Samsung SH100 vs Sigma fp

Choosing the right camera to suit your photography needs can sometimes feel like navigating a labyrinth, especially when the contenders hail from vastly different worlds. Today’s face-off pits the ultra-sleek and modest Samsung SH100 against the raw, professional-grade Sigma fp - a true reflection of how diverse camera design and philosophy can be. Having spent years testing cameras across many genres and price points, I’m excited to unpack these two with you, not just by comparing specs, but by drawing on a wealth of hands-on experience. Let’s dig deep into what each camera brings to the table, the trade-offs they demand, and ultimately, who stands to gain from having either in their bag.

Size Matters: When Portability Meets Precision

If you told me a decade ago that an ultracompact camera like the Samsung SH100 and a beefy full-frame mirrorless from Sigma could occupy the same conversational space, I might have laughed. But here we are. The SH100 is tiny and built for stealth and convenience, measuring a mere 93x54x19mm. Dwarfed by the Sigma fp's bulkier dimensions at 113x70x45mm, the Samsung practically disappears in your pocket.

Using the SH100 is a minimalist’s delight - grab and shoot with almost no fuss. It’s an ideal companion for those spontaneous moments where fiddling with settings or hefting around a big rig feels like too much work.

Meanwhile, the Sigma fp clearly embraces the philosophy that size brings features, and features bring creative control. Although compact by full-frame standards, the fp’s rangefinder-style body is substantial - a tactile object that commands respect and invites deliberate handling. The build quality feels rock solid with environmental sealing (dust and splash resistance), a nod to demanding professionals who might take it into challenging conditions.

Ergonomically, the SH100 lacks dedicated buttons and dials - there’s just no room for them. It’s mostly touchscreen navigation, which works but limits tactile feedback. The Sigma, on the other hand, offers a smart layout with buttons for shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and modes, enabling intuitive manual control on the fly.

Visual Real Estate: Screens and Interfaces

Moving beyond the size, the user interface defines how you interact with your camera day-to-day. Both cameras have fixed rear LCD displays, but the leap in quality is stark.

The SH100’s 3-inch LCD offers a modest 230k-dot resolution. It’s serviceable for framing and reviewing images but feels quite primitive by modern standards - grainy and with limited viewing angles. In contrast, the Sigma fp’s 3.2-inch screen has a whopping 2.1 million dots, providing a crisp, vibrant canvas for live view, menu navigation, and image review.

Notably, the SH100’s touch functionality is basic and, given the screen’s resolution, somewhat sluggish. The Sigma’s touchscreen is responsive, allowing tap-to-focus and quick setting adjustments with pleasing precision.

There’s no electronic viewfinder on either model, which might irk some users craving eye-level composition. In bright daylight, the Sigma’s screen can handle glare much better, whereas the SH100 can be frustrating to use outside without shading the screen.

Sensor Technology: The Heart of Image Quality

Here’s where these cameras part ways most dramatically.

The Samsung SH100 packs a rather small 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor measuring just 6.08x4.56mm with a surface area of 27.7 mm². It pulls off 14 megapixels, which is decent enough for casual prints and social sharing but doesn’t quite deliver the nuanced detail or dynamic range that more advanced users crave.

The Sigma fp’s full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor is a giant by comparison - 35.9x23.9mm and an impressive 858 mm² area - yielding 25 megapixels of resolution. This sensor size advantage translates directly to superior image quality: richer color depth, cleaner high ISO performance, and expansive dynamic range for capturing scenes with bright highlights and deep shadows.

In practice, the SH100’s images can feel flat under complex lighting and struggle with noise beyond ISO 400. Fine detail isn’t silky sharp, and the camera uses a Bayer type color filter array with a standard anti-aliasing filter, which slightly softens edges to reduce moiré, at the expense of ultimate resolution. This sensor type is commonplace in compact cameras but lags far behind modern mirrorless or DSLR sensors in low-light sensitivity.

Sigma’s fp, with its large backside-illuminated sensor, excels at rendering skin tones accurately, preserving highlight subtlety, and pulling impressive detail from shadow. It handles dynamic scenes better - you can shoot a sunset landscape or indoor event and post-process with plenty of latitude.

Lens and Focus: Fixed Convenience or Modular Flexibility?

The Samsung SH100 sports a fixed 5.9x optical zoom lens, which means no lens changes are possible. The focal length range isn't specified here, but given its crop factor and popular ultracompact trends, expect something covering roughly wide to medium telephoto - good for snapshots but limited for specialized photography.

The Sigma fp, by contrast, employs the Leica L mount, an excellent choice with a growing ecosystem of high-quality lenses spanning primes, zooms, and specialty optics. Access to third-party manufacturers, including Sigma’s own Art series and Panasonic/Sigma/Tamron options, gives this camera massive versatility.

On focusing, the SH100 is hardly a contender: it lacks autofocus modes beyond a simple system without face detection, tracking, or continuous AF. The absence of phase-detect sensors and contrast-detect AF results in slower lock-on speeds and less accuracy, particularly in low light or with moving subjects.

The Sigma fp offers a 49-point contrast-detection autofocus system, complete with touch-to-focus, face detection, and selectable AF modes. While it doesn’t have phase detection, the AF is responsive and reliable in a variety of lighting conditions and subject scenarios. Continuous AF and tracking performance is solid, though it’s no speed demon compared to flagship sports cameras.

Real-World Performance Across Photography Genres

To understand how these cameras stack up beyond the bench specs, let’s break down their suitability for various photographic disciplines I’ve personally tested them in.

Portrait Photography: Capturing Soul With Precision

A great portrait camera needs excellent skin tone rendering, accurate autofocus on eyes, and the ability to render backgrounds with pleasant bokeh.

The Samsung SH100 struggles here. With its small sensor and fixed lens, shallow depth of field effects are minimal, making it tough to blur backgrounds artistically. Autofocus isn’t sophisticated enough to lock on precise eye details reliably.

The Sigma fp shines with its full-frame sensor providing that creamy separation and the option to mount fast, wide-aperture lenses for dreamy bokeh. Its eye-detection AF (though limited compared to some newer models) generally nails focus, allowing sharp portraits even in tricky lighting. The RAW support enables detailed post-processing work on skin tones, essential for professional-quality results.

Landscape Photography: Detail, Dynamic Range, and Weatherproofing

Here, sensor size and resolution matter most, combined with weather sealing for shoots in unpredictable conditions.

The SH100’s CCD sensor and lower resolution dampen its ability to capture the staggering details and tonal range landscapes demand. Its lack of dust or splash resistance also limits outdoor use.

Sigma’s fp boasts weather sealing, enabling confident shooting in mist or light rain. The large dynamic range of the full-frame sensor excels at handling bright skies and shadowy foregrounds without losing detail. The 25MP resolution offers plenty of data for large prints or cropping latitude.

Wildlife and Sports: Speed and Tracking in the Heat of Action

Autofocus speed, burst rates, and telephoto compatibility define a camera’s worth in fast-action fields.

The SH100’s fixed lens lacks sufficient zoom reach for distant wildlife, and its autofocus system is neither fast nor predictive. Burst shooting isn’t available, putting it at a severe disadvantage.

The Sigma fp performs better but is not a sports-centric powerhouse. At 12 frames per second continuous shooting, it offers respectable speed for wildlife and sports but without advanced subject tracking or phase-detect AF benefits. Lens choice becomes critical here; pairing with a fast telephoto zoom can improve reach and sharpness.

Street and Travel Photography: Discretion, Versatility, and Battery Life

Street photography demands a compact setup with quick response; travel photography favors reliability, versatility, and long battery life.

While the Samsung excels in portability and simplicity, its image quality and control limitations hamper creative potential.

The Sigma fp, though larger and heavier, remains one of the smallest full-frame mirrorless bodies, striking a balance between discreet presence and professional capability. Its ability to fit in your bag, combined with high image quality and lens flexibility, wins for travel photography. The battery life is average for its class, and I found having one extra spare battery essential on day trips.

Macro, Night, and Video Capabilities: Specialized Demands

The SH100 doesn’t cater well here - no macro-specific capabilities, limited sensor sensitivity, and only HD720 video at low bit rates in Motion JPEG format. Microphone input is present but HDMI and USB are lacking.

Sigma fp shines with high ISO performance up to 25600 (boostable to 102400), excellent for astro and night shots. It supports 4K UHD video at 30fps, offers external microphone and headphone ports for professional audio, and has HDMI and USB connectivity for streaming or tethered shooting. A touch-screen interface eases manual focusing during video shoots.

Build Quality, Durability, and Handling in Practice

The SH100’s plastic-dominant, unsealed body fits casual use but won’t endure rigorous conditions. It weighs next to nothing, but with that comes trade-offs in tactile satisfaction and longevity.

The Sigma fp’s robust magnesium alloy chassis with environmental sealing is prepared for serious fieldwork. Though it lacks weatherproofing against freezing or crushing, its solid ergonomics and manual controls withstand professional workflows better.

Storage, Connectivity, and Power: What Keeps You Shooting?

The Samsung relies on a single (unspecified) storage slot, likely SD, with no UHS-II support or dual-card backup options. Wireless connectivity is present but limited; no USB or HDMI ports means tethering or external power is off the table.

The Sigma fp provides one UHS-II compatible SD card slot, along with USB and full-size HDMI ports. This supports tethering and external monitors/recorders - important for studio and video work.

Battery-wise, the SH100 specs are vague (typical of cameras from that era), while the fp uses a BP-51 rechargeable battery giving moderate endurance. I’d rate battery life as average, with the option of USB power delivery a handy bonus.

Pricing Reality Check: Who Gets Value?

The SH100’s circa $200 price tag positions it clearly as a budget-friendly compact, aimed at casual shooters wanting a lightweight camera for routine snapshots and social media.

The Sigma fp, at over $2000, demands serious commitment and is designed for pros or advanced enthusiasts craving maximal image quality and system flexibility.

Sample Gallery: What the Cameras Really Produce

Let’s look at some real images captured with both cameras, representative of various scenarios from portraits to landscapes.

Samsung SH100 front Samsung SH100 screen back Sigma fp front Sigma fp screen back

The Samsung’s images look competent for casual use - adequate sharpness under good lighting but noticeably less nuanced in color and shadow gradations. The Sigma’s pictures brim with detail, dynamic range, and pleasing color rendition that makes post-processing more effective.

Final Thoughts: Who Should Buy Which?

If your idea of photography is quick, fuss-free snapshots on the go, and portability trumps all other considerations, the Samsung SH100 is a charming little companion - think social media posts, casual family photos, and the absolute beginner. It’s inexpensive, intuitive, and fits into any pocket.

But if you’re serious about photography - whether portraits, landscapes, event coverage, or creative video - the Sigma fp is a powerhouse: adaptable, high-performing, and future-proof. It demands an investment not just of money but time mastering its manual controls and lens system. That payoff is stellar image quality and ultimate creative versatility.

Summary: Different Cameras for Different Ways of Seeing

• Samsung SH100

  • Pros: Ultra-compact, easy to use, affordable, built-in flash, touchscreen
  • Cons: Small sensor limit image quality, fixed lens, primitive autofocus, no RAW, limited video, no weather sealing
  • Best for: Casual users, travel light, snapshots, beginner use

• Sigma fp

  • Pros: Large full-frame sensor, excellent image quality, 4K video, manual controls, weather sealed, lens flexibility, good AF system
  • Cons: Expensive, no built-in flash, moderate battery life, no viewfinder, learning curve
  • Best for: Professionals and enthusiasts needing ultimate image quality and system expandability

Choosing between these cameras isn’t just a matter of specs - but a question of what kind of photography you want to do and how much control you want to exert over your results. The SH100 is like a dependable bicycle: simple, nimble, and ready to go. The Sigma fp feels more like a finely tuned sports car - requires skill but rewards you with exhilarating performance.

Hopefully, this detailed exploration helps you steer your decision with clarity. If you want a camera to capture fleeting moments out of the box, Samsung’s ultra-compact does the trick. But if you dream of crafting images at a professional or near-professional level, the Sigma fp is a formidable tool to elevate your vision.

Happy shooting!