Good news, Foveon fans: Sigma’s full-frame Foveon sensor is still in development

Sigma has released an update about the status of its three-layer full-frame Foveon image sensor. The Sigma full-frame image sensor development process has been full of challenges, but important progress has been made since Sigma's previous update last year.

In 2020, Sigma announced that its full-frame Foveon-based camera was no longer close to hitting the market. At that time, Sigma also announced that it was restarting the development process with a clean slate and revisiting the sensor technology.

Last year, Sigma announced that it was fully engaged in the research and development of the full-frame X3 image sensor but there wasn't any new information to share. Well, we finally have new information.

Sigma's three-layer image sensor has reached stage two of a three-stage process. As of now, Sigma is currently evaluating prototypes using a small image sensor that has the same pixel size as the product specifications. The next step is to perform final prototype evaluation using a full-size, full-frame image sensor.

The original goal was for new Foveon-based full-frame Sigma camera to hit the market in 2019. As we've seen, that didn't happen. Even after today's update, we don't know the name of the camera or any of its features and specs. When Sigma announced development of a new full-frame Foveon sensor, it was said to be a 20MP Foveon X3 image sensor that produced images equivalent to those captured with a 60MP image sensor. The three-layer structure allows for each layer to record only blue, green and red light respectively. Since each layer is stacked, a single photosite records the data for each color. On a traditional Bayer filter array, a pixel records only one of the three colors. To learn much more about how Foveon image sensor technology works, check out our in-depth interview with Sigma.

While we don't have a release window for the full-frame camera, we at least know that the development has reached the prototyping stage, which is a huge accomplishment for the team at Sigma. It's great news for photo industry as a whole, as Sigma is one of only a few companies to do the out of the ordinary with sensor technology.

(Via Photo Rumors) 

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Full press release:

Dear SIGMA customers,

First of all, thank you very much for your continued support and interest in our products.

SIGMA would like to share the development status of the three-layer image sensor as of February 2022 by the following.

The development of the three-layer image sensor is currently underway with the strong leadership of SIGMA’s headquarters in collaboration with research institutes in Japan. The stages of development can be roughly divided into the following:

• Stage 1: Repeated design simulations of the new three-layer structure to confirm that it will function as intended.

• Stage 2: Prototype evaluation using a small image sensor with the same pixel size as the product specifications but with a reduced total pixel count to verify the performance characteristics of the image sensor in practice.

• Stage 3: Final prototype evaluation using a full-frame image sensor with the same specifications as the mass products including the AD converter etc…

We believe that these three stages are necessary in the development, and we are currently in the process of creating the prototype sensor for Stage 2.

Based on the evaluation results of the prototype sensor, we will decide whether to proceed to Stage 3 or to review the design data and re-prototype “Stage 2”. When we proceed to Stage 3, we will verify the mass-producibility of the sensor with research institutes and manufacturing vendors based on the evaluation results, and then make a final decision on whether or not to mass-produce the image sensor.

Although we have not yet reached the stage where we can announce a specific schedule for the mass production of the image sensor, we are determined to do our best to realize a camera that will truly please our customers who are waiting for it, as soon as possible.

Once again, I would like to thank all of you for your continued support of SIGMA.

We will continue to strive for technological development to meet your expectations and trust.

Kazuto Yamaki

Chief Executive Officer, SIGMA Corporation