SD1 Merrill Brochure

a high quality that would satisfy
the discerning professional.
Through the efforts of Dick Merrill,
Dick Lyon, and many other engineers,
Foveon produced the prototype
of the Foveon X3® direct image
sensor and continued to refine it.
At last in 2002, through trial and
error, creativity, and powerful resolve,
Foveon completed the development
of an image sensor ready for
a commercial digital camera.
In October 2002, the Sigma SD9
camera debuted, featuring the Foveon
X3® direct image sensor. It was and is
the world’s first single-chip, full-color
image sensor.
The Sigma SD series arrives
With its focus on creating lenses of
the highest resolution possible,
Sigma found the idea of using
a resolution-reducing optical
low-pass filter—on which conventional
digital SLR cameras rely—completely
unacceptable.
When Sigma’s founder Michihiro
Yamaki was CEO, he met Carver
Mead of Foveon at Photokina 2000
in Germany, Yamaki recognized the
potential of the radically different
sensor technology Foveon was
developing. Mead remembers
the fortuitous meeting and how
impressed he was by Yamaki's deep
technological understanding,
insights and hopes for the future
of the photo industry and high
standards regarding image quality.
Mead and Yamaki shared so many
values that there was no hesitation
about joining forces.
A lens manufacturer with
a philosophy of leveraging its own
technology to offer the highest level
of product quality, Sigma introduced
the sigma SD9, its first digital SLR
camera and the first camera in the
world to feature the Foveon X3®
direct image sensor.
Sigma had accepted the risk of
implementing a new technology
and selected the Foveon X3®
direct image sensor for its flagship
digital SLR camera.
Having no need for an optical low-
pass filter, the Foveon X3® direct
image sensor made full use of the
potential of Sigma’s high-resolution
lenses to produce lifelike images
rich in emotion and presence.
Best lens, best image sensor
Having selected the Foveon X3®
direct image sensor to bring out
the full potential of its lenses,
Sigma once again dedicated itself to
taking the quality of its lenses to
a new level. Aiming not just for
a high modulation transfer function
(MTF) value, Sigma took a holistic
approach to lens development,
pursuing the best photographs and
best finished-image quality possible.
In November 2008, Sigma purchased
Foveon, creator of the Foveon X3®
direct image sensor. With strong
synergy in goals and philosophy,
the two companies make an ideal
combination. In addition, Sigma had
always focused on developing its
own technology and manufacturing
its own products, including
everything from tiny screws to
injection molds. As a unified entity,
Sigma and Foveon have continued to
pursue the industry’s highest level of
quality while offering products at
a reasonable cost.
This union brought together the
shared ideals and philosophy of
the two companies, formalizing
an alliance that had successfully
taken them through many challenges.
Over the past ten years,
the transition from film to digital
has been an opportunity for Sigma
to put its basic principles regarding
photography into practice in
a new realm of technology.
The way cameras operate may
evolve, but the goals of photography
are unchanging. Sigma’s passion
for photography and unwavering
dedication to the highest image
quality find their expression in each
new Sigma product.
Dick Lyon The Sigma SD9 and The Foveon X3® direct image sensor.Dick Merrill
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