Then there’s the missing removable storage. Yes, I’d prefer a card; it’s just easier to swap out a card in the field. But the BF does have 256 gigabytes of built-in storage. I can’t think of the last time I shot enough images to fill that much space before getting back to my laptop to download them. Which is to say that 256-gigabytes of storage is plenty for the nonprofessional photographer.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The main deal-breaker for me is the lack of a viewfinder. I still prefer to shoot through a viewfinder. It’s just muscle memory—hand me a camera, and I will bring it to my eye. If you love a viewfinder, too, this is not the camera for you.

Another problem with the lack of a viewfinder is that the rear screen is nearly unusable in bright sunlight. It’s just too dark to compose accurately. The rear screen also doesn’t tilt or move at all, which means if you like to shoot from the hip, you won’t be able to use it at all. If you want to get an unusual angle, say from the ground, be prepared to lie down to frame it.

You can crank up the screen brightness all the way, which helps a little when you’re in the sun, but it’s still difficult to use in bright daylight. Having the screen brightness all the way up also chews through the already paltry battery life. Sigma claims the BF can shoot about 260 images on a single charge, but that drops significantly if you have to crank up the screen in bright daylight. I was finding that in bright sun, I seldom got more than two to three hours of shooting time on a single charge.

Should You Buy It?

It might sound like the Sigma BF has some serious limitations, and it does, especially when you compare the specs to other cameras in the BF’s $2,200 price range. However, limitations can be a good thing. Without limitations, you have nothing to build from. This is not a camera for the “spray and pray” style of shooting. This camera requires some thought to use well. It requires keeping in mind its limitations and working within them. If you do that, the BF is capable of making great images.

While I do not recommend the Sigma BF for most people, there are no doubt photographers out there who will love it not despite quirky design choices, but because of them. I fully expect this to be one of those cameras that develops a cult following in 20 years.

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