Sigma sd Quattro H

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Sigma's Foveon device technology has long delivered image quality that blows away thought cameras—at least at low ISOs. However poor image quality once the ISO is pushed to moderate levels, and a cumbersome Raw work flow tied to proprietary code created them a troublesome sell. The most recent model, the Sigma sd Quattro H ($1,199, body only), solves one issue by introducing DNG capture, thus you'll be able to work with Raw pictures in Lightroom CC and Photoshop while not conversion, however still struggles at high ISO settings. For the proper lensman, the Sd Quattro H could be a terribly appealing camera, however it is a specialised tool and no threat to our favourite high-end mirrorless decide, the Fujifilm X-T2.


Design

The Quattro H is associate degree odd-looking camera. It's mirrorless, however it uses associate degree SLR lens mount that protrudes from the body, that could be a bit thick and blockish compared with its competitors. The handle is fairly deep, thus it's snug to carry, and also the bottom of the grip is above the remainder of the body, therefore the H features a little bit of a wavy look if viewed from the front or rear. It supports constant Storm Troops lenses as Sigma SLRs, as well as the aging SD1 Merrill.

If you would like a conventional flat bottom, you'll be able to get the $250 PG-41 Power Grip. It connects to the camera and adds shooting controls to be used once holding the Quattro in portrait orientation, moreover as 2 further batteries. You'll have to shop for these on an individual basis, and they are $75 every, thus adding the grip and totally loading it with further power could be a $400 proposition.



Without the grip or a lens, the Quattro measures 3.7 by 5.8 by 3.6 inches (HWD) and weighs concerning 1.6 pounds. It's larger and heavier than the X-T2, which is 3.6 by 5.2 by 1.9 inches and weighs 1.1 pounds. The Quattro is merely out there in black. Its exterior is generally metal, with some plastic parts (including the memory card door) and a rubberized coating on the handle and rear thumb rest.

Aside from the lens unharness button, the front is empty controls. The On/Off switch is curiously placed at associate degree angle atop the lens mount barrel. The highest plate homes the new shoe, EVF unit management, front and rear management dials, the shutter unharness, a Lock switch, and also the QS (Quick Shift) button. The Quick Shift system is Sigma's combat the on-screen overlay menu that we have a tendency to see in such a large amount of cameras. By default it provides fast access to the Drive mode, White Balance, Tone management, Focus Peaking, Image Quality, Image Size, ratio, and Color mode. However you'll be able to modification what functions square measure enclosed within the menu to best shoot your shooting vogue.

Rear controls embrace a show button that changes the number of data shown on the rear screen or EVF, moreover as a toggle to line the Live read feed to point out on the EVF, the rear show, or switch mechanically exploitation the Quattro's eye device. Below the alphanumeric display square measure Play and S/C (Single/Continuous AF select) buttons. A strip of buttons runs on the proper of the secondary LCD—a lightweight bulb icon turns it on or off, and for photography management there is eV, ISO, Metering, and Mode. On the way rear you get associate degree AF/AEL button and toggle (nestled into the thumb rest), a four-way directional pad with center choose button, Menu, and attention purpose choose button. Some of the controls square measure atypical—using a button to pick out shooting mode instead of a dial shows that Sigma expects photographers to possess it slow to vary modes, that is probably going the case for a camera designed for slow, deliberate image capture. And also the AFL/AEL toggle makes it potential to lock either or each for an attempt while not diving into settings to vary its operate. Most cameras with toggle switches cause you toopt for one or the opposite per shot.



I'm accustomed shooting with totally different camera systems in single outings, however i will be the primary to admit that i used to be scrambling to seek out sure options on the Quattro's body, solely to get them wherever I least expected, once operating with it within the field. With additional regular use i am positive i might be softer with the situation of the various buttons, and customizing the QS menu was an enormous facilitate on behalf of me.

Many pro SLRs have secondary LCDs that show exposure data, however they are universally settled on the highest plate. The Quattro H puts it on the rear, to the proper of the most alphanumeric display. It's here you'll be able to see the quantity of shots remaining on your memory card and within the burst shooting buffer, exposure settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and also the metering pattern), and also the shooting mode. It's monochrome, data is shown in easy-to-read bright white piece of writing, and viewing angles square measure glorious.

To its left is that the 3-inch, 1.62-million-dot alphanumeric display that shows the live read feed and overlay information—including a framing grid and digital level if desired. It is a very solid alphanumeric display, showing scenes in crisp detail. Itsn't barely screen, that could be a shame as tap-to-focus would have worked very well with this sort of camera. It is also fastened, that is additional of a disappointment to Sd. The Quattro is adept at capturing landscapes and goes to charm to photographers UN agency frequently work on a rack. If you would like to require an attempt from a awfully low angle, prepare to urge down on your hands and knees to border it.


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You can conjointly frame shots within the EVF. I've got no complaints regarding its size or sharpness—its 0.84x magnification rating means it's one among the largest you will find in a mirrorless camera, and 2.36 million dots create it lots sharp. However it is not the smoothest EVF I've used, delivering pictures to your eye that are not absolutely sleek and lag to a small degree, very similar to the medium format Hasselblad X1D-50c. It conjointly incorporates a slightly heat, xanthous tint, that you do not get with the rear liquid crystal display. I am glad it's there for those times once you are coping with an excessive amount of sun for even the intense rear liquid crystal display to punch through, or once fitting an effort that is best taken from eye level, however I found myself victimisation the rear liquid crystal display a lot of actually because of the EVF's shortcomings.

When you take away the lens you may notice that there is a reflective red filter between the mount and detector. It prevents invisible lightweight on the infrared wavelength from creating its thanks to the imager. It's removable, Associate in Nursingd if you are doing take away it you'll be able to flip the Quattro H into an infrared camera. You'll have to speculate during a filter to dam actinic radiation, however it's an inexpensive thanks to get into infrared photography—most cameras got to be specially changed by a 3rd party for IR imaging.

The memory card door is on the correct aspect and supports Sd, SDHC, and SDXC cards. The battery is housed near , accessible via a door on the lowest plate. On the left aspect you will find 3 rubber flaps that cowl the device, small USB 3.0, and mini HDMI ports. There is no wireless property, neither is there a electro-acoustic transducer input—the Quattro does not record video. Sigma does not publish the quality CIPA rating for battery life. However like different cameras that use a Quattro detector, it's fairly power hungry. A second battery could be a smart plan for all-day excursions.



Performance

Don't expect the Quattro to roll off shots just like the Fujifilm X-T2 or Mt. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. It is a camera for the patient. It needs 5.4 seconds to start out, focus, and fire. And though the camera is supercharged on and prepared go, expect to attend a full second for the main target to lock.



Burst shooting is offered at a good 4.3 frames per second, however it's extremely restricted in period. You simply get eight shots before the buffer is totally full, and once you have stopped shooting it takes regarding fifty seconds for those eight pictures to plan to memory, even once employing a SanDisk SDXC card rated at 280MBps. You'll be able to begin shooting once more when the buffer is partly clear, thankfully, however that'll still keep you out of action for regarding six seconds.

Huge file sizes play a locality within the write time. DNG shots ar regarding 150MB every, and X3F Raw files put down at 73MB on the average. JPGs ar a lot of affordable, between fifteen and 20MB for normal resolution (25.6MP) pictures, however if you decide to avoid wasting them at the upscaled 51.2MP size they balloon to regarding 40MB.

Image Quality

But you almost certainly are not shopping for this camera to shoot JPG, unless it's out of sheer convenience. The Sigma Raw progress has long been a hurdle I've had bother clearing for one straightforward reason—the proprietary Sigma photograph professional software system is pretty terrible. It's improved over the years—you will currently batch convert X3F Raw pictures to wrangle format to be used in Lightroom while not the software system crashing—but that long method is rendered inessential here. The Quattro H shoots in DNG, Adobe's normal format. You lose some skillfulness by choosing DNG capture—adjustments to individual color layers cannot be created within the same means as Associate in Nursing X3F file—but you gain convenience.



The image detector is Associate in Nursing APS-H format, and measures 18.6 by 27.9mm—to approximate the full-frame equivalent field of read a lens can deliver, multiply its focal distance by 1.3. The Sigma 35mm F1.4 metric weight unit HSM Art lens I used along side the Quattro H could be a normal angle, matching a 45mm lens on a a hundred thirty five format detector. If you own a Sigma lens that covers Associate in Nursing APS-C image circle it may be used on the Sd Quattro H; photos ar cropped mechanically to match the smaller detector size.



It's a Foveon design—if you are not aware of the technology, you'll be able to scan a lot of regarding it at our sister web site, ExtremeTech. The Quattro detector maintains the three-layer style of earlier Foveon imagers, however packs fourfold as several pixels into the highest blue-sensitive layer than it will within the inexperienced or red layers below it. If you shoot within the X3F or DNG Raw format net result ar 25MP pictures, however as a result of there is no got to interpolate information from missing pixels, detail is on a similar level as a 50MP Empirin image.


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Lab tests keep a copy the claims. Examining Raw photos at 2:1 magnification shows that detail is on par with 50MP cameras we've tested, as well as the medium format Hasselblad X1D and Canon Eos 5DS R, each of that ar much more dearly-won than the Quattro H. I've enclosed crops from all of the Quattro H's shooting modes—25MP Raw, DNG, and JPG, still as 51MP Super High JPG—in the slideshow that accompanies this review.

Where the Foveon style falls wanting Empirin is at higher ISOs. The Quattro H keeps noise underneath 1.5 p.c at ISO one hundred solely. It will increase to 1.8 p.c at ISO two hundred and a couple of.3 p.c at ISO four hundred, that is as so much as i like to recommend pushing the camera. Detail remains sturdy at ISO 800, however color saturation starts to suffer, delivering pictures that ar muted in tone. You lose a big quantity of detail at ISO 1600, and it solely gets worse at ISO 3200 and 6400. In addition, you'll need to upset plenty of blotchy noise and color shift on the far side ISO 1600.


Conclusions

There's no quarreling with the unimaginable image quality that the letter Mount Rushmore State Quattro H will shoot. For the worth, you will not notice another camera that delivers the maximum amount resolution for the worth. If you are doing landscape, studio, or alternative kinds of art photography wherever capturing fast-moving action and shooting at high ISOs is not a demand, you will find the results to be stellar. We do not slight the Quattro for its niche toolset—it will what it intends to passing well. It is also backed by a reasonably fantastic lense. Sigma's recent offerings in its Art series are glorious performers all-round, and priced sharply compared with alternatives from Canon and Nikon. However there ar some downsides. Albeit you are not shooting action, the camera's slow responsiveness are often slightly frustrating, and therefore the EVF is dissatisfactory.

If you are a old Foveon lover, or just intrigued by the image quality that Sigma's distinctive device system, apprehend that the Quattro H could be a solid alternative if you would like an interchangeable lens camera. It is easy to integrate into your post-production advancement because of its support for DNG capture—at this point it is the solely letter camera to support DNG—and it's the biggest, highest resolution Foveon device so far. It all adds up to what are often the proper camera for the correct artist.



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