Sigma has one again come away from the TIPA awards with not one, but two distinctions! The Maco 180mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM has been recognised as the best Expert DSLR Lens, and the 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 II DC OS HSM the best Entry Level DSLR Lens.

The competitive nature of retail in the UK means that discounts are inevitable on most products - with the original SD1's SRP of £6199, the typical street price was £5499 for UK stock from UK retailers. As the SD1 Merrill is available from stock in the UK, the prices are finding the level at which retails are comfortable.

Currently the most competitive advertised price we've seen is £1669 body only, or £1949 for the kit with the excellent 17-50 F2.8 EX DC OS, from Clifton Cameras - both prices are inclusive of VAT.

http://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Sigma_SD1_Merrill_Digital_SLR - but if you've seen better deals, contact us!

Dr Alexander Kumar is a British Doctor, currently based at Concordia Station located at 3800 metres high up in inland Antarctica. As the only British member of the crew, he is living there with 12 others, including one Russian. It is the most extreme on Earth. Since February, they have been living in complete isolation - with no contact or opportunity for evacuation in an emergency- and will only receive their first visitors and outside contact, after Antarctica's winter in late November.

Ever wondered what it's like to live in temperatures of minus 80 degrees Celsius? Dr Alexander Kumar is currently on a 12 month scientific research program in the Antarctic where he's experiencing these temperatures. He's documenting the whole thing using Sigma equipment and has promised to keep us updated with photos of how it's going. The first installment is below.

Sigma UK have announced details of the points rebate scheme for purchasers of the Sigma SD1 prior to the price reduction.

http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/quicklinks/sd1_points_system.htm

SD1 users also benefit from a new firmware version - 1.05 - available here:

http://www.sigma-sd.com/SD1/firmware.html

This addresses improvements in metering, lens information uploading and AF performance.

Finally, Capture Pro and Photo Pro have been updated to support the SD1 Merrill.

http://www.sigma-sd.com/SD1/photopro.html

http://www.sigma-sd.com/SD1/capturepro.html

Sigma have announced the UK price for the compact 19mm F2.8 EX DN "Neo" lens in Micro Four-Thirds and Sony E-mount fitment.

This compact, lightweight lens will be on sale from the end of March, at £169.99 SRP.

The Sigma DP1x and DP2x have received a further firmware update, bringing the DP1x to 1.03 and the DP2x to 1.02 - the updates focus on language selection and bugfixes.

Sigma's rebranding of the 46Mp sensor coincides with improvements to the SD1's production, and as a result price reductions on this flagship camera have been possible - making it stunningly competitive. Sigma UK have opted to offer it as a body only at £1839.99 inc. VAT, or £2149.99 with a 17-50 F2.8 EX DG OS lens.

Now competing at the higher end of prosumer/professional APS-C bodies, the SD1 Merrill makes the unique rendering of the Foveon sensor almost as affordable as the original SD9 did at launch, despite the unprecedented resolution offered - supported by Sigma's strongest lens range yet, with the aforementioned 17-50, award-winning 70-200 and weathersealed 105mm Macro amongst a huge selection of DC and full-frame glass in SA mount.

Read more for the press release.

Sigma UK is pleased to announce a reduction in the suggested retail price of the 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens to £649.99 including VAT. The previous suggested retail price was £799.99.

This lens has been very well received by the photo/imaging industry since its launch in August 2011 and now offers exceptional value for money. The medium telephoto macro offers Sigma's optical stabilisation along with high speed autofocus, internal focusing, SLD glass and a 1:1 macro reproduction ratio.

For more information on these and other Sigma products, please visit www.sigma-imaging-uk.com or contact your local photographic retailer.