Sigma fp L We put the second iteration of this modular mirrorless through our battery of lab and real-world tests

£1,999/$2,499 Dazzling 61MP stills, 4K video capture and full-on cine features

The Sigma fp L is a 61-megapixel version of the original Sigma fp, launched in 2019. From the outside, the two cameras are identical: the Sigma fp L has the same compact, rectangular shape, with a fixed rear screen and a switch on the top for swapping between Cine and Still modes.

The Sigma fp concept is odd, but intriguing. Sigma wanted to make a modular camera that could be adapted to all sorts of uses. The fp L is basic in the extreme: there’s no built-in viewfinder (although you can clip on an optional EVF unit sold separately or as part of a kit), and the rear screen doesn’t even tilt. The idea is that you get accessories for particular kinds of work, and ‘build’ your working rig accordingly. The fp L body might be basic, but it has standard threaded attachment points on either side of the body for lights, microphones, external monitors or the optional EVF. You can use the fp L as is, as a fully functioning camera in its own right, but it’s also designed to fit neatly into the heart of a video/cinema camera shooting rig.

The principal differences between the Sigma fp and the Sigma fp L are that the new model has a 61-megapixel sensor and a hybrid contrast/phase detect autofocus system.

Key features

Its 61MP sensor makes the fp L the joint highest-resolution full-frame camera you can buy, alongside the Sony Alpha 7R IV. Sigma has decided to buck the trend and include a low-pass filter. In theory, this may lead to a slight softening of fine detail, but should prevent any moiré interference effects.

The 61MP resolution has no direct impact on the video specifications.

Both the fp and the fp L capture full-width 4K video at up to 30p, although the extra resolution of the fp L ushers in a new concept: a Digital Crop Zoom feature. Essentially, you can zoom digitally without losing resolution, because you’re already starting with a surplus of megapixels. If you shoot 4K, you can get a zoom ratio of up to 2.5x, and in Full HD it can go to 5x.

There’s no in-body stabilisation, and many L-Mount lenses don’t have optical stabilisers – but the fp L does have electronic image stabilisation, which brings a 1.24x crop factor.

The contrast-based autofocus in the original Sigma fp proved pretty plodding, so the new hybrid phase-detect capability in the fp L is very welcome, and comes with automatic face and eye detection and subject tracking modes.

There is a new EVF-11 electronic viewfinder to use with this camera, which you can buy separately or save money by buying it with the camera as a kit. The EVF-11 has a 2.68m dot 0.5-inch screen and tilts upwards by up to 90 degrees. You’ll be able to use the EVF-11 with the older Sigma fp, too, but only via a firmware update which is yet to come.

Sigma is keen that the fp L is seen equally as a stills and a cine camera. The video capture may top out at 4K 30p, but it can capture 8-bit CinemaDNG format internally, and up to 12-bit CinemaDNG to an external SSD connected by USB. Or you will be able to hook up a Ninja V for ProRes Raw or a Blackmagic Video Assist 12G for Blackmagic Raw capture.

Build and handling

Sigma has done a remarkable job of designing the smallest full-frame digital camera ever, but that’s not quite the end of the story. It’s also created a camera with no built in viewfinder, no in-body stabilisation, no grip and a fixed rear screen.

The fp L is tiny, but Sigma’s L-Mount lenses are not. We tried the fp L with the Sigma 65mm f/2 DG DN | Contemporary prime lens, which is as big as we would probably like to go with this camera handheld.

“Sigma wanted to make a modular camera that could be adapted to all sorts of uses”

If you want to use the fp L as a regular handheld camera, smaller Sigma Contemporary primes like the 45mm f/2.8 DG DN | C seem to fit it best.

There are ways around this. Sigma is selling two optional grips for the fp L to make it a bit more manageable with bigger lenses: the Hand Grip HG-11, which screws to the side, and the Large Hand Grip HG-21, which fixes to the base.

The fp L has three standard screwthread attachment points – one in the base, which is a regular tripod socket, and one in either side of the body for fixing on accessories. You can use these for detachable camera strap eyelets, but the one on the left side is also used for attaching the EVF-11 electronic viewfinder.

Fixing this on to the camera is a little like fixing a battery grip to the base of a camera – but here you have to remove the HDMI port cover, fold back the USB port cover and line up two connectors and the attachment screw. It’s not difficult once you’ve got the knack, but it’s not something you’d want to do too many times during a shoot.

And you might have to, though. One issue is that although the EVF has a pass-through USB port, it’s not clear that this supports charging. One reason it’s not clear is that the EVF unit covers up the charging lamp at the side of the camera, so we’d be inclined to think not. Having to detach the EVF to charge or power the camera could be a real nuisance.

The fp L’s user interface is a masterpiece of simplicity and clarity. It’s a bit to easy to confuse the power switch with the Cine/Still switch initially, but the quick and simple separation of these two functions is brilliant. The Cine mode even has

a choice of interfaces: ‘still-style’ menu options for crossover content creators still learning the ropes, and a cine display for pro film-makers.

The fixed rear screen puts the Sigma fp L at a disadvantage compared to nearly all its rivals, but the design does include a passive heat-dissipation system sandwiched between the screen and the camera body.

Performance

Getting still image files this big from a camera that is so physically small is quite something. Images are sharp, clear and detailed. Thanks to the new hybrid phase-AF technology, the autofocus feels as snappy, positive and reliable as the systems in rival cameras. The face/eye detection and subject tracking work well.

The shutter is electronic, however – there is no mechanical shutter – and the slow maximum flash sync speed of 1/15 sec (1/10 sec for 14-bit raw files) is a clue that this sensor’s readout speed is not that fast. So while it does offer fast shutter speeds, its overall ‘scan time’ is a lot longer, increasing the risk of distortion with fast-moving subjects.

Its internal CinemaDNG capture and the option to output 12-bit CinemaDNG to an SSD or ProRes RAW or Blackmagic RAW to a compatible HDMI recorder means that the video quality you get from this camera can be as good as you want to make it.

But we have to talk about autofocus. For stills photography, the phasedetect AF works just fine, but in our tests, the fp L’s continuous video AF proved slow and unreliable. One problem is that in Cine mode you have no AF indicators to give you any confidence that the camera is focusing in the right place – all you have is focus peaking, if you enable it. Technically it offers face/eye EF and automatic multi-zone AF point selection; in use, it was hard to see any evidence these were working properly.

What we found most effective was to use a single AF point, and get into the rhythm of the camera’s refocusing speed and not rush it – though it’s not ideal to have to adapt your filming technique to the camera. Rod Lawton

1 The Sigma fp L is minimal in the extreme. It’s certainly small, but that means there’s also no grip. 2 This is a tiny camera with a big sensor! Believe it or not, that’s a 61MP full-frame sensor in there. 3 The Sigma fp L uses the new L-Mount, developed with Leica and Panasonic.

7 The fp L works as either a stills-oriented camera or a cinemaoriented camera via this simple switch. Even the screen interface style can change in an instant. 8 This narrow slatted grille behind the LCD display is part of the Sigma fp L’s cooling system, helping excess heat escape.

4 The fixed rear screen is a little limiting, but the optional EVF-11 does rotate by up to 90 degrees. 5 The back of the fp L looks simple, but Sigma has sneaked in a row of buttons below the screen. 6 There is a big control dial on the top and this second control dial on the back.

The video autofocus system is pretty poor, but the fp L’s phase-detect AF delivers snappy AF for stills, with easy focus point selection, too.

The fp L does have a 10fps burst mode, but it has an electronic shutter only, so it’s not cut out for fast-moving subjects. This tame squirrel stayed still for long enough to get a sharp shot, but any fast movement can cause blur.

You can use the fp L with the rear screen alone, but it is handy to have the clip-on EVF – if only it clipped on a bit more easily!

The fp L’s metering system is good at preserving highlights, and its wide dynamic range is obvious even in its JPEGs, which have a rich, film-like quality.