Sigma dp2 Quattro Review

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Basic Specifications
Full model name:	Sigma dp2 Quattro
Resolution:	19.61 Megapixels
Sensor size:	APS-C (23.5mm x 15.7mm)
Lens:	Non-Zoom (45mm eq.)
Viewfinder:	No / LCD
Native ISO:	100 - 6400
Extended ISO:	100 - 6400
Shutter:	1/2000 - 30 sec
Max Aperture:	2.8
Dimensions:	6.4 x 2.6 x 3.2 in. (161 x 67 x 82 mm)
Weight:	17.2 oz (489 g) includes batteries
Availability:	08/2014
Manufacturer:	Sigma
Full specs:	Sigma dp2 Quattro specifications

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Sigma DP2 Quattro

dp2 Quattro Deals

19.61 Megapixels	Non-Zoom	APS-C size sensor

dp2 Quattro Summary

In a radical departure compared to the boxy shape of its Merrill predecessor, the Sigma dp2 Quattro's strange, elongated design might scare away some at first, but it's quite comfortable after you try it for a while. Similar to the earlier model, the new Foveon X3 Quattro sensor produces some truly stunning, high-resolution files -- as long as you limit yourself to ISO 100-400. Performance-wise, the dp2 Quattro is still a bit clunky and sluggish regarding focusing speed, buffer clearing and battery life. Overall, if you're looking for a much more portable, high-res landscape or portrait camera, the Sigma dp2 Quattro merits consideration.

Pros

Phenomenal detail and "depth" at low ISOs; Extremely high resolution; Incredible image quality for the price and size (at low ISOs); Fast x-sync speeds; Unique design is unconventional but comfortable and balanced.

Cons

Poor high ISO performance; Very sluggish buffer clearing; Poor low-light AF; No built-in flash; Very limited third-party RAW file support; Bundled Sigma Photo Pro RAW software is slow and buggy.

Price and availability

Priced at US$1,000 or thereabouts at its initial release around August 2014, the Sigma dp2 Quattro is now available in the US market for around US$880.

Imaging Resource rating

4.0 out of 5.0

Sigma dp2 Quattro Review

by Mike Tomkins
Overview posted 02/10/2014

Updates:
09/12/2014 - Field Test Part I
11/07/2014 - Field Test Part II
06/17/2015 - Review Conclusion

At the 2006 Photokina tradeshow, Japanese third-party lens manufacturer Sigma announced development of its first compact digital camera. A year and a half later, the Sigma DP1 -- the camera that started the trend for large-sensor, fixed-lens compacts -- hit the market. Although there have been many followups in the six years since, they've all shared that one most important hallmark of Sigma's camera line: the Foveon X3 image sensor. (Sigma went on to acquire Foveon in November 2008.)

A radical change. But now, the status quo has gone out the window. With the Sigma dp2 Quattro and its simultaneously-launched siblings, the dp1 Quattro and dp3 Quattro -- the company uses a brand-new image sensor that's fundamentally different to those of its forebears. It's still a Foveon chip, and in fact still carries X3 branding, but the Foveon X3 Quattro image sensor is a huge departure from the sensors which have preceded it.

Before we go any further, a recap of the Foveon X3 sensor would probably be appropriate. Since it's only ever been used in Sigma's SD-series DSLRs and DP-series fixed-lens cameras, one quickly-discontinued, Polaroid-branded small-sensor compact camera, and a variety of industrial / scientific cameras, the X3 sensor line has likely flown under many photographers' radars. It has a pretty devoted following from a small subset of the photographic community, however, who've shunned more established name-brands in favor of Sigma's cameras.

How the others do it. Traditional CMOS and CCD image sensors can't differentiate between the wavelengths of light being collected by their photodiodes. Instead, they use a color filter over the surface of the sensor to reject most of the light before it reaches the photodiode, permitting only a limited range of frequencies to be gathered. That color filter array -- most typically a 2x2 pixel Bayer array with two green, one red, and one blue pixel that's repeated across the sensor surface -- allows color data to be recreated for the image.

Unfortunately, it also greatly reduces light-gathering efficiency, and reduces resolution -- especially color resolution. For any given pixel location, two thirds of the color information must be interpolated (read: guessed) by looking at the values of surrounding pixel locations. This can result in color moiré and false color artifacts. The process of demosaicing to recreate the final image requires battery-sucking processor power. Alternate color filter arrays such as RGBW, and Fuji's EXR / X-Trans exist and can mitigate some of these issues, but in turn can be even more computationally intensive.

Foveon 1.0. Foveon's X3 sensor works in a completely different manner, taking advantage of the fact that light of different wavelengths will penetrate to different depths in the silicon from which the sensor is constructed. Photodiodes aren't just spread across the sensor surface, but also stacked vertically. The result is that the sensor can record full color information at every pixel location -- there's no demosaicing to do, color moiré and false color are avoided, and no valuable light is turned away by a color filter array.

There's no free breakfast, though. Foveon sensors have had issues with cross-contamination of colors between channels, higher noise levels (especially color noise) and limited ISO sensitivity, drastically reduced saturation at higher sensitivities, reduced dynamic range, and modest performance (since they must read and process three times as much data for any given pixel count, compared to a Bayer camera). And although they are resistant to color moiré and false color, they can still suffer from luminance moiré, albeit at higher frequencies.

Still full color? The Foveon X3 Quattro aims to deal with some of these issues. The manner in which they're addressed is at once interesting, and quite a departure from the way in which they've worked in the past, something that may cause concern for Foveon-faithful fans. The reason? Although technically full color information is still being gathered at every pixel location, a variance in the pixel size and pitch between the top layer and those below it means that, if you count the resolution of the top layer as that of the camera, the layers beneath have significantly lower color resolution.

The top layer, which responds most strongly in the blue channel, has an effective 19.6 million photodiodes. Both layers beneath have just 4.9 million photodiodes, however. That brings up the potential for color moiré and false color artifacts, the very thing Foveon sensors have until now managed to avoid.

Forget the concept of megapixels. Ever since we first heard of the X3 Quattro chip, we've been debating precisely how to describe it on our site. Foveon's chips have always defied categorization in terms of the not-so-humble megapixel, but more than ever that's true with the Quattro image sensor.

In the past, we've always reported a resolution of one-third that claimed by Foveon and Sigma, who both count every photodiode as contributing to the megapixel number. Neither approach has felt entirely fair, though. Taking the example of the flagship Sigma SD1 digital SLR, its manufacturer would count it as a 44 megapixel design in terms of output images, where we classify it as 14.8 megapixel. In truth, its performance lies somewhere in the middle -- resolution of the SD1 is similar to that we'd expect from a 25-30 megapixel camera.

But now, things have taken an even more complex turn. Sigma and Foveon still add the number of photodiodes from all three layers. In their opinion, the sensor in the Sigma dp2 Quattro is a 29.4-effective megapixel chip, a number they round down to 29 megapixels. Given that it no longer has identical pixel grids on all three layers, it feels more unfair than ever to simply divide this by three, and call this a 9.8-megapixel camera. At the same time, though, referring to a camera that has only 4.9-megapixel resolution on two of its three color channels as being a 29-megapixel camera seems just as far from the truth.

We now have, essentially, no meaningful way to describe this sensor or the cameras on which it is based in terms of pixel resolution. You'll see it described at the top of this page as a 19.6 megapixel sensor, but realistically, we have no idea how it will correspond to a typical, Bayer-filtered camera in terms of resolution. It could, conceivably, still better a 19.6-megapixel Bayer chip in terms of luminance resolution, or it could go the other way. And it certainly does better in color resolution.

So why the change? Reducing the resolution of two out of three layers so radically, however, bring some advantages. For one thing, there's now a whole lot less information to read off the sensor and process for every shot. That should translate to greater performance.

Also, with larger photodiodes for the lower layers, noise levels should be reduced in two out of three channels. (Specifically, the red and green channels.) And although color resolution will certainly be reduced compared to a standard Foveon X3 chip of equal pixel count, luminance resolution will hopefully suffer less, with much of the information able to be reconstructed from the higher-resolution top layer.

But enough sensor talk. There's a new camera here, too -- well, three of them, actually. And we're going to go on record as saying that the new body they share is going to prove just as controversial as the sensor that lies inside them. To call this body design radical would be to downplay just how unusual it is.

Walkaround. Where most cameras are either relatively box-like, or have a handgrip of some kind projecting from the front, perhaps accompanied by a smaller thumbgrip on the rear, the Sigma dp2 Quattro takes a different route. There's a small projection on the front, angled outward about 20 degrees, and finished in a sharp 90-degree corner around which your fingers will grip. On the rear, there's a much larger projection on which is control pad and focus button. This, too, finishes at a fairly sharp edge that then angles back towards the camera body and curves to meet it. The control pad, however, sticks out of the side of this angled surface.

Jumping to the front of the unusually wide dp2 Quattro camera body for a moment, it's almost entirely smooth and featureless, save for the angled grip, lens, a two-hole microphone port at the far left end (as seen from the rear), and a small leatherette grip pad at the base of the grip. Unusually, the autofocus assist lamp can be found not in the camera body, but in the top right corner of the lens barrel. We initially had concerns about the width in terms of handling comfort, however, as you can see in the video below, once we got our hands on the camera, it's surprisingly comfortable and stable.

Sigma dp2 Quattro Hands-On

A fair few controls are to be found on the unusual, reverse L-shaped top deck. Sitting right of the flash hot shoe -- and note that there's no built-in flash at all -- you'll find the Power button, a Mode button, and two flat-topped dials, neither of them ergonomically angled. The shutter button sits inside the front dial. A sensor plane mark at the far left end of the body shows just how close to its front the sensor sits, just a tiny fraction behind the rear of the lens barrel. One remaining control -- the manual focus ring -- sits around that barrel.

On the rear, once you get past that grip with control pad and focus button, the remainder of the dp2 Quattro's back panel is relatively flat, accommodated only by the 3.0-inch, 920-Kdot LCD monitor and a handful of controls. One of these -- the Play button -- sits snug between the leatherette rear surface and the cover plate that tops the LCD. The others -- Display mode, Quick Set, AE-lock / Delete, and Menu -- sit in a column just a little further right. The SD card access lamp sits at the very bottom left corner, adjacent to the SD card slot and USB port, which live under a small door on the left end of the body.

On the bottom, you'll find a battery compartment door with dummy battery cable cutout in the base of the unusual grip, and a small projection for the tripod mount beneath the lens. While some tripod mounting plates may not prove ideal with the arrangement, it does look to place the tripod socket not only on the central axis of the lens, but also very close to the focal plane as well, which has advantages for panorama shooters.

The difference is in the lens. The key difference between the Sigma dp2 Quattro and its siblings, the dp1 Quattro and dp2 Quattro, can be found in their lens. The Sigma dp2 Quattro is based around a 30mm f/2.8 prime lens, equivalent to a 45mm lens after taking into account the focal length crop of the APS-C sized X3 Quattro imager's 23.5 x 15.7mm surface area. Both of the dp2 Quattro's siblings also have f/2.8 prime optics, but that of the dp1 Quattro is a 19mm (28mm equivalent) lens, while the dp3 Quattro has a 50mm (75mm equivalent) optic.

Of the trio, the Sigma dp2 Quattro's lens is the least complex. It has eight elements in six groups, and a nine-bladed iris aperture. Focusing is possible to as close as 28 centimeters, and maximum magnification is 1:7.6. With lens, the dp2 Quattro has a body depth of 3.2 inches, and a weight of 13.9 ounces (395g) without battery or flash card.

Processor. Handling output from the new image sensor, there's also a brand-new TRUE III image processor.

Autofocus. The dp2 Quattro uses a nine-point contrast-detection autofocus system. Three AF point sizes are available, and the focus point can also be moved freely around the frame. Face detection is provided, as is a focus lock function.

Sensitivity. The Sigma dp2 Quattro offers sensitivities ranging from ISO 100 to 6400 equivalents in 1/3 EV steps. The whole range is available under automatic control, courtesy of configurable high and low limits.

Exposure. There are a choice of just four exposure modes in the dp2 Quattro, just the way experienced shooters like it-- Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, and Manual.

Exposures are determined using evaluative, center-weighted average or spot metering, and +/-3.0 EV of exposure compensation is available in 1/3 EV increments. There's also a three-stop auto-bracketing function within the same range. An AE lock function is available.

Shutter speeds vary from 1/2,000 to 30 seconds, although the entire range may not be available depending on your chosen aperture, suggesting that the iris itself is used to time the exposure.

Creative. Among the dp2 Quattro's creative options are a choice of 11 color modes and 10 white balance modes, with the latter including Color Temperature, Flash, and Custom modes.

Connectivity. The Sigma dp2 Quattro's connectivity options couldn't be much simpler -- USB data (presumably 2.0 High Speed), and a cable release switch.

Power. The dp2 Quattro draws power from a BP-51 lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack. Battery life is rated at 200 shots on a charge. Two batteries as well as a dedicated battery charger are included in the bundle.

Price and availability. Priced at US$1,000 or thereabouts at its initial release around August 2014, the Sigma dp2 Quattro is now available in the US market for around US$880.

Sigma dp2 Quattro Field Test Part I

Getting a grip

by Eamon Hickey | 09/12/2014

If you review a lot of cameras, it's a welcome pleasure to use one that's a break from the ordinary, so I tossed my name in the hat for the Sigma dp2 Quattro. I was curious to find out how well its unusual design would work in real-world shooting; I wanted to get a close look at images from the new Quattro sensor; and I wanted to see if Sigma has been able to improve on the performance limitations of their past cameras, including the DP1 Merrill that I reviewed last year.

Design & handling. I knew from the previews and videos created by my colleagues for the other sections of this review that the Sigma dp2 Quattro was not pocket-sized. Or pocket-shaped, for that matter, unless your tailor is prone to drink. The unusual shape did take a bit of getting used to first thing out of the box, but I found that my right hand fits the angled grip with no real discomfort. I also watched our video where Dave Etchells describes a somewhat unconventional way to hold the dp2 Quattro -- which I will henceforth refer to as The Dave Hold -- and from that video I learned to rest the camera on the ball of my left thumb. It turns out that this is acceptably comfortable, too, although it's a hard habit to get into if, like me, you've been shooting with your left hand under the lens for somewhere around 35 years. That said, whenever I do camera reviews I try to keep in mind that while something unfamiliar may seem awkward to me at first, it might be easy to get used to if I owned the camera and used it long term. My left hand could probably be re-trained.

Read Field Test Part I

Sigma dp2 Quattro Field Test Part II

In the details

by Eamon Hickey | 11/10/2014

Performance. In my reviews of previous Sigma Foveon cameras, especially the DP-series, I've complained about squandering what's left of my youth shooting with them. I was talking about needing to change batteries every 60 shots and waiting much too long for the camera to turn on, focus, save images to its storage card, or display the picture I just took. Performance has been arguably their biggest weak spot.

And when I unpacked the DP2 Quattro and found that Sigma had seen fit to include three batteries with it, I knew not to expect too many miracles on the performance front. Still, on my first two or three outings with the camera, I found that battery life on the DP2 Quattro is definitely better than it was on the DP1 Merrill that I reviewed last year. In six different shoots with the DP2 Quattro, I’ve had to change batteries three times, but that's typically after a couple of hours of fairly steady shooting and reviewing the LCD. Nearly all other contemporary cameras do better than this, but I would feel perfectly comfortable carrying just one spare battery for the DP2 Quattro on any photo outing I'd be likely to take. If you often take a lot of pictures without ready access to an AC outlet, you might feel differently.

Read Field Test Part II

Sigma dp2 Quattro Conclusion

Stunning images, but still quirky, niche-market camera

by William Brawley | 06/15/2015

When it comes to doing things a little differently in the photo industry, Sigma is usually quick to enter the conversation. Renowned for their well-priced and well-regarded lenses -- especially nowadays -- it's their camera systems that really stand out, and their radical new "dp Quattro family" of large sensor, fixed-lens cameras are perhaps the most head-scratchingly unique versions to date.

Starting with the 30mm f/2.8-equipped Sigma dp2 Quattro, this new 'dp'-series camera sports a brand new Foveon X3 Quattro APS-C image sensor. Still constructed around a three-layered RGB sensor array, the new 'Quattro' gets its namesake due to the top-most blue layer being split four ways into 19.6 million photodiodes with the underlying green and red layers remaining at 4.9 million. Effectively, the new dp2 Quattro produces images with a 19.6-megapixel resolution though there's also a Super High-Res image size that produces a whopping 39-megapixel image size (7680 x 5120).