SIGMA sd Quattro / Quattro H
A camera equipped with the latest version of an innovative three-layer sensor
A review and photo examples of Sigma sd Quattro / Quattro H.
Table of contents
Gallery
- APO 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM + sd Quattro H
- 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM | Art 018 + sd Quattro H
Review
1．Camera overview
The sd Quattro1 was released in July 2016, and the sd Quattro H was released six months later in December 2016.
It was released about four years after the release of the SD1/SD1 Merrill, and I thought Sigma had given up on camera bodies, but that was not the case. The interchangeable lens Quattro series abandoned the SLR format and became a mirrorless camera equipped with an EVF and Sigma SA mount.
The body design is square because the mirror part is no longer there, but because it is the Sigma SA mount with a long flange back, a tube grows out of the body like a chimney. The EVF, which also seems to have been added on, has sufficient specifications of 2.36 million dots, 100% field of view, and approximately 0.96x magnification (50mm F1.4, infinity, -1m-1).
Because of the power consumed by the sensor and LCD, a single battery in the standard state quickly runs out of power, so a battery grip that can hold two batteries was prepared as a solution. When viewed from the front of the body, the notch at the bottom left is filled by attaching the battery grip, making it a huge square camera. When Sigma’s proud Art lens is attached to this body, the hugeness is further emphasized, and a Billingham 335 class bag is required to carry the camera.
There are two types of 4th generation Foveon sensors1: an APS-C size sensor with a three-layer structure of 20 million pixels + 5 million pixels + 5 million pixels, which is 1.5 times the size in 35mm film format, used in the lens-integrated cameras dp Quattro and sd Quattro, and an APS-H size sensor with a three-layer structure of 25.5 million pixels + 6.4 million pixels + 6.4 million pixels, which is 1.3 times the size in 35mm film format, used in the sd Quattro H.
The shooting resolution of the sd Quattro is 20 megapixels, while that of the sd Quattro H is 25.5 megapixels, so the shooting resolution will be the number of pixels at the top of the sensor.
2．Usage
The sd Quattro series is a camera equipped with a mysterious sensor that is more difficult to manufacture than the SD1 sensor. In an interview with the developer, it was written that 19.6 million pixels x 3 is heavy on image processing, but with an irregular sensor, there are many differences from previous image processing, so it seems that the software development burden will not change much. The sd Quattro-H scales up the sensor size of the sd Quattro to APS-H size, with 25.5 million pixels at the top and 6.4 million pixels below that.
The sharp and high-resolution images when the shooting results are output are still something to be reckoned with, and the shooting results are still more than acceptable.
The EVF is satisfactory in terms of specifications, but when actually used, the image delay is severe and the eyes are tired, probably due to the low display rate (refresh rate, frame rate). The blackout time after pressing the shutter button is also long, so it is clearly inferior to the viewfinders of the Sony α7 series and Leica SL typ601 of the same era.
I didn’t experience this myself because I only used it for a short time, but it’s unfortunate that there are rumors about the problem of mechanical dust adhering to the sensor.
I think it’s no wonder that the sd Quattro / sd Quattro H are called unfinished cameras.
The increased pixels mean that the post-shooting processing time is longer, the battery life is not good, and if you take continuous shots, a warning about heat damage to the sensor appears. Also, although this is a problem on the photographer’s side, if you are not careful, you will experience a parade of camera shake, and it is a camera that requires even more patience than the difficult SD1.
I personally know that I am a SIGMA user who is used to hardship, but I still think that it is a quite difficult camera.
Currently, the Quattro H camera body is sold at a high price, so you need to be prepared and spend a lot of money to get one. Sometimes when I see a cheap sd Quattro body, I think about getting one again, but I can’t make the decision.
I have kept the old SD series on hand, but the Quattro series is still on hold.
As I develop old photographs to create this page, I am saddened to realize that the image quality is not bad.
3．X3F file
X3F files store information on the three colors R, G, and B for each pixel, so the amount of data is three times that of a normal Bayer sensor.
I have been using SIGMA PHOTO PRO (hereinafter referred to as SPP), which processes X3F, since the SD9 era, but I complained that it was unstable and slow. However, when I used it on a Mac mini equipped with an M2 Pro in 2024, I hardly saw any accidental crashes of SPP, and I realized that the image processing speed had reached a practically sufficient speed. It was an event that made me feel the benefit of the improved processing speed due to the increased CPU power of the PC.
I also tried using a freeware utility software that converts X3F to DNG, but in the version I used, it was difficult to achieve the same quality as SPP unless the image after conversion to DNG was processed quite a bit, and I had the impression that it was difficult to master. It is unclear whether it has been improved since then.
If the image after DNG conversion can be obtained as equivalent to the SPP default, the ideal workflow for users who are accustomed to other software would be to fine-tune it with other software, but it was not so easy. The conversion software is freeware created by an individual, so users have no right to complain.
I found out that the image can be developed using the image processing software Affinity Photo, so I tested it on this page. I know that I have to study the adjustment method carefully to get the same results as SPP, but since SPP can output adjusted images without stress, I haven’t pursued it too deeply. I think that the better workflow for now is to output JPGs using SPP and then make final adjustments using Affinity Photo.
As of 2024, development of a new Foveon sensor seems to have stalled. I am curious to see if I will come across new X3F data in the future.
4．DNG file
Cameras with Quattro sensors now allow you to choose between the traditional X3F and DNG formats for raw data.
The DNG data created by the dp Quattro series is 100MB, so the writing speed to the media during shooting is slow, and it consumes more memory card capacity than the X3F, which is about 45MB.
If you are in an environment where you can use SPP comfortably, there is no need to insist on DNG recording.
The reason for the large size of DNG data is that it stores both 20 megapixels of RGB data after calculation and 20 megapixels of B (blue), 5 megapixels of R (red), and 5 megapixels of G (green) data before calculation, but since normal 20 megapixel raw data is about 20MB and X3F image data before calculation is about 45MB, it seems a little too large even when other additional information is added.
For more information on DNG files, see the Adobe Systems website, the project’s proponent.
5．Thoughts on the sd Quattro
The sd Quattro is a mirrorless camera, but the mount is the Sigma SA, so it’s a half-baked camera. In 2012, PENTAX tried the same thing with the K-01, which was a mirrorless camera with a K mount, but it was a huge failure in terms of sales, so it’s strange that they decided to try this format. However, it’s ironic that as of 2024, the K-01 is being traded at a premium price, probably because of the small number of units produced.
It was probably a wise decision to decide in 2016 that it was impossible to develop and release an in-house mirrorless mount, but now that they have a new sensor, they can’t suppress their desire to release a camera for now. I feel the Sigma spirit in being true to their own desires, rather than the usual marketing.
Of course, this is hindsight, but in 2018, Sigma joined the L-Mount Alliance proposed by Leica and was able to obtain a mirrorless mount, so I can’t help but think that if they had made do with the dp Quattro series with integrated lenses for two years from 2016 and then released a camera with a Quattro H sensor in 2018, both the manufacturer and the users would have been happy.
There may have been a future where genuine Leica lenses could be used with AF with a Foveon sensor. Since the L-Mount Alliance continues, I hope that an L-Mount camera with a full-size Foveon sensor will be released at some point.
As of 2024, Sigma has released a camera for the L-Mount that uses a normal Bayer sensor, is mechanically shutterless, has a compact body, and is more geared towards video than still photography. This is also a model with an increased pixel count, and there have been no follow-ups, so the future of the series is unclear.
The fourth-generation Foveon sensor was released in 2016, and eight years will have passed since then in 2024. With the race for pixel count in digital cameras coming to an end, it will be very interesting to see whether a new sensor and a camera equipped with it will actually be released.
Specification and Compare
| Items | SD1 | SD1 Merrill | sd Quattro | sd Quattro H |
| Camera effective pixel count | 48 million pixels (total pixels) 46 million pixels (effective pixels) (4,800×3,200×3 layers) | ← | 33.2 million pixels (total pixels) 29.5 million pixels (effective pixels) | 44.7 million pixels (total pixels) 38.6 million pixels (effective pixels) |
| Image sensor | 3rd generation FOVEON X3® (CMOS) | ← | 4th generation FOVEON X3® (CMOS) | ← |
| Image sensor size | APS-C 23.5×15.7mm | ← | APS-C 23.4mm×15.5mm | APS-H 26.7mm×17.9mm |
| Camera Mount | Sigma SA bayonet mount | ← | ← | ← |
| Back LCD | 3inch, 0.46 million dots | ← | 3inch, 1.62 million dots | ← |
| Finder | Pentaprism single-lens reflex finder | ← | Electronic viewfinder (approximately 2.36 million dots color liquid crystal) | ← |
| Battery | Lithium ion battery (BP-21 / BP-22) | ← | Lithium ion battery (BP-61) | ← |
| Size(mm) W x H x D | 145.5 × 113.5 × 80.0 | ← | 147 x 95.1 x 90.8 | ← |
| Weight(g) | 700g (Exclude battery) | ← | 625g (Exclude battery) | ← |
| Release date | 2011.06. 10 | 2012.03.09 | 2016.7.7 | 2016.12.20 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | Open Reference price (700,000 yen) | Open Reference price (200,000 yen) | Open Reference price (81,000 yen) | Open Reference price (126,800 yen) |
Options
- Vertical grip PG-41
- All of SIGMA SA Mount lenses
Reference links
Update history
- 2024.8.25
- 2024.2.18:First draft
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