Sigma dp0 Reviews
Interesting Challenge
By Clay
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2019-12-18
This will be a review in progress, and the reason is simple: like when I transitioned from film to digital a decade ago--after 45+ years with film cameras--the Foveon sensor in this camera, like the ergonomics of the camera itself, demand a new way of thinking. Or, perhaps more accurately, a return to thinking photography.
This, as you've read elsewhere, is not the camera for street photography, rapid fire shooting with little setup. My Canon 5D MkIII, a remarkable camera with overcomable flaws, can be set and used for just about anything--slow or fast shooting, real estate to award winning landscape art work--but in the desire to create a platform available to the masses, it's lost something to that very availability. Not that it cannot be found for the thoughtful camera handler, only that it may not be the camera (and all other makes like it) for all photographers, but it's designed to be and that perhaps diminishes it somewhat.
This Sigma, though, is a deliberate camera. Since my focus with this tool was outdoor landscape work, I chose the 0 for the 14mm (21mm effective) lens. I also bought the kit with the viewfinder, for outdoor use, and will mention that in a moment as well.
With two days to handle the camera before heading to Big Bend NP, I had scant time to take any photos, much less to muddle through Sigma's mandatory (for RAW) photo program, thus I set the camera for jpeg. I've muddled through PhotoPro6 a little now, and can conclude it lacks all the intuitive feel and direction of even cheap apps, and Sigma disservices itself and its consumer base with such a muddled program.
The use of the camera itself is pretty easy. I quickly set up the OS button to access my mostly likely altered settings, and my only real ding thus far is in finding a way to erase the SD card after download without having to re-format. It might be there, but, as I said, this is an initial review and I haven't found that setting yet.
The sunshade for the lens is too easily turned by accident, and would greatly improve if it clicked into place. Shots while hiking--unable to carry the camera easily/safely with the EVF installed, I couldn't see the screen well enough to notice it--often had the partially rotated shade intruding into two corners of the photo. Sigma could fix that easily enough and I'd gladly purchase the replacement.
As noted many times elsewhere, this is not a low light camera. I've shot interiors as a test, and they came out better than most of my sunrise shots off the South Rim, which were very grainy. Compared to full light shots, it's surprising to see the grain considering I have the ISO set at 100. Direct into the sun, too, seems to confuse this sensor.
Unlike my Canon EVF-DC1, the Sigma LVF-01 LCD just mounts to and reads the screen. If the screen was a far higher resolution, that might be more helpful for critical focusing, but so far it just helps in bright light for framing the shot.
The resolution of the photos is a little mixed for me right now, and with only a few hundred photos to use for evaluation--many of them deliberately shot as tests in various light and settings--the only two things I know right now for sure are: 1. I like the camera enough to keep the it for more evaluation, and, 2. at both a fraction of the weight of my 5D w/16-35 IS lens (much less my 11-24 lens), and a fraction of the price, I'll keep testing this camera for a while. Maybe with more use it'll gain that last star?
For street photography?
By S.K.
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2017-08-01
I am a streetphotographer. The Sigma dp0 Quattro or any Sigma camera for that matter is not ideal for this kind of photography. Landscape or architectural photography where one can take his time, yes. The autofocus is slow. The writing speed is turtle pace. The shape is awkward which makes it difficult to access from a camera bag. Battery life is atrocious although it comes with two batteries which coincidentally is the same battery the Leica Q uses at like half the price. You have to use Sigma Pro to process the files to tiff before moving to Lightroom which is not a deal breaker but irritating. So why did I buy the Sigma dp) Quattro for streetphotography? The image quality is awesome! My Leica and Fujifilm and Sony do not come close. Because the autofocus is so slow, I have the lens on manual prefocused to 1m with the aperture at 5.6 (IMO foveon sensor sweet spot is 4 to 5.6). The image quality is outstanding and the colors are amazing. I opted for the dp0 and not the dp1 although I prefer a 28mm because the depth of field for a 21mm when manually prefocused at 1m at f/5.6 is better than with a 28mm lens. I also have the VF-51 viewfinder which is clear and bright but it is huge and cumbersome and makes the camera look even more awkward. Used this way, the camera works for me WHEN I want to shoot a 21mm lens.
Very good, will buy from you more often.
By GC Toronto
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2016-10-06
Simple and easy. Only concern is the delivery, they left a thousand dollars packaging in front of the door for 5 hours till I am back to home.
Excellent Lens
By David
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2016-09-06
Excellent lens. I always wanted an extreme wide angle lens, but couldn't afford one form my dslr. In the sigma I get the best color sensor and an excellent lens. Slow, yes, but my work requires slow and precise methodology. Could be happier.
Sigma Quattro- DP0
By Anonymous
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2016-02-21
The camera and the 14mm lens not so balance well ,as the other DP models like the DP1 or the DP 2 because the 14mm lens much longer than other DP Quattro lens .Good for walking around wide angle in the city or as a hiking point & shoot camera.The 14mm f4.0 lens sharp and clear but it should be a f2,8 lens for this price ring camera .
The most exciting camera in years
By Anonymous
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2016-01-31
If you shoot wide angle, this should be part of your gear. Architecture and occasionally landscapes are what I shoot, and have used a Canon for about 12 or 13 years. The past 5-6 years have been a 5D or 6D with a TS-E 17mm, and didn't think anything new would come along to make me switch to another lens, much less camera. But the dp0 Quattro did exactly that. Build quality: 4/5 Surprising flaws: some of the black paint has come off along the edges, lens cap feels flimsy and doesn't always stay on, and the shutter release button is squishy (no satisfying click). But overall it's solid. You can tell quality materials went into it. Ergonomics: 5/5 This camera is frequently bashed because of the grip, probably because it doesn't feel right if held like a DSLR. But it's not a DSLR! Your thumb goes under the part where the focus pad sticks out, your middle finger on the leatherette patch on the front, and you brace it on the left side with your left hand. When held correctly, it works well and keeps the camera very steady. But more importantly, load is distributed--it doesn't put all the work on your wrist to hold it up. Your wrist won't be aching or in pain after holding and shooting it 6+ hours. It's perfectly shaped to fit in a coat/jacket pocket. It's fun to hold and the grip makes sense. Button placement/controls took a while to get used to, only because I've used cameras with nearly the same layout for 10+ years. Software/workflow: 1/5 Unfortunately, the software required to process x3f RAW is terrible. It's painfully slow in all ways and it crashes. What has worked for me is to shoot in RAW, then immediately batch export to JPEG or TIFF without adjustments. Then if you notice something off in your normal software, you can back and fine tune in Sigma software. Photo quality/results: 5/5 What you get out of the camera is why you should buy it. For color IQ, results can be stunning in the right light. Photos are exceptionally sharp from corner to corner, and there is essentially no distortion. Though I got this on sale, it's a steal at regular MSRP. As others have noted, you won't get depth of color like this unless your using medium format--and maybe not even then. Recommendations/limitations: You should use 100 ISO for everything, and carry a tripod if going indoors or at sunset/night time. It can have nasty color fringing on streetlights late at night, but for the most part handles long exposure shots well. Though battery life isn't great, the two batteries included have always been sufficient for an entire day of shooting. GPS would be very nice to have. Final thoughts: Discovered this camera because I wanted a wide angle P&S that would fit in a jacket pocket and didn't require the manual focus of my TS-E. What I found in the dp0 Quattro is something I now use 90-95% of the time, because it's convenient and the quality of photos. If Sigma built a Quattro with a 35mm equivalent of 17 or 18mm lens and allowed shifting the plane (like Canon's TS-E), I would probably use it exclusively.
Fits perfectly into its niche
By Yousup
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2019-03-11
Lets get this bit straight: the only reason youd ever buy a Sigma body is for the foveon sensor. For those reading this that may not know what a foveon sensor is, its a triple stacked color filter that allows reds, greens, and blues (RGB) to be represented at every pixel. This is different from the Bayer filter where only one of RGB can be represented at each pixel. Most other cameras (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc) have this Bayer filter (the one notable exception being Fuji which uses its own X-Trans, which is still similar to Bayer).
The result of the foveon sensor is much greater color fidelity, and has a higher megapixel equivalent in Bayer terms. This dp0 has only 29mp, but since individual pixels arent wasted representing different colors, its bayer equivalent MP count is 39mp. The downsides? Huge raw files and TERRIBLE high ISO performance (dont go above ISO 400). The dp0 is a niche camera: it is quite flawless for landscapes. With a FF equivalent 21mm f/4 wide lens, which by the way is optically superb, it makes the best of the sensor behind it.
I chose the dp0 over the quattro h + some wide mount lens mainly because the dp0 has a filter thread. None of the wide angle FF sigma lenses do. None. If youre a landscape shooter, get this camera. The photo attached shows the color fidelity (B&H kills the resolution unfortunately), and in the bottom right corner shows the ugly purple blotchy noise that happens when you boost too much.
the dp0 has a learning curve, but it is awesome.
delivers the special images as promised by the sensor
By dirk
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2017-08-11
I came to this camera from a Leica M. My decision was between a 21 mm additional lens or the dp0 lens+camera, at 1/2 the price compared to a Leica lens. The sensor is the one and only reason why one should buy this camera. It is awesome at its sweet point (iso100, f5.6, 60sec) and difficult in any other setting. This is a landscape camera and unbeatable at that. I record in jpeg fine, which read into lightroom no problem and convert to DNG. The uncompressed TIFF for that yields 79MB.
