Sigma dp0 Quattro announced with 14mm F4 lens

Sigma has announced its fourth compact in its unique Quattro series.  The dp0 features a fixed 14mm F4 lens (21mm equivalent) along with the unconventional styling of its peers.  Its Foveon X3 sensor is divided into three layers to record red, green and blue wavelengths separately.  Its bottom two layers each contain 4.9MP to record color information, and the top layer captures 19.6MP of resolution/luminance information.  Price and availability are yet to be confirmed. 

Press release:

Sigma Corporation of America Announces Fourth Camera in dp Quattro Series at CP+ Imaging Show

YOKOHAMA, Japan — February 10, 2015 – Sigma Corporation of America, a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of some of the world's most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes, today announced the new Sigma dp0 Quattro, the fourth compact camera in the series that was announced last year.  The news comes at the start of the CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show 2015, which begins on Feb. 12 in Yokohama, Japan. 

The dp0 Quattro incorporates a fixed, high performance 14mm F4 lens, which is equivalent to a 21mm lens on a 35mm DSLR and is optimized to maximize the performance of the series’ Foveon “Quattro” Direct Image sensor.  The Quattro line is great for photographers seeking a unique product, and the 14mm F4 lens is meant to take full advantage of the Foveon sensor. 

“The Quattro series is such an unique line of cameras and we couldn’t be more thrilled to add the dp0 Quattro camera to the line-up,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “ It’s this wide angle lens combined with the high resolution sensor, that makes this perfect for architectural and landscape photographers, and something the dp fans can be excited for.” 

In order to achieve the highest optical performance, the dp0 lens features four “F” Low Dispersion (FLD) glass elements, which have performance equal to fluorite, two Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements, and two aspheric lenses, including a wide double-sided aspheric lens.  This reduces chromatic aberration and distortion, which are characteristics typically present in super wide angle photography.  The camera offers sharp rendering performance from the maximum aperture, and the superior telecentric optical design improves image quality throughout the frame and maximizes the sensor’s ability by passing on information about subjects to the sensor.  In addition, the wide angle of view of 91 degrees and depth of field are ideal for architectural structures, interior photography and landscapes.  With this powerful lens and sensor, numerous glass elements to reduce distortion, and a 91 degree angle of view, this lens is ideal for landscape and architecture photography. 

As with all the cameras in the Quattro series, the dp0 Quattro features the distinctive styling of the line.  The Quattro sensor is the equivalent of a 39 MP conventional Bayer sensor in resolution testing.  The next generation sensor builds on the distinctive properties of the X3 technology, which uniquely records red, green and blue wavelengths at each pixel location within three layers. 

The Quattro sensor is a three-layered, panchromatic silicon chip whose green-sensitive middle and red-sensitive bottom layers each have 4.9 MP and record only color/chrominance information.  The top blue layer captures chrominance and resolution/luminance information with 19.6 MP, resulting in greater detail capture and resolution capabilities that are higher than the Merrill DP camera line.  The Quattro sensor’s architecture also contributes to true color rendition, more detail capture, and faster image processing, all of which delivers even more realistic images. 

To locate the closest authorized Sigma dealer, visit http://www.sigmaphoto.com/where-to-buy-sigma.  For information about Sigma Corporation of America and the Quattro line of cameras, visit www.sigmaphoto.com or follow the company on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. 

Comments

14MM + Crop factor looks close to the Zeiss 21 MM prime.  The all time king of wide angle lenses for producing images closest to the human eye without line distorsion.  As a dedicated optimized system will it produce images as good as the Zeiss on an inter-changeable lens camera given that it should be able to shoot higher ISO than the DP 1,2,3 Merrills????  Cue Fanboy/FanGirl Rant.....

Very gutsy move and good for Sigma.  A 21mm dedicated lens camera is a great idea, although one would assume a limited market.  Regardless of what one thinks about the various issues surrounding their technologies, having more sensor options in the market is a good thing.  People carp about these cameras and the software, but I've heard few complaints about the image at their best. 

I wish Sigma had introduced a model like this in the Merrill days.  The new Quattro doesn't feel right in my hands at all, but I'd love to shoot a 21/4 lens matched to the Foveon sensor.  Very cool idea, though.  Very cool. 

14mm no one saw that coming!  Sigma should turn the battery compartment so it's on the fronts of the camera!  It will be interesting to see image samples.  From what I understand the processing time for the Quattro is much slower than for the DP Merrill. 

Try one.  The grip is more natural than the classic camera grip, just look at your own hand: The thumb naturally extends when you point your hand forward, so unless you should place the thumb on top of the camera (or hold it like a camcorder), it makes sense to have the grip extend backward rather than forward. 

Instead of buying a 21mm (or equivalent in dx) I would prefer having this camera in my bag.  No lens changing in many situations.  However a brighter lens ir even a very limited zoom range would make this camera more desirable. 

Yes, it means exactly that.  Only problem with it is that they simply are not able to produce good enough pieces of silicone to back it up..

Foveon could work pretty well, but Sigma simply isnt capable of making it.  It needs some outsourcing to someone who can (currently Samsung can for example).  Lets say 20 mpix APS-C BSI Foveon sensor?  Should work well at least on base ISO..

I owned a DP1 and greatly enjoyed the image quality, truly awesome for a small camera.  The menu was fine as well as the size of the body.  But the biggest issue is simply software, Sigma Photo Pro sucks beyond all imagination and no Lightroom support made the pleasure of the camera and the files quickly fade. 

I agree.  If you shoot jpeg or tiff, you are good to go but as soon as you have to use the sigma software...you will return the camera.  Every movement in exposure takes 10-20 secs to refresh photo and that is on a high end computer. 

the person who created Iridient Developer do not want to work on this new Raw of Sigma Quattro, that is very different from the others, too much work, too complex, too much time to lose.  Already the previous Raw Foveon cameras required a gruelling work, he does not want to go crazy further, has other priorities. 

I simply develop the RAW image in SPP and only make sure I adjust the exposure correctly so nothing is lost, and then I immediately save it as a 16 bit tif that gets imported into Lightroom. 

If you try to do your editing in SPP then you are wasting your time and fooling yourself.  All you need SPP for is to do the initial conversion and adjust the exposure if necessary.  Lightroom takes care of all the rest. 

@HowaboutRAW Don't know what you are talking about.  I open my RAWs and I can adjust whatever settings I like.  What I'm saying is the noise reduction by default is already on.  It is in the middle position.  It requires no user intervention.  I simply open my RAW, adjust exposure if needed and export as 16bit tif.  The noise reduction is already applied and perfect everytime since it never changes position for my my typical ISO 100 setting. 

There is by default noise reduction applied at ISO 100, as I already said.  It is always at the middle setting, which happens to be perfect.  I have no need to mess with it.  All I then need to do is adjust exposure, if necessary, in SPP and then export to 16bit tif.  Lightroom does a wonderful job with the rest. 

SPP is fantastic at squeezing out all the detail and quality out of the Foveon sensor but outside of the unique noise reduction there is nothing in it that can't be accomplished much better and much faster elsewhere.  Those who try and then complain about SPP do not know what they are doing. 

I never even open individual images in SPP.  I batch process all images to tiff using the same low-contrast setting.  Then I use Bridge/ACR to work with the files as they develop.  The background batch process runs faster than me editing, so I never have to wait for raw conversion for a second. 

But still no support in Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom, which is the real issue for these - Sigma Photo Pro is simply not fast or stable enough, and is too limited in cropping/rotation and export to be worth the time taken to use it.  It will no doubt be an exceptional camera and lens. 

This is true.  However, even a darkroom allows scaling for output, cropping and rotation.  I'm a huge fan of Foveon and Sigma and yet, I find SPP's featureset and the corresponding lack of Lightroom/ACR/Capture One support inexcusable. 

It's not Sigma's fault for lack of support.  Adobe supports the original DP series in ACR, and has for quite awhile.  Nothing to say that they don't already support newer versions.  If not, it's because Adobe hasn't caught up. 

I think some reviewers had those problems out of expectation of problems--also trying to use it in extreme environments where all but the best build digital cameras would struggle is not legitimate general testing.  And this point includes a very reputable reviewer. 

Take this body on a hike in the woods, not a tropical jungle, and using the body just isn't a problem. 

Now no, this body design is not a point and shoot for shooting persons on the street. 

I totally understand why this camera is this way.  Photography is an elite activity and not a peasant pasttime.  There is no reason to design a camera that a peasant, at first glance, would know how to hold.  When holding this camera I would be distinguishing myself from the dirty serfs. 

So, to get 4 very good prime lenses we need to purchase 4 cameras attached to them?  It is about time for Sigma to consider one well made body with the lensmount and a few great primes so everything can fit in a smallish bag.  A couple of high quality zooms would be welcome as well. 

Don't like the Sigma DP1?  I think that a sigma mirrorless would be nice, but I imagine most people will pick only their favorite focal length and buy it, and not actually buy all 4.  For example, this could augment any other camera system fairly effectively.  When you want to shoot wide, pull it out of your bag, otherwise use your other ILC camera. 

@viking79: I like the Foveon output but I'm not in love with the Sigma's path to exploit it with DP series.  One fixed FL lens per camera seems limiting for me, regardless of who the manufacturer is.  For example: If I want to shoot wide I'll pick the 16-35 lens on my FF camera over 2 cameras - one with 21, the other 28mm in respective FL and nothing in between. 

I still have the original DP1 and I like it as a concept.  I do realize existence of SD1 since day one.  I was not crazy to spend $9600.00 at its introduction or any (discounted) amount 2 or 3 years later.  Excellent Sigma Art lenses are more readily available for my camera than SD1.  I wonder if anyone would buy SD1 today?  So, what is your point? 

I love having a number of bodies with fixed lens.  The lens can be optimised for the body, there is no risk of dust on the sensor, and its quicker to grab another camera than changing a lens in a fast moving situation.  Would love it if Fuji extended their x100 range in the same way sigma is

No, then you give up performance.  Each lens is individually fitted to the body for perfect alignment.  Cameras with lens mounts don't assure perfect alignment.  Then you would also give up the leaf shutter which greatly contributes to picture quality.  Their DP cameras were designed to maximize performance not convenience. 

I hope that Sigma drops this absurd stickosaurs inflamed-arthritis design and returns to more ergonomic cameras.  The high ISO improvement is notable but at the expense of its former brilliant base ISO IQ. 

While I prefer the previous versions of the Foveon sensors that were true X3 types, like the Merrill, the Quatrro Foveon sensor still beats the crap out of any equivalent MP Bayer sensor.  Absolutely no contest. 

@RStyga Bad and mediocre AF of today is what was great during the last cameras of the film days and yet photographers were able to produce fantastic action shots.  While I'm interested in technical advances, at a certain point you have far more than the needs of nearly all photographers.  In the case of AF, we reached that point a long time ago. 

Battery power?  I'd rather have a smaller body like the DP Merills and the option to carry a few more batteries, if need be. 

RAW recording?  All the Sigmas take RAWs. 

The point is, for many younger people today features is more important than image quality, which explains why the Sigmas are still niche.  That's sad. 

I'm old enough to have lived the film-only photography days in the 80s and 90s so quit your 'younger gen" rhetoric... it's irrelevant.  I also used to own a DP2 but sold it because of its atrocious responsiveness.  DPM improved but not enough.  RAW recording speed, I implied, before, is another issue.  Sigma need to fix what can be fixed (beyond the sensor limitations, that is).  You can certainly take impressively high IQ photos but Sigma cameras are tripod-mostly, battery-intensive, take-your-time-only, loose-most-shots, freakishly-clumsy, but-fugly-as-of-Quattro cameras.  Do you think that an RX1 or an A7 or 6D won't give you a superb image in terms of IQ? 

viking: which Pentax lens did you mean?  There is 14mm f2,8 lens and 15mm f4 lens.  If you meant the 15mm, well it´s a Limited lens and that means high standard of optical quality as well as rock-solid build (btw.  I own one).  Maybe it´s not the sharpest lens out there, but optical performance of a lens does not include only sharpness, but also resistance to flare (where the HD coating excells) and chromatic aberation, low distortion etc.  But most importantly the lens is tiny, unlike the beast on that Sigma.  And I ask again: why would I change a DSLR for a compact if not for compactness? 

I meant 15mm f/4, sorry, but I think same statement holds true for both. 

It depends on image quality.  If the 14mm on the Sigma is mediocre, I agree, no point.  If the 14mm on the Sigma is the best 14 mm lens, then yeah, there is a point, you change for better image quality, not compactness. 

I sort of agree though, I think the Sigma is a bit silly.  I would rather see a mirrorless camera offering those same lens choices, since none of them are really compact.  Make the mount large enough that they can make the rear element large to maintain performance, etc. 

The DP2 Merrill manages less colour aliasing, but no more detail.  Sigma also seem to have stuck with more or less the same resolution for the next generation (Quattro) whilst FF Bayer sensors march on past 50 megapixels. 

Sigmas small volumes are never going to be able keep up with Bayer sensors in the long run.  Plus sometimes you need to crank up the ISO even when shooting landscapes so moving forward I'd much rather have a Bayer sensor for landscapes. 

If you're going to make claims like the above, you need to link full sized tiffs and ideally raws of the same scene--NOT jpegs. 

(Also the image on the left (extracted with SPP) has much more detail and the one on the right has big messy colour bands in the shadows.) 

Detail is far from the only way to judge image quality, though it is certainly something Sigmas do really well at low ISOs. 

The second link is a bit more interesting, but again, it's jpegs, so not really useful for coming a firm conclusion.  In this case raws need be provided for download, though of course that would take away the "which is which" puzzle. 

So neither is a serious test that a webuser can take part in and verify. 

I am aware of high ISO limitations, I was just curious about that little statement there.  And I've seen some examples of Merrills clearly outperforming Quattros at high ISOs, so it's not all clear cut as well. 

IMO They still keep missing the mark with the focal lengths - the DP1Q should have been moved to 24mm FOV, the DP2 to 35mm, the DP3 fine where it is and then made the DP0 18mm FOV .  they seem to insist on oddball focal lengths

the DP1Q isn't 28mm it`s 31mm which IS rather odd as is 45mm .  I don`t care how boring 24 and 35mm are , they're more practical & useful than 31mm and 45mm - I merely put up with the FOVs of the DP cams because of the quality - if they were lesser cams (such as 16Mp APS-C) I`d not hav bothered

Very dated Roland - 24mm is the new 28, 35mm is THE classic "Wide" FL of all time (Wide angle back in the film days) and holds up now as the new "Standard" .  anything between 75 and 90mm is short telephoto with limited application, I feel that Sigma could have given the DP3 cams some Macro ability to extend their flexibility

@Adm - are you sure you can see the difference between images taken with a 31 mm and a 28 mm and a 31 mm and a 35 mm?  And how about photographers that often do crop?  How do that affect the magic of the standard and classic focal lengths?  BTW - I am old enough to rememeber when the classic was 50 mm (or maybe 58 mm) and many photographers were upset by so many young ones using 35 mm as standard lens. 

I said 35mm was the classic WIDE - it`s not even wide anymore - in fact thesedays, people don`t class anything longer than 24mm as wide .. the "standard" lens was 50mm, that`s borderline short tele thesedays ;-) .  and yes there is a noticeable diff between 28 and 31mm , there was enough gnashing of teeth when Fuji used the S100FS lens on the S200EXR which had a smaller sensor giving 31mm instead of 28 and it wasn`t just me noticing the difference ... Whatever, I still think the DP0, 1 and 2 ought to have FOVs of 18mm (Heck, 16mm even) , 24mm and 35mm .  there`s a massive diff between 35 and 45mm for the DP2 ..

I agree.  I've been shooting landscapes with the DP1 Merrill and now the DP1 Quattro and often wished they were wider.  I've also wished the DP3 was a bit longer, around 90mm equiv.  They answered that wish too with the new teleconverter. 

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