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TCS review Sigma DP2 Quattro

G43

New member
Still I do not regret buying the Merrills.
Both are still slo-mo style shooting representatives.

Happy my carbon tripod is under 4 pounds and adding the 3 cameras, a bag and some snuff stuff will not break my body.. (yet :)
 

Quentin_Bargate

Well-known member
Interesting to the casual viewer, but wrong on resolution where the Quattro is slightly better, right on colour, partly right on high ISO although I have success with the Merrills at 400ISO, and wrong on handheld shots - if you are careful.

Also right on blown highlights. The Quattro has to be exposed to the left to preserve highlights, the exact reverse of the Merrills.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
The only quibble I would have is his statement that with the DP2M you are restricted to iso200 at most.

Maybe I am doing something wrong but I have had good results up to iso800. Where there is noise it looks much more like film grain than any other digital I have used and is perfectly acceptable, imho. However, the casual user without any great skill in LR or Photoshop will struggle.

I am cooling again about the DP2Q. I'm not convinced about any great advantage over my existing DP2M and DP3M. Might invest in the DP1Q as that is the only focal length that I am missing in the range.

LouisB
 

The Ute

Well-known member
The only quibble I would have is his statement that with the DP2M you are restricted to iso200 at most.

Maybe I am doing something wrong but I have had good results up to iso800. Where there is noise it looks much more like film grain than any other digital I have used and is perfectly acceptable, imho. However, the casual user without any great skill in LR or Photoshop will struggle.

I am cooling again about the DP2Q. I'm not convinced about any great advantage over my existing DP2M and DP3M. Might invest in the DP1Q as that is the only focal length that I am missing in the range.

LouisB
And then there is this:

Sigma: "the current version of SPP still has room for improvement in terms of processing"

Says that new firmware may fix some of what ails the new Quattro.
 

G43

New member
:ROTFL: Tadaaa.. here we go again.. Beta-testers...

Get used to it some says. Nope.. it isn't fair to us customers.

Being in sales for decades I tried to practice *Undersell - overdeliver*

I wonder if there's room for improvement developing M raw files in SPP 5? Perhaps Sigma is taking a look into this while overhauling the SPP until its final version 6.1.0.
 

darr

Well-known member
Thanks for the link. I originally went to the DPM line as an alternative to dragging my MF gear out in the landscape, and for that purpose the DPMs work for me. I will pass on the DPQ line. I recently acquired a SD1M for studio work and love it. :)
 

G43

New member
I can't wait to see my prints from the DPM's :)

Looking for a new Epson 4900. 17" x X.
 

Hulyss Bowman

Active member
Interesting to the casual viewer, but wrong on resolution where the Quattro is slightly better, right on colour, partly right on high ISO although I have success with the Merrills at 400ISO, and wrong on handheld shots - if you are careful.

Also right on blown highlights. The Quattro has to be exposed to the left to preserve highlights, the exact reverse of the Merrills.
I understand your point of view Quentin. But most of us here are experts with those cameras. Think about a guy who is fresh into the brand, coming from a D3000 or a D300 or a fuji camera. He might be disappointed. We take time to cook. And with SIGMA gear,it need some times :)

At the end, any serious camera dealer can't recommend a DP or a SD to every body. It is a very small niche product. I think he was pretty balanced.
 

Quentin_Bargate

Well-known member
Totally agree. These Sigmas are most assuredly not for casual snappers.

I understand your point of view Quentin. But most of us here are experts with those cameras. Think about a guy who is fresh into the brand, coming from a D3000 or a D300 or a fuji camera. He might be disappointed. We take time to cook. And with SIGMA gear,it need some times :)

At the end, any serious camera dealer can't recommend a DP or a SD to every body. It is a very small niche product. I think he was pretty balanced.
 

Steve P.

New member
Chris Niccolls was unusually scathing (for him) about the poorly designed grip. To me this, before I.Q., ISO performance or anything else is the most serious shortcoming of the Quattro. People who buy and enjoy these cameras generally understand the quirks and foibles going in, and feel that the benefits of Foveon are well worth the compromises along the way, but if you can't get a comfortable grip on the thing you're hardly going to bond with it. I am genuinely baffled as to why Sigma did this.
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
That was an entertaining video and the TCS guys seem to offer some real insights. I have a trial version of the Quattro arriving this week. I want a smaller camera for some applications. I don't mind quirks, I used a Pentax 67II, so in comparison they would be minor.
 

rjp85

Member
I couldn't believe how it took over a minute for him to process the JPEG in SPP.

On my PC I built myself, it takes 20 seconds to save a full quality JPEG from the Quattro. Even less for a Merrill file.
 

G43

New member
Exporting RAW development from DPM files to tiff goes relatively fast here. 5 sec. perhaps.. not more.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Thanks for the link. I originally went to the DPM line as an alternative to dragging my MF gear out in the landscape, and for that purpose the DPMs work for me. I will pass on the DPQ line. I recently acquired a SD1M for studio work and love it. :)
This is a good point. I finally threw the towel in, in lugging my MF gear shortly after getting the DP2M. Printing 30x20 from a single frame with absolute clarity did it for me.

LouisB
 
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