only port on the camera, by the way.
It almost goes without saying that this is a very unusual decision. There are obvious benefits to a camera having internal storage – most photographers have had the experience of going to take a picture only to realize they've left their SD card at home. That's why it's not surprising that a few other photographer-focused cameras, such as the Leica M11 and Ricoh GR III, have it. However, its inclusion (almost) never comes at the cost of the ability to use external storage.
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The BF is undeniably small. Maybe there was just no room for a card slot? Image: Sigma |
The company hasn't said much about why it decided to forego a card slot on the BF, though we have reached out for comment. There's an argument to be made that it helps achieve the company's ultra-simplistic vision; with the BF, you won't have to worry about remembering your SD card or making sure that it's fast enough to record 6K video. And while SD card slots are small, it's possible excluding one made it easier to make the camera as compact as it is. Cynically, it also gives people something to talk about, generating extra buzz around a major launch. In a market full of 24MP full-frame cameras around $2,000, this is just one more thing that sets the BF apart.
There are some downsides, though, beyond just the lack of flexibility. If you want to offload images to your computer but don't have a USB-C lead, you'll be out of luck. The same goes for if you're planning a mammoth shooting session that will generate more than the 14,000 JPEGs, 4300 uncompressed DNG Raws or 2.5 hours of video that Sigma says the internal storage is good for. You also don't have the option to shoot redundantly, like you can with cameras that have internal storage and a card slot or dual card slots.
We'd like to hear what you think, though. Is internal storage enough, or is the lack of a card slot more foolish than beautiful? Sound off in the comments below.
