Sigma's secret weapon - SD Quattro review, an incredible filmic 8K timelapse tool with infrared capabilities

[Andrew Reid]

I've been shooting timelapses and infrared stills with the Sigma SD Quattro mirrorless camera.

Foveon is a future bayer slayer. Sigma could end up ruling the sensor market for high end cameras in 10 years.

Read the full article

[BTM_Pix]

Well here's ironic..

I found the H3D for you because I was trawling Park Cameras as they had a deal on for the SD with a 30mm but they've stopped it !

I've got the 0 and all 3 of the DPm's and I wanted to hate the SD so I didn't have to buy it but tried it and , well, you can guess the rest.

I'm not sure people are feeling the benefit of the H version versus its extra price and, for me, I'd have to pair the SD with the 50-100 to make it make sense in terms of filling the gap as something different to what I've got from the rest of the range.

The big problem with that is finding anyone with a Sigma mount version of that lens to try it.

I don't suppose you've got one have you?

[HockeyFan12]

Big DP Merrill fan here.  

[Mattias Burling]

Hey, me too

Like I say in the review, The Quattro saved my ass at work when a Nikon DSLR broke un us.
I used it to shoot full figure portraits and then print them in 1:1.
The quality was great. 

Tomorrow Im getting one last 1:1 print of a person that another guy shot on a Fuji X-T2.

Sooo, I will be able to pixel peep 1.85m tall color prints from both

I know, after a certain point the larger the print the less resolution needed. But I also printed some regular A3 size images of the dog at home... boy.. so crisp.. and those fu..ing colors man...

For the cutouts I used a vintage flash. Worked great.

 

Result. Excuse the crappy smartphone shot, it doesn't do the prints justice.

 

Big Foveon junkee as well. I love and use my DP1 classic all the time.
Again, excuse the quality, my forum picture host sucks ass.

[Andrew Reid]

59 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Well here's ironic..

I found the H3D for you because I was trawling Park Cameras as they had a deal on for the SD with a 30mm but they've stopped it !

I've got the 0 and all 3 of the DPm's and I wanted to hate the SD so I didn't have to buy it but tried it and , well, you can guess the rest.

I'm not sure people are feeling the benefit of the H version versus its extra price and, for me, I'd have to pair the SD with the 50-100 to make it make sense in terms of filling the gap as something different to what I've got from the rest of the range.

The big problem with that is finding anyone with a Sigma mount version of that lens to try it.

I don't suppose you've got one have you?

I am sure we must have been on Park Cameras at the same time, I saw that as well. The refurbished body only was an amazing price as well for £599 but I couldn't find the 30mm F1.4 anywhere for less than £350.

I have the 18-35 but not the 50-150 in Sigma mount. I had it once in EF mount but took it back, not that it wasn't amazing... was just a bit too big for my liking and breathes a lot...Was trying it out on the 1D C in 4K with the 1.3x crop and it didn't vignette.

Maybe I could sell you my Quattro if I ever upgrade to the H? I was tempted, not so much for the extra megapixels as the extra sensor space.

I think Park Cameras had a Quattro H body for £1129... bit cheaper than WEX at £1350 and was tempted by that until the Hasselblad popped up.

30 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

Hey, me too

Like I say in the review, The Quattro saved my ass at work when a Nikon DSLR broke un us.

Big Foveon junkee as well. I love and use my DP1 classic all the time.
Again, excuse the quality, my forum picture host sucks ass.

Nice review.

You can drag and drop the original high res images to the EOSHD forum editor and it will upload here... saves you having to cut and paste URLs from pic hosts!

[Mattias Burling]

10 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

You can drag and drop the original high res images to the EOSHD forum editor and it will upload here... saves you having to cut and paste URLs from pic hosts!

Ok lets try... (can't believe I've never seen that before, or thought about what it says)

How do you like them apples for color and pop?
(SD Quattro + 30mm)

 

 

Black and white with a beat up old m42 junk lens isn't to shabby either

[Andrew Reid]

Definitely more CCD / film like than the usual CMOS!

I find the Sigma is nicest when the white balance is set a little bit cooler for daylight than I'd otherwise do on a normal camera... It seems to bring out more colour. The grass has so much going on... autumnal tones, mint, all sorts, which are missing in action on a Sony!

[Mattias Burling]

Yeah I definitely also shoot it cooler. I also tend to shoot a bit wider on the aperture to. Not for DOF to isolate subjects. Its just that it handles colors so well in bokeh that it becomes all misty and gradient.

[BTM_Pix]

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

I am sure we must have been on Park Cameras at the same time, I saw that as well. The refurbished body only was an amazing price as well for £599 but I couldn't find the 30mm F1.4 anywhere for less than £350.

I have the 18-35 but not the 50-150 in Sigma mount. I had it once in EF mount but took it back, not that it wasn't amazing... was just a bit too big for my liking and breathes a lot...Was trying it out on the 1D C in 4K with the 1.3x crop and it didn't vignette.

Maybe I could sell you my Quattro if I ever upgrade to the H? I was tempted, not so much for the extra megapixels as the extra sensor space.

I think Park Cameras had a Quattro H body for £1129... bit cheaper than WEX at £1350 and was tempted by that until the Hasselblad popped up.

 

They had the SD and the 30mm as a bundle for £799 in their summer sale and I thought it'd still be available so I could get it when I was next over (ie now). Wrong!

 

[cantsin]

Shot this in the desert with the tiny DP2 (the 2009 model with the fixed 30mm/2.8 lens). That camera can often be found for about $100 used....

 

[Mattias Burling]

4 hours ago, cantsin said:

Shot this in the desert with the tiny DP2 (the 2009 model with the fixed 30mm/2.8 lens). That camera can often be found for about $100 used....

Nice!

I bought that to. Great camera as well, same sensor as my DP1. 

The focus wheel is the best thing ever and all by wire compacts should have it imo.

[Shirozina]

There is nothing intrinsically inferior about CMOS in comparison with 'other' technology - MF digital, CCD, film, Foveon etc. The main reason it's colour performance is inferior in current implementations is that the RGB color filters over the photosites are so weak. This is done to enable better high ISO performance  which everyone demands but it seriously compromises color fidelity. If we had CMOS sensors with denser CFA's we would have  better colour fidelity but they would not be profitable as they would be ISO limited and the market is limited. i think I'm right in saying that MF digital backs are now CMOS ( they used to be CCD) but likley they have better CFA's optimised for colour fidelity over light transmission as the pro user base wants this. Sony also does some baked in NR to RAW files even at base ISO which is visible in fine irregular detail like foliage. It looks like a watercolor photoshop filter has been applied to it. Mostly though with such big files you are never displaying at 1:1 to see it.

[kaylee]

andrew, great article, really interesting, and i love the infrared stuff~! one of these days im gonna get a camera to IR convert. have you shot infrared before? im sure you have, youve clearly got the idea

[Ed_David]

This is so awesome - really excited to hear about this sensor technology!!

18 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

I've been shooting timelapses and infrared stills with the Sigma SD Quattro mirrorless camera.

Foveon is a future bayer slayer. Sigma could end up ruling the sensor market for high end cameras in 10 years.

Read the full article

The challenge is going to be getting to 800 ASA.  If that's possible

but yes super excited about this technology.

Wish it could be used with other lenses - not just sigma glass

 

How does the older sd15 compare with the new quattro?

[MediaMan]

I remember almost 20 years ago when Foveon announced their new technology. I was excited and sure they would take over the world. Since then they have made little progress in threatening the CMOS dominance of "mass and momentum." If there is a sensor revolution many companies will have to abandon a lot of infrastructure and we'll all have to start thinking differently about how we define "resolution."  

[Ed_David]

9 hours ago, MediaMan said:

I remember almost 20 years ago when Foveon announced their new technology. I was excited and sure they would take over the world. Since then they have made little progress in threatening the CMOS dominance of "mass and momentum." If there is a sensor revolution many companies will have to abandon a lot of infrastructure and we'll all have to start thinking differently about how we define "resolution."  

Well CMOS took off because of its increased low-light capabilities.  

At this point, it is cheaper to get a film camera and shoot film, maybe.  Well, resale will help a little on the camera.  So maybe the camera is cheaper.

Shooting at 200 ISO is not easy for interior work.  Nor at night.

Limited to T/1.4 lenses.  Curious to see how 400 ISO looks.

[gcaus]

I bought one of these recently open box with the 30mm 1.4 art lens for £600, absolute bargain! Have to shoot ISO100, the noise above that is hideous.  Also got the 17-50 2.8 to cover the wider angles second hand for £200.  Saving up now for a faster 50mm and then I am set. 

I only shoot DNG mode as the sigma software is just terrible, slow and really not great to use.  I have got some really beautiful shots with very natural colours.  See attached image taken with the 17-50, for £800 I don't think many set ups can match this for ISO 100 shooting.  

Definitely going to try the infrared adjustment though, really amazing images from it, great article about a camera that and sensor that goes under the radar.

 

[Laurier]

I had a DP2 and a DP3 Merrill, loved the look and the leaf shutter, but autofocus was terrible and dynamic range so so.

 

I did try the sd quattro , but autofocus is still bad, the viewfinder is really average for 2017, dynamic range is still so so.

And let s be honest, usability is quite limited on those camera .

[Mattias Burling]

5 minutes ago, Laurier said:

And let s be honest, usability is quite limited on those camera .

The DP1 and your DP2 has the best manual focus for zone focus in any premium compact camera Ive ever used. And I own the Leica Q... 

That's pretty usable imo

 

[Ed_David]

where can I see some dynamic range charts or tests?  I can't find any.  Also want to see what it looks like at 200 ISO and 400.  More curious about the APS-H model, since a larger sensor, maybe better in low light (at least to get to 400 ISO, that's all I need)

 

Great review here:

http://www.exposedmoment.com/2016/09/sigma-sd-quattro-review.html

 

Seems like dynamic range or low light capabilities haven't gone up much - might be better to get the older cameras - really interesting review.