Sigma SA-9 While best known as a lens maker, Sigma has for several years offered full-featured yet low-priced AF 35mm SLRs that are very good values. The SA-9 is the newest and best of these. It offers high-end features (a top shutter speed of 1/8000, flash sync up to 1/180, 3.2-fps advance among them) at an entry-level price. It also offers easy-to-figure-out direct-setting control dials, one on each side of the viewfinder. The drive dial on the left has eight icons. L switches all camera systems off. The single rectangle sets single-frame advance mode. The triple-rectangle icon sets continuous advance. The 10s and 2s icons set the self-timer for a 10- and a 2-second delay, respectively. UP activates the mirror pre-lock: rotate the dial to UP, press the shutter button halfway down to compose and focus, then press the button all the way down, and the mirror will move to its up position. When you press the shutter button a second time, the camera will make the exposure, free of mirror vibration. The shutter can also be released via the optional remote control in UP mode, for further vibration reduction. AB activates automatic exposure bracketing—rotate the dial to AB, and you can use the command dial encircling the shutter button to set bracketing increments of 0.5-3 stops, in 0.5-stop increments. The overlapping-double-rectangles icon sets multiple-exposure mode—rotate the dial to this position, and you can make 2-9 exposures on a single frame (just rotate the command dial until the desired number of exposures is displayed on the LCD panel). Sigma's SA-9 features a full range of pro features, point-and-shoot simplicity, and excellent performance. Shooting wide open in aperture-priority AE mode provided shallow depth of field for the portrait below. The shutter-speed dial to the right of the finder lets you set shutter speeds in shutter-priority AE and manual mode (in program and aperture-priority AE, speeds are set automatically by the camera). There's also an X setting, which sets the camera's maximum flash-sync speed of 1/180, and a B setting, which lets you make exposures longer than the slowest setting shown on the dial. The letters LT (for long time exposure) appear next to the B setting on the dial; at this setting, you can set timed shutter speeds from 2 to 30 seconds, as well as B. Focusing—The SA-9's phase-detection passive AF functions in light levels down to EV -1 (as dim as any current phase-detection AF system can handle). The camera doesn't have an AF-assist beam, but optional dedicated flash units provide one. The system uses an AF motor in each lens, rather than an AF motor in the camera body, for optimum performance. There are two autofocus modes: single-shot, and. continuous. In continuous mode, focus is predictive. Of course, you can switch the lens to M, and focus manually by rotating the lens' focusing ring until the image appears sharp in the viewfinder. The viewfinder's in-focus signal will glow when focus has been achieved, whether by auto or manual means. Exposure—All the usual suspects are here: program AE, shutter- and aperture-priority AE, and metered manual. Exposure compensation from +3 to -3 stops, in 0.5-stop increments, can be set. There are also three metering systems: eight-segment evaluative, center-area (7.5% of the image area, indicated by a 9mm circle in the viewfinder) and center-weighted averaging. Eight-segment is very accurate, and you'll probably do most of your shooting using it. Center-area is handy when you want to base exposure on a specific portion of a scene or subject (ignoring the area outside the circle), and center-weighted average is great for old-timers who grew up with it. Photo by Lynne Eodice Flash—The SA-9 has a built-in TTL autoflash (ISO 100 guide number 40, in feet) that automatically fires for every shot when popped up manually (it doesn't pop up automatically in dim light, although the flash symbol in the viewfinder blinks to advise you that flash use might be wise). Red-eye reduction is via a quick series of pre-exposure flash bursts. Add the accessory Sigma EF-500 Super electronic flash unit, and you get more power (ISO 100 guide number ranges from 100 at the 28mm zoom setting to 165 at the 105mm zoom setting, in feet), an AF-assist beam, tilt/swivel bounce capability, high-speed sync up to the camera's top shutter speed (at close distances) in FP mode, and wireless off-camera TTL capability (the built-in flash will trigger one or more off-camera EF-500s, in two different slave modes). Both the built-in flash and the EF-500 will cover the field of view of a 28mm wide-angle lens. More Features—A built-in motor provides automatic film threading, advance (single-frame and continuous at a little more than 3 fps) and rewind at the end of the roll. Mid-roll rewind is possible. The electronically controlled, vertical-travel focal-plane shutter provides stepless speeds from 30 seconds to 1/8000 in program and aperture-priority AE modes. In shutter-priority AE and manual modes, the SA-9 lets you set speeds down to one second via the dial, and speeds from 2 to 30 seconds via the previously cited LT function. There's a handy depth-of-field preview button, and a slider above the viewfinder eyepiece lets you set dioptric correction from +1.5 to -1.5. A date back allows you to imprint the date or time in a corner of the frame. An optional three-channel remote control is available. Sigma is best known as a lens maker, and offers more than 40 excellent lenses for the SA-series cameras, including an 8mm circular fisheye, a 14mm super-wide angle, a 15mm full-frame fisheye, a 600mm mirror lens, an 800mm supertelephoto, true 1:1 macros, and zooms from 17-35mm to 170-500mm, plus 1.4X and 2X tele-extenders. All Sigma lenses for the SA cameras have metal lens mounts, and the SA-9 has a stainless-steel lens mount.