Sigma BF Review: The Perfect Camera for Minimalism

Sigma’s new $2,000 camera lacks a lot of features, so you may not take the product seriously. The Sigma BF has no tilt or flip screen, hot or cold shoes, any type of viewfinder, mechanical shutter, 4K 60, microphone port or in vivo stability. There is even no link to the shoulder strap. The list of missing features is long, and as someone accustomed to professional “DO-IT-ALL” cameras, it’s a lot to give up.

But I think you should try it. After a few weeks of use, the Sigma BF’s bold design, clever controls, clean software, and the ability to create amazing photos won me. I’ve been used to it a lot, but the result is worth it.

The camera looks different from the rest on the market. Its body Made of aluminiumits controls are cut to several buttons. The result is an amazingly easy-to-operate camera you can ride on almost anywhere – as long as Anywhere Excluding professional work. I can’t see myself using it in the studio or in the camera. However, as a high-end index, the cameras achieve incredible results without overthinking.

The simple and bold design of the human body is paired with sharp corners and edges. It’s not a particularly comfortable camera, but it won’t reach a level that will hurt. It’s hard to use with one hand, and the lack of a second belt link is a bit outrageous. Sigma wants you to use this camera with the wristband, but I would rather choose only these two cameras. You can add a link to the tripod mount, but it’s a weird and pretentious decision.

I’d rather welcome Sigma’s decision to eliminate a bunch of dials in the camera and select only one dial in the back. This dial played a big role in the way I used my camera. In the form of small pills above it, the dial allows you to easily cycle through settings and change them at any time. I do wish there was a way to eliminate the options you looped out, as I often don’t need all of them. But the dial also makes me jump more frequently between creative choices like aspect ratio and movie simulation. It forces me to try out some new looks and pieces. It makes the photos interesting.

Another neat feature of the dial is that when you press the shutter button halfway, it becomes an exposure compensation control. From there you can easily make some quick exposure changes. This is a clever trick that is really useful. Other buttons of BF can also do some neat tricks. If you place your finger on the play button, it will display your last photo until you raise your finger again. This is a neat way this camera tends toward its modern features.

The simplicity of the interface matches the camera’s all-around speed. It opens almost immediately. Switching between modes is fast. The sensor reads very fast. Continuous shooting is good (for full-frame cameras). The same goes for accessing your photo library.

All photos can be reviewed on a large, bright and reasonable 3.2-inch screen and saved on a 230GB internal SSD. However, there is no extensible storage option. This means you have to work harder to back up photos and make sure you don’t run out of space. Personally, I’m not bothered by this decision, but I’m worried about what will happen if the internal storage fails.

If Sigma had a good smartphone app, I would have understood this decision better. But luck is difficult. Without an app, without an SD card means you can only use a physical cable to transfer photos. Whether you think this is a trader or not, I think we can all agree that 2025 cameras should have internal and scalable storage.

The photos themselves look great, just like you would expect from a full frame camera. They are sharp, lively, and full of detail. My review unit comes with Sigma’s updated 50mm f/2 lens, which is the perfect match for this camera. Even in low light, I found that the noise generated by high ISO was well maintained. The grain itself is soothing and has very movie-like features, especially when using some of Sigma’s built-in movie appearances.

You can find 13 movie simulations on BF, which should be enough for most people to find something they like here. My favorite is the warm gold, blue and orange, and rich. I mainly use warm gold, which wins me with warm tones, soft reds and light colors. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to create your own custom movie simulation right now, which feels like a missed opportunity. Customized Fujifilm simulations create an online community of photographers around their cameras, who share their own recipes to help others achieve different looks.

I was also impressed by the camera’s automatic focus system. It is lively, with decent focus tracking and can be very good at finding faces and animals. I did notice more focus breathing in the video, but found it more reliable when taking pictures.

Video is an afterthought. The camera supports 6K up to 30fps, and the lens really looks great. You can shoot H.264 and H.265 in Sigma’s Log Color codec and have 1080p slow motion up to 120fps. But I do think using this camera for video highlights the flaws of its minimalist design. Changing settings on flight becomes more difficult, the lack of a tilting screen makes it more cumbersome, weaker battery life is not helpful, and no optical stability equals a more shaky clip. I’m not saying you won’t get good video clips with this camera, but its main focus is certainly photography.

For a $2,000 camera, there are a lot of missing cameras here. Score this number is harder than expected. Despite its long drawbacks, I have definitely used this camera over the past few weeks and even took some of my favorite photos, but I can’t recommend it to everyone, either because it simply doesn’t meet everyone’s needs. If you’re looking for a hybrid that can do it all, check out elsewhere. If you are looking for an exciting modern camera that can use fun photos, take great photos, have clever usability features, and look amazing, then BF is a great choice.

I think this camera will leave a lasting impression in the photography world, not only out of bold design but also for the firm dedication of simplicity. It is difficult to predict whether Sigma BF will be commercially successful. Price tag alone may prevent many people from looking at this camera. But if you look at a person and find that your interest is arousing people’s interest, then it has a great chance of winning your heart. Of course it’s mine.