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

[Mattias Burling]

Put together a little review of the DP3 Quattro.
Contains +20 samples.

 

[SMGJohn]

Why do I often find amazing products on sale on eBay with like 20+ people watching and no one buying?

Korean dude sold me a Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro with original packing and when I received the camera for the price I paid I expected it to be in an "okay" condition but its almost brand new, no marks or scratches only done 39k shutter counts which is criminally low compared to its age.

I think there were like 30 people watching the camera, no one bought it for some reasons and I watched that for a few days before I just decided to go for it.
Surprised with the Tamron lens how sharp it is compared to Sigma but the colours are astonishing for something that is from 2006

@Mattias Burling you should review the Fujifilm one day, the colours are amazing and very analogue character from the good old CCD sensor. 

[Mattias Burling]

I probably will. Seen them go without bids for $40. I just need to use the stuff I have for a while first.

[Grégory LEROY]

What about the skin tone rendition of the Dp3 Quattro? I don't see any studio portrait on the flickr group and the dpreview chart skin sample are very yellowish (quattro dp2).

Is the Dp3 Quattro a good studio portrait camera? (I don't care about speed and ergonomy, only colors)

[maxotics]

56 minutes ago, Grégory LEROY said:

What about the skin tone rendition of the Dp3 Quattro? I don't see any studio portrait on the flickr group and the dpreview chart skin sample are very yellowish (quattro dp2).

Is the Dp3 Quattro a good studio portrait camera? (I don't care about speed and ergonomy, only colors)

In a studio environment, where size/weight isn't a real concern, a Nikon D8XX will be faster and more flexible than the Sigma.   Because the Sigma camera doesn't have a bayer CFA, but samples colors vertically, it can deliver as clean an image, color-wise, as the best Bayer cameras IMHO.  However, the color RED is sampled last in the sensor (bottom layer), so it loses some nuance.  Shouldn't be a problem in a studio environment, but you have to light correctly.  Also, these sensors have only 6 stops of DR.  That's MY opinion, many will say that incorrect.  But I throw it out there for you.  It does NOT detract from the camera for me, that's all I need, but it's something you should know if you're not exact with your exposure. 

To use a baseball analogy, these cameras either strike out or hit home runs.  Base-hits aren't their thing.

These cameras excel in any image where a bayer sensor can be confused by thin strips of light or dark, like a person's hair in the sun.  The bayer sensor will miss color information and create color artifacts.  For example, a strand may only hit the red and green pixel, creating a reddish little blotch after de-bayering (but you'd need to pixel peep).  The Sigmas don't succumb to this.  So outside, with a strong backlight, the Dp3 can take a portrait that exceeds what any Bayer sensor camera can do--in a very small package.

In short, if you need to travel light, can work slow, and want to do some portraits outside, and you have good light, the Dp3 can deliver shots that will bring tears of joy to your eye.  Also the images do have a different look. 

This is a fact, if they were as fast and sensitive as bayer sensors no one would use anything else.  I recommend that every serious photography try these cameras out.  So I recommend doing what Mattias did.  I'd certainly LOVE to see some portraits done with the camera.  One my list of things to do one day too. (I had a dp2q).

 

  

[Mattias Burling]

1 hour ago, Grégory LEROY said:

What about the skin tone rendition of the Dp3 Quattro? I don't see any studio portrait on the flickr group and the dpreview chart skin sample are very yellowish (quattro dp2).

Is the Dp3 Quattro a good studio portrait camera? (I don't care about speed and ergonomy, only colors)

You can get gorgeous skin tones. Specially in the studio where you can dial it in perfectly.

[PannySVHS]

59 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

You can get gorgeous skin tones. Specially in the studio where you can dial it in perfectly.

Hey Matthias, my impression from Flickr would be that  Merrill line, predecessor of Quattro line, has even better color up to 200 ISO. Quattro to me in 100% shows obvious dithering, maybe due to RAW processor software in use, which I wouldnt know from looking at the images of course.

 

[Mattias Burling]

For me the Merrill is out. I dont want to bother with Sigma Photo Pro. I have to do some serious pixel peeping to find any issues with the Quattro images. Ive ordered 2m prints that looked nice as well as A3 that looked gorgeous.

[webrunner5]

On 9/21/2017 at 6:39 PM, Tiernan Ray said:

An excellent write up. I've linked to the review in my article on the sd Quattro H: http://www.barrons.com/articles/sigmas-marvelous-sd-quattro-h-seeing-reality-1506011091?mod=BOL_da_rta

I agree about the DP3, as well. It's my favorite.

Cheers.

That B&W picture taken of the women with the horses is, well that is pretty amazing to put it bluntly.

[Grégory LEROY]

I'm going to a Sigma shop next week in Warsaw. I will compare the dp3 Quattro to my current portrait set-up Nikon d5500 + voigtlander 58mm nokton, here is the last portrait I've shot with it :

 

I know this is not the same focal (50mm for the sigma), but I want to compare the colors and contrats in a studio environment and see if the sigma can surpass the Nikon bayer + Voigt.

 

[maxotics]

On 12/20/2017 at 12:13 PM, Grégory LEROY said:

I will compare the dp3 Quattro to my current portrait set-up Nikon d5500

The Sigma will do very well in that test, because they're both APS-C sized sensors and the D5500, in the Foveon world, is considered a 6 megapixel sensor   However, against a Nikon D810/D850 (which has more pixels to de-mosaic and wider DR) things would get interesting.  

Very nice shot btw.  That's is the kind of shot that I believe will look better from a Sigma.  You have specular lighting and a lot of neutral colors (gray).  The kind of stuff that makes color artifacts galore in bayer cameras.

Really looking forward to your photo comparisons!!!!!   

[webrunner5]

I always keep coming back to this comparison of 2 Medium Format, and a 50mp Canon DSLR versus a Quattro DP2 and well guess what, no matter where you move that target to the Sigma wins every time. It is an amazing camera. You have to substitute the Sigma DP2 for one of the cameras listed there and just move it around to different targets on the test. I got rid of the Nikon D850 but..

https://***URL removed***/reviews/nikon-d850/8

[webrunner5]

Here is a great thread on the Quattro that has pictures to prove how good it is.

https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/4221079

[Grégory LEROY]

On 22/12/2017 at 9:52 PM, webrunner5 said:

I always keep coming back to this comparison of 2 Medium Format, and a 50mp Canon DSLR versus a Quattro DP2 and well guess what, no matter where you move that target to the Sigma wins every time. It is an amazing camera. You have to substitute the Sigma DP2 for one of the cameras listed there and just move it around to different targets on the test. I got rid of the Nikon D850 but..

https://***URL removed***/reviews/nikon-d850/8

I'm very disappointed by the dp2 colors on this comparaison, Sigma skin tones are very yellowish.

[webrunner5]

20 minutes ago, Grégory LEROY said:

I'm very disappointed by the dp2 colors on this comparaison, Sigma skin tones are very yellowish.

I would have to agree that is true with Sigma cameras. Just like Panasonic cameras were and still are sort of greenish, as well I have seen that as a problem with most cameras other than Canon which is too reddish. So none of them, but maybe Arri, seem to be near perfect colors wise.

I would argue though that we as humans tend to see things more yellow green than they are. I think it has to do more with saturation in our eyes. And they claim women see colors different than men.

[Mattias Burling]

User error imo.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

On 01/10/2017 at 5:28 PM, Mattias Burling said:

I probably will. Seen them go without bids for $40. I just need to use the stuff I have for a while first.

In which eBay you and @SMGJohn are finding S5 Pros this cheap? Looking for one.

[Grégory LEROY]

Here are comparison shot of me I took at a Sigma shop in Warsaw. Unfortunately, I shot jpeg.

Nikon D5500 x Voigt 58mm Nokt  (standard profile picture)

 

Sigma Dp3

 

I like Sigma colors better but the ergonomy is terrible

impossible to connect my yongnuo radio trigger or speed light because the lens is on the way (I used sigma flash they gave me) , impossible to move the focus point to the eye, overall a very slow and uneasy camera to use.

 

 

[maxotics]

2 hours ago, Grégory LEROY said:

overall a very slow and uneasy camera to use

Really?    You know I gotta say it, again.  Slow?  Sigma? 

The Sigma colors above are significantly richer, IMHO.  Though, the Nikon will always be fine.  Still,  I can never get that rich look with bayer cameras.  I take it you didn't buy the camera, just tried it out?

[Grégory LEROY]

28 minutes ago, maxotics said:

Really?    You know I gotta say it, again.  Slow?  Sigma? 

The Sigma colors above are significantly richer, IMHO.  Though, the Nikon will always be fine.  Still,  I can never get that rich look with bayer cameras.  I take it you didn't buy the camera, just tried it out?

Yeah, the red are so rich and vivid, bayer looks faded in camparison..before buying it, I still have to figure out how to build a good light set up with sigma (radio trigger? any remote control? which monolight and speedlight?), and to know if it's possible to bring the magnification to the eye caus I haven't succeed at sigma shop.