Sigma SD Quattro Digital Camera with 30mm F1.4 DC HSM

Product Information

The Sigma sd Quattro H's image quality is outstanding when shooting in the RAW format, with great results from ISO 100-1600. Curiously the quality drops off noticeably when shooting JPEGs, with only ISO 100-400 worth using thanks to a lot of noise and colour desaturation at the higher ISOs, so our advice would be to always use the sd Quattro H's RAW mode if possible (despite the so-so Sigma Photo pro software and the huge file sizes). The night photograph was very good, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds allowing you to capture enough light for the majority of after-dark situations. That's how long it's been since the release of the SD9, Sigma's first digital camera, which was also the first camera to use the layered Foveon sensor design. From then on, for better or for worse, Sigma has continued to refine its unique layered sensors. While no one will argue that their cameras are capable of insanely sharp output, you still have to put up with an awful lot of shortcomings. The sd Quattro’s most important feature is its Foveon X3 Quattro image sensor. Unlike conventional sensors, which
use a pattern of red, green and blue-coloured filters over their light-sensitive photodiodes to determine colour, it’s based around the fact that the different colours of light can penetrate silicon to different depths. It has a top layer with 19.6 million pixels that’s most sensitive to blue light, with two layers beneath that each use 4.9 million pixels four times in area, and that are sensitive to green and red light. Because of this arrangement, Sigma calls it a 29.5-million-pixel sensor. The Sigma sd Quattro H offers a full range of advanced exposure controls via the Mode button on the rear of the camera, including aperture-priority, shutter-priority, manual and manual focusing, with three Custom modes so that you can save and recall your preferred settings. There are no auto-everything or scene modes on this camera, which is a veritable breath of fresh air at a time when most manufacturers are stuffing their cameras full of clever technologies that take control away from the user. The aperture or shutter speed are set by using the forefinger-operated control dial on top of the camera which encircles the shutter button, with a smaller rear control dial setting the aperture in the Manual shooting mode and exposure compensation in the other modes. However, so long as you're aware of these limitations, the SD Quattro H is a very nice camera. Its user interface is remarkably polished and responsive, the ergonomics are rather good and the build quality is top-notch.

The X3F has more bit depth and thus more information. However, Sigma Photo Pro is not the most refined program in the world and takes some patience to use. You will get the most out of the camera if you can take it slow and edit in Photo Pro. With that said, the DNG files are excellent (if a bit inflated in MB) and can be edited easily in Lightroom and other programs compatible with the format. The Sigma sd Quattro offers a full range of advanced exposure controls via the Mode button on the rear of the camera, including aperture-priority, shutter-priority, manual and manual focusing, with three Custom modes so that you can save and recall your preferred settings. There are no auto-everything or scene modes on this camera, which is a veritable breath of fresh air at a time when most manufacturers are stuffing their cameras full of clever technologies that take control away from the user. The aperture or shutter speed are set by using the forefinger-operated control dial on top of the camera which encircles the shutter button, with a smaller rear control dial setting the aperture in the Manual shooting mode and exposure compensation in the other modes. The adoption of the DNG format does wonders for broadening the system's appeal. Sigma Photo Pro isn't unworkable but it's yet another hurdle standing in the way of the system's adoption, so it's nice to see it circumvented. It's still likely that you'll find yourself having to work a little harder to get the best-possible image results but at least you're more likely to be able to do so in a familiar piece of software. There’s more green as the green wavelength of light takes up a disproportionately large chunk of the overall visible light spectrum.points select mode, Free move mode (It is possible to change the size of Focus Frame to Spot, Regular and Large), Face Detection AF Mode Sigma sd Quattro H w/120-300mm Sigma lens – ISO 100, 171mm, f/4.5, 1/800 Hidden option: Easy Infrared There are two important technologies around today which could completely revolutionise the image sensor market. Quantom Dot (InVisage Quantum Film) is one. Foveon is the other. The Sigma SD Quattro is the first camera from the brand new Sigma mirrorless camera system. The main selling point is probably it’s 20MP APS-C (1.5x crop factor) Foveon sensor which Sigma claims to have a resolution “equivalent” to 39MP. On test here is the H3D-39II with 39 megapixel Kodak KAF-39000 sensor and the Hasselblad 80mm F2.8 stopped down to F5.6. The field of view of this lens is equal to about 55mm on a full frame camera with its piddly small crop sensor 🙂

There are 7 ISO settings available on the Sigma sd Quattro H for both JPEGs and RAW files. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting, with JPEG on the left and RAW on the right: types ( Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Portrait, Landscape, Monochrome, Cinema*, Sunset Red*, Forest Green*, FOV Classic Blue*, FOV Classic Yellow* )* The BIOS was the key and it wasn't possible to get compatible computer without IBM licensing until Compaq (later bought by the HP) reverse engineered it in clean room method and that was then the problem for IBM as it allowed Microsoft to license the PC DOS (MS DOS) to second parties. It was game over that time.

How good is it?

This unique approach means that its X3F raw files can only be processed using Sigma Photo Pro (SPP). Unfortunately, this is one of the slowest and least intuitive pieces of software I’ve ever used, and it’s a serious weakness of the entire system. It’s capable of delivering good results, but you’ll need a fast, up-to-date computer and the patience of a saint.