Photographing in medium format for a fraction of the price
The Sigma sd Quattro is a fabulous compact expert camera, deliberately atypical, which shines through its ingenuity and the quality of its Foveon X3 Quattro sensor associated with a fixed focal length. With the sd Quattro mirrorless camera, Sigma transposes the virtues of its eponymous sensors in a body with interchangeable lenses in SA mount while remaining faithful to the brand’s principles: impeccable build quality and meticulously designed ergonomics… it’s a bit like photographing in medium format for a fraction of the price. This camera was first introduced in 2016 and is now available with an APS-H sensor (51.2 Mpx).
Ergonomics 7/10
Pros:
- Very well designed and excellent handling
- The main screen is great (1 620 000 points )
- Focus peaking
- Double wheel system
- Secondary screen monitor
- Weather sealed body
Cons:
- Not good for left eye dominant shooters
- Hard to find SA mount lenses
- Non-tactile or adjustable screen
Speed 3/10
Pros:
- AF speed is okay in good light
- 4,2 fps continuous shooting
Cons:
- Useless for sport photography
- Very slow to power-on (5sec)
- Slow to power off the camera (more than 1sec)
Image quality 9/10
Pros:
- Close to medium format for a much lower budget
- Ultra sharp and detailed images
- SFD mode (39 Mpx)
- No Anti Aliasing filter
- Foveon X3 sensor makes every pixel has complete red, green and blue data available
Cons:
- High loss of quality from 800 ISO
- Greenish tones on photos
Verdict 7/10
Shooting with a Sigma sd Quattro means giving up a lot of things: temperamental AF (although improving), slow to start, viewfinder unsuitable for left-eye shooters, bulky body, no video, etc. Yet… the magic happens.
Between the almost perfect ergonomics, the reassuring handling, the flawless construction and, above all, the incomparable image quality, photographing with the Sigma sd Quattro is a bit like shooting in medium format. A crush camera that requires self-discipline and a lot of passion, but it will repay you in spades.
Full Specifications
| Format | Interchangeable Lens SLR Type Digital Camera |
|---|---|
| Compatible Lenses | SIGMA SA mount interchangeable lenses |
| Lens Mount | SIGMA SA bayonet mount |
| Angle of View | Equivalent to approx. 1.5 times the focal length of the lens (on 35mm cameras) |
| Image Sensor | |
| Image Sensor | Foveon X3 direct image sensor(CMOS) |
| Image Sensor Size | 23.4×15.5mm (0.9in. ×0.6in. ) |
| Number of Pixels | Effective Pixels: Approx. 29.5MP T(Top): 5,440×3,616 / M(Middle): 2,720×1,808 / B(Bottom): 2,720×1,808 Total Pixels: Approx. 33.2MP |
| Aspect Ratio | 3:2 |
| Recording System | |
| Storage Media | SD Card, SDHC Card, SDXC Card, Eye-Fi Card |
| File Format | Lossless compression RAW data (14-bit), JPEG (Exif2.3), RAW+JPEG |
| JPEG Image Quality | FINE, NORMAL, BASIC |
| Color Mode | 11 types ( Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Portrait, Landscape, Cinema, Sunset Red, Forest Green, FOV Classic Blue, FOV Classic Yellow, Monochrome ) |
Full specs on Sigma Global
You liked this article? Discover more!