Sigma is now farming rice in Aizu, Japan, where the company's factory is located. According to CEO Kazuto Yamaki, it's an effort to support its own neighbors while maintaining an important Japanese tradition. Photo: Sigma

For Sigma, "Made in Japan" isn't just a marketing ethos; it signifies a commitment to the company's home country, and to the region surrounding the city of Aizu, where its factory is located.

In an industry where most companies manage global manufacturing and supply chains, Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki takes pride in anchoring his company not only in its geography but in its culture. In fact, when Sigma introduced its new logo last year, it also doubled down on this regional connection, making "Made in Aizu, Japan" a core part of its brand identity.

Which explains why we find ourselves in Japan talking to Mr. Yamaki about rice. As we wrap up our interview at CP+, he casually mentions, "Actually, I'm not sure if you know it, but we decided to start growing rice."

Sigma products and packaging proudly emphasize the company's roots in Aizu, Japan. Photo: Richard Butler

Sigma announced its rice-growing ambitions a few days before our meeting, and while we saw the same press materials as everyone else, it was fascinating to hear the story behind the project, and what inspired it, in Mr. Yamaki's own words.

It's about history and ecology

"Aizu is known for many things," he tells us. "But one reason it's well known is for being a good production site for rice. There are many rice fields in Aizu, and they produce top-quality rice. But these days, as you know, Japan is a rapidly aging country. Also, the kids don't want to take over the farmers' business. So the farmers are losing their successors. Actually, this is nothing new. This already started in the 90s or late 80s. But thanks to the tractor and combine, we don't need many people."

"Aizu is known for many things, but one reason it's well known is for being a good production site for rice."

According to Yamaki, this represents an important economic and cultural shift from the past.

"Before World War II, we had many big landowners, but after World War II, property was shared by the farmers thanks to the American government, which occupied Japan at the time. So in Japan, there are many small farmers. Until now, some farmers asked neighboring farmers to take care of their fields because, thanks to tractors and combines, they could grow rice through the neighbors."

The Sigma factory in Aizu, Japan. Under Mr. Yamaki's leadership, the company has leaned into its roots in Japan, focusing on the use of Japanese suppliers and working with local partners. Photo: Dale Baskin

But it's not just a matter of changing demographics. As Mr. Yamaki observes, the disappearance of the small farmer is having a lasting physical impact on the land itself.

"But what is happening today is these kinds of farmers are aging, and they are losing successors. I started seeing many abandoned rice fields or paddy fields in the Aizu area. This creates a lot of problems. Paddy fields contain water, right? There's a particular ecosystem there, so we lose that ecosystem."

"The disappearance of the small farmer is having a lasting physical impact on the land itself."

"Once the land loses its ability to absorb water, it creates floods and also mudslides. And the abandoned fields have unexpected, undesirable plants. It invites bugs and harmful animals from the forest. So it creates a lot of problems. And also, the look of the landscape – I mean the traditional Japanese landscape, including the paddy fields – we are losing. So our aim, our purpose, is to keep the traditional Japanese landscape as it is. We are not going to grow the agricultural business, but our purpose is to preserve the paddy fields as they are."

A view from the train

For Mr. Yamaki, the decision to farm was a deeply personal one, rooted in a final request from his father.

"My father [Sigma founder Michihiro Yamaki] passed away 14 years ago. He had liver cancer. At the very last stage, maybe two or three months before he died, he asked me to take him to Aizu several times."

Kazuto Yamaki's father, Sigma founder Michihiro Yamaki (far right), poses with supporting members of the Sigma Research Institute Co., Ltd, around 1961. Photo: Sigma

"Because of his illness, at first I drove him to Aizu. But at some point, he told me he wanted to go by train. The local train in Aizu runs through the paddy fields. And he was looking at the paddy fields. And I realized why he wanted to go to Aizu by train. He was just looking at the rice fields, and since then, I really like looking at the paddy fields."

"But these days," he explains, "I feel very sad looking at an abandoned paddy field. So I was interested in starting agriculture about three years ago, and finally, we can start this year."

Leveraging the experience already inside Sigma

At the Sigma factory, the line between technician and tradition is closer than one might expect; some of the same hands that craft many of Sigma's world-class lenses are now being tasked with a much older form of craftsmanship: maintaining Aizu's rice paddies.

"Many of our factory workers are farmers. They know how to make rice, and they have machines. So, we can ask people over age 60 or 65, "Could you work at the rice paddy rather than the factory?" And if we rent out their tractor, we can pay. If we rent their tractor for a week, it can be revenue for them. So we already have the resources to make it."

Some of the same hands that craft many of Sigma's world-class lenses are now being tasked with a much older form of craftsmanship: maintaining Aizu's rice paddies. Photo: Dale Baskin

However, don't expect to see Sigma brand rice on store shelves anytime soon. Yamaki has a pragmatic plan for what to do with all that rice: keep it within his own family of employees.

"We consume it ourselves, because we have a cafeteria in the factory and we have one at the headquarters. If we sell to wholesalers, we have to sell it very cheaply. But we can sell it directly to the company that runs the cafeterias. So we may not lose much money. So it's a kind of win‑win situation."

For Mr. Yamaki, Sigma's foray into agriculture is an opportunity to lead by example.

"For Mr. Yamaki, Sigma's foray into agriculture is an opportunity to lead by example."

"It's really important to commit to the local community," he states emphatically.

"Well, of course, as a company, making a profit is the most important responsibility. But in today's society, companies play many important roles in society and have many social responsibilities. I think the contribution to the local community is one of the important responsibilities a company has. So we are just doing what we can do."

"Of course, we cannot save the Earth. We cannot save the whole region. But I like the phrase, "Think globally, act locally." By announcing this kind of activity, it may influence others, and if such activity spreads to the world, people may be able to help the Earth."

Image: Westend61 / Westend61 via Getty Images

Welcome back to our Question of the Week series! This reader-focused series aims to get our photographic community to share thoughts on all sorts of photography-related topics in our forums. We pose questions about gear, favorite camera stores, advice, problem-solving and more, and you share your thoughts and opinions.

This week, we’re leaning into the holiday spirit! The season of giving (and occasionally re-gifting) is upon us, and that means it’s time to unwrap some memories – both heartwarming and hilarious.

What are the best (and worst) photography-related gifts you've received?

What’s the best photography-related gift you’ve ever received? Maybe it was a dream lens that caused you to take on an adventure deep in the mountains, or a handmade camera strap that’s now an essential part of your kit. And what about the worst? Perhaps someone thought you needed yet another "World’s Best Photographer" mug, or that odd lens filter set that turned every photo a shade of green.

In this edition of our Question of the Week series, we want to hear your gift stories: the memorable, the useful and the truly baffling. Share your favorites (and flops) in the forum link below. Photos of the gifts (or what you created with them) are also more than welcome! We'll highlight some of your most entertaining and heartfelt responses in next week's roundup.

Click here to answer the Question of the week

Image: Adobe

Adobe is continuing the flow of video news from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show with its announcement of a new "Color Mode" for Premiere. The company says it's a "first-of-its-kind color-grading experience," designed to be approachable for video editors, rather than professional colorists.

The mode will live as its own tab in Premiere, alongside Import, Edit and Export. Activating it brings up a new interface with a large preview window and several tools for adjusting things like color temperature, saturation, contrast and more. You can apply your adjustment, or multiple adjustments, to a single clip or to all (or most) clips in your sequence, and use masks to apply adjustments only to certain parts of your video. Color mode will also pre-select the most prominent hues in your image, so you can quickly and easily adjust them.

Image: Adobe

The tool will include several pre-made "Style Presets," which have their own adjustable parameters. You'll also be able to save your customized version of a style as its own preset, so you can easily apply it to other footage later. You can use the tools to build those presets on their own, to go beyond basic color grading as well.

Adobe is pitching the mode as an exercise in simplicity; something designed for editors, rather than professional colorists. Rather than tweaking numerical parameters, drawing custom curves on graphs or sitting at a physical piece of hardware with an ocean of knobs and dials, it seems like you mostly control the tools through a simple mouse-based interface that lets you drag controls until you get the look you're going for.

Color mode's simple interface doesn't preclude more advanced edits, like masking. Each tool also includes a "heads up display" window that pops up to show you how your edit is changing the color. Image: Adobe

However, the company also says the system "grows with your ambition," letting you do more complex grades if necessary. Still, it seems the main appeal is its ease-of-use, with Adobe's press release calling it an alternative to unnamed other apps that "pull you out of your edit entirely and force you to study out-of-reach pro-colorist tools that were never designed for you."

In the same vein of making things easier for editors, Adobe has also released a new program called Frame.io Drive, which lets you "mount" your projects stored on the cloud as storage media on your computer. From there, you can access and clips or files directly from your computer's file manager, without having to manually download or sync them.

Color Mode is available in the beta version of Premiere starting today, while Frame.io Drive will "roll out in phases," starting with enterprise users.

The Canon MS-510 surveillance camera is the second to use its SPAD sensor. Image: Canon

Canon has announced its second camera based around a 'single photon avalanche diode' (SPAD) sensor. It's a completely different sensor technology to the CMOS sensors we typically encounter, based on a completely different physical phenomenon, and able to measure the arrival of individual photons.

The MS510 is a box camera, designed for applications such as nighttime border surveillance and maritime monitoring over long distances. The MS510 has a 3.2MP Type 1 (∼131mm²) sensor, from which it derives 1920 x 1080 video footage, Canon says it has greater sensitivity to near-IR light than the previous model.

In conventional CMOS designs, a charge is accumulated as arriving photons of light trigger the release of electrons via the photoelectric effect. This charge builds up during the exposure and the magnitude of the accumulated charge is read out at the end of the exposure.

In a SPAD sensor, the photoelectrons that are released are then accelerated by a powerful electrical field. The energy of their impact triggers an avalanche of electrons to be released within the semiconductor. This allows sensors to detect down to the sensitivity of individual photons.

Such sensors don't need to accumulate charge before they're read out, so individual photon arrivals can be detected as they arrive: continuously sampling, rather than capturing separate, discrete exposures.

And, because each avalanche of electrons is so distinct from any coincidental electronic noise, it's possible to essentially factor-out all read noise from the system. However, the nature of light means that photon shot noise (the randomness of light) would still be unavoidably present in any photograph.

Nestling behind some magnifying optics is a Type 1 SPAD sensor, capturing 1920 x 1080 footage from its 3.2MP resolution. Image: Canon

These characteristics lend themselves very well to video capture in extreme low light. Canon has previously show its SPAD sensor visualizing a single pulse of laser light as it moves. The MS510 is geared towards slightly less rapid movement, and has a movable infrared filter, allowing it to capture some light just outside the visible spectrum, for even better performance in extreme low light.

Like its predecessor, the MS510 accepted broadcast lenses designed for Type 2/3 sensors, and features magnifying optics in front of the sensor to make full use of the sensor area.

However, while some of these properties sound like they would be useful for photography, and Canon has previously talked about the SPAD sensor matching the performance of a sensor 10 times its size, you shouldn't expect to see a SPAD sensor in an EOS camera any time soon.

Also, it's woth noting that the quantum efficiency (proportion of the incoming light that it successfully measures) isn't significantly different to that of current CMOS sensors, so the benefits primarily exist in ultra-low light, where read noise plays a significant role, rather than daytime photography where photon shot noise has the most impact.

The electrical field required to accelerate photons as they arrive in the sensor uses much more power than the CMOS sensors we're used to. We only have the figures for the MS510 camera as a whole, which includes powering its controllers and fan but, for reference, Canon's other MS cameras with Super35 and full-frame CMOS sensors consume between 8 and 12W, whereas the MS510 consumes 24W. This suggests both battery life and thermal management would be challenging to produce a photographer's camera. And, for now, at least, resolution.

Photo: MPB

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