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Sigma DP2 Quattro Shots
- Thread starter Quentin_Bargate
- Start date
Yes perfection is a pleasure by itself. I however saw some very very nice landscape shots that with a little care about gradient sharpening and curves brought up the corners nicely. Was hard to see the lens is soft at edges.
The same guy showed me also 7 stitched verticals for a landscape shot.
Doiiing :bugeyes:
Quentin_Bargate
Well-known member
The Merrills changed my photographic direction for over a year. I took a Moroccan vacation just to use the DP2M and DP1M and came back with some of my best work. The DP2M is possibly the best camera for stitched panos I have ever used - the stitching software loves it because its sharp edge to edge. Much as I like a lot about the Quattro, it is not the big step forward we were all anticipating. More a shuffle forwards and half a step back.
Well I guess it is so Quentin. I am not a camera professor, but since I saw the first Q files I thought: Is this going to take out the M's and do it with glamour?
I saw it got better along the FW and RAW conversion SW updates. But I guess it was merely flaws that were corrected.
Perhaps in all cruelty we are facing a flawed sensor .. given it should beat the prior. That happens in the industry.
I saw it got better along the FW and RAW conversion SW updates. But I guess it was merely flaws that were corrected.
Perhaps in all cruelty we are facing a flawed sensor .. given it should beat the prior. That happens in the industry.
Without beeing harsh IMO you should compare your Sony to a DP2 pre- merrill.
Quentin_Bargate
Well-known member
Essentially I have too many cameras 
. Been out and about today in Cornwall with a Nikon D810, various lenses (but only used the 24mm PC-E), and the Quattro. The Hassy sits, unused, due to weight. There is always a trade-off between weight and performance. That's why the Merrills/Quattro promise so much.
. Been out and about today in Cornwall with a Nikon D810, various lenses (but only used the 24mm PC-E), and the Quattro. The Hassy sits, unused, due to weight. There is always a trade-off between weight and performance. That's why the Merrills/Quattro promise so much.To be a little more clear, if I wasn't sufficiently so before, the Sony Alpha 55 and Sigma DP2 Quattro are the only cameras I have, so that's why I compared the two. I was also fortunate to have a lens of the same focal length and maximum aperature for the Sony. If you don't find the comparison of any use to you, then so be it.
As this is the Sigma forum, I didn't make any effort to show all the situations where my 3-year-old Sony Alpha55 will produce better results than the Quattro. I do like the Quattro, but, especially with the purple and green splotches, the places where it is useful are rather limited.
Again, as I stated above, I'm mainly keeping the Quattro with the hopes that new firmware and SPP updates will fix more limits of the camera.
Regards,
Jon
@ Quentin.
Yeap.. buying power often leads to that! You got perhaps (no pretty sure) the very best DSLR Bayer based sensor camera exciting at the moment, close and in some sense better than Pentax 645Z given the Nikon is offered the very best glass.
I have the exact same issue with the bulk of the different systems. I cannot carry all that heavy gear anymore.
It brings us back to the ideal solution. 3 or 4 fixed lens compact cameras that outbeats the rest. Trust me the industry CAN make it, but will not.
Yeap.. buying power often leads to that! You got perhaps (no pretty sure) the very best DSLR Bayer based sensor camera exciting at the moment, close and in some sense better than Pentax 645Z given the Nikon is offered the very best glass.
I have the exact same issue with the bulk of the different systems. I cannot carry all that heavy gear anymore.
It brings us back to the ideal solution. 3 or 4 fixed lens compact cameras that outbeats the rest. Trust me the industry CAN make it, but will not.
I am curious about this. What is the half step back you see with the Quattro? I think both the Merrill and the Quattro have major quirks in equal parts. The Quattro actually to me has more consistency of color, but I also think at full resolution it uses the "Foveon bite" look and many other cameras match in a way the color look.
I would shoot the Quattro in low res RAW for color. What I did not expect is that the black and white stayed the same as the Merrill for high ISO work.
But basically I see both cameras with serious quirks that I do not consider overall, the Quattro above Merrill or the Merrill above Quattro, though I am inclined to go Quattro if I had to pick.
- Ricardo
Wow! It appears the new firmware and SPP updates are substantial. In a way, the Quattro has been "Merrill-ized." The grain structure looks completely different as well. Errors in red areas have been fixed. People are saying it's "noisier" but it looks like the Merrill grain in some ways.
SPP 6.05: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kazua0213/14941552758/sizes/o/
SPP 6.06: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kazua0213/14941554408/sizes/o/
SPP 6.05: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kazua0213/14941552758/sizes/o/
SPP 6.06: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kazua0213/14941554408/sizes/o/
The Ute
Well-known member
You can't "Merrillize" the Quattro.
The sensor structure is completely different.
All they must be doing is trying to correct the Quattro's flaws.
Just as they did w the Merrills.
"trying to correct the Quattro's flaws."
Isn't that the point?
That's why I put "Merrill-ize" in quotes. A Quattro will never be a Merrill, but these latest updates actually change the very nature of the image quality. I would say that's significant. I think they're on the right track.
Look at the difference between the red and black banner that says "45 digital"
old: http://maros-images.sakura.ne.jp/technical/dp2q_snap_4dp2m_2.jpg
latest updates: http://maros-images.sakura.ne.jp/technical/dp2q_snap_4dp2m_2_spp606.jpg
Isn't that the point?
That's why I put "Merrill-ize" in quotes. A Quattro will never be a Merrill, but these latest updates actually change the very nature of the image quality. I would say that's significant. I think they're on the right track.
Look at the difference between the red and black banner that says "45 digital"
old: http://maros-images.sakura.ne.jp/technical/dp2q_snap_4dp2m_2.jpg
latest updates: http://maros-images.sakura.ne.jp/technical/dp2q_snap_4dp2m_2_spp606.jpg
What it tells me is R&D Camera HW and R&D SW within the Sigma lives in separate worlds. It's a long time since I saw a customer/user paid field test taken so far...
The Ute
Well-known member
I understand what you meant but my point still stands.
The Quattro will not have the detail and microcontrast of the Merrill no matter how they tweak it due to the differences in the sensor structure.
It will always have it's own unique look which may or may not be as good as the Merrill's depending on your taste.
I remember how all this started here in this 'mini' Merrill forum. (There are other cameras here too).
Merrill owners happy/unhappy with their sucking Merrills UI/SPP and what do I know clumsy camera issues and hoping the Quattro were the answer to all prayers. You know what Sigma.. you should listen to your devoted Foveon users and answer their dreams. Really.
I've not seen a product loyalty anywhere else except Leica users express. Period.
Is there more to say at this moment?
Merrill owners happy/unhappy with their sucking Merrills UI/SPP and what do I know clumsy camera issues and hoping the Quattro were the answer to all prayers. You know what Sigma.. you should listen to your devoted Foveon users and answer their dreams. Really.
I've not seen a product loyalty anywhere else except Leica users express. Period.
Is there more to say at this moment?
The Ute
Well-known member
My loyalty is directly related to the image quality. As long as that is maintained or improved I will stay on board.
Everyone who uses a Sigma compact camera should be well aware of it's limitations and quirks by now.
As I said above, The price for putting up with the quirks, etc. is stunning image quality in a bite-sized package, and at a ridiculously affordable price (at least for the Merrill's).