Johnnie Behiri of Cinema5D interviewed Kazuto Yamaki, CEO of Sigma, during his last visit to Japan.

Behiri had a clear list of questions for Mr. Kazuto Yamaki. You can see the list below, and use the list as index for the video.

• 00:17 – How was it to grow-up in a house with an enthusiastic father? (Mr. Michihiro Yamaki established the company in 1961 and passed away in 2012, at the age of 78).
• 01:29 – Can you please share with our audience your daily routine?
• 03:14 – How do you prioritise which mount and lenses to make?
• 04:01 – How easy was the decision to start making the Art line of high-quality lenses?
• 05:27 – In the past, Sigma lenses were considered affordable. Then you decided to hit the upper end of the market. What was the reason?
• 06:53 – In such a crowded market, Sigma is producing a high-quality stills camera that does not offer any video functionality. Why is that?
• 07:51 – Are you able to keep good sales is a declining market?
• 09:07 – Why did you decide to produce cine lenses?
• 09:57 – Where did people go? Why aren’t they buying lenses anymore?
• 10:26 – What would be your dream zoom lens?

Johnnie Behiri sums up the interview:

In such a competitive business, I wouldn’t be AT ALL surprised if a Sigma mirrorless camera with high-quality video capabilities were to be announced. Although their current line of photo cameras is aimed at a certain niche, the obvious thing to do would be to step out and explore a market which Sigma can shine at as they have no upper market to protect. When it comes to cine lenses and the likelihood of Sigma expending their new line, a lot will depend on “how well the cine lenses be received by our industry”.

Personally, I hope Sigma will make many more outstanding lenses as in the ART line-up.