Sigma DP2 Quattro Tests at Imaging-Resource

Sigma DP2 Quattro Tests at Imaging-Resource

The Sigma dp2 Quattro has just been released, and there are some fascinating new tests of it at Imaging-Resource. "Results vary between shockingly good to shockingly bad," said one commenter. You can see both together in the detail on the left. On the right is the old dp1 Merrill, and the out-of-camera JPEG output from the new dp2 Quattro is on the left. Note that the newer camera shows much better detail in the pink fabric at the bottom, but the detail in the red area in the center goes away—it's out of gamut.

I-R's Dave Pardue comments:

The dp2 Quattro shows dramatically more detail in the fabric threads, but the in-camera color management and RGB-separation algorithms have a hard time with our highly-saturated red swatch, that's such a bugaboo for so many cameras. We've been told that this color is at the edge of or beyond the gamut of the sRGB color system, which explains why so many cameras have difficulty with it, especially as noise reduction kicks in at high ISOs. That said, though, we've never seen this amount of detail loss at base ISO. (Interestingly, the DP1 Merrill handled it exceptionally well, compared to not only the dp2 Quattro, but most cameras from other manufacturers as well.) The Quattro shows dramatically more detail than the Merrill model on the other fabric samples, but its difficulty with the deep red swatch bears noting.

Fortunately the same RAW file put through the Sigma Photo Pro converter software looks just fine.

It sort of begs a question to me—why have an in-camera JPEG engine at all in this camera? The Sigma foveon Merrill/Quattro cameras are frequently likened to digital view cameras—superb image quality within some significant operational limitations requiring careful technique from the photographer. Why not assume anyone using a DP2 Quattro will also be using a RAW converter? ...Since they will?

(Given the degree to which JPEG processing complicates higher-end cameras—to little purpose since most serious photographers use separate editor software anyway—it's always seemed a bit odd to me that higher-end cameras don't just ditch JPEG processing altogether. I guess because makers and buyers both confuse all that crudded-up complexification as added value. More features for the money. /minirant.)

Anyway. Good stuff at I-R.

Mike

(Thanks to Kevin Purcell)

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