Sigma dp compacts ascend to Quattro version of Foveon X3
(Credit: Sigma)
While the company has been leading the band recently with its high-quality, reasonably priced new lenses, Sigma's camera division has always marched to its own drummer. Since acquiring the Foveon sensor technology it has released a series of Foveon-based dSLRs and compacts that tended to disappoint on several fronts, such as performance. The latest generation of compacts, dubbed 'Quattro' for the odd -- or at least poorly explained -- architecture of the new version of the Foveon X3 sensor, bear a striking design otherwise seem surprisingly similar to their predecessors.
This image was included with the press information but Sigma's US press team would not (or could not) explain what it means. (See the previous link for an explanation of the basic Foveon architecture.) My interpretation is that it has quadrupled the top layer of blue-wavelength sensitive photodiodes to create a luminance channel (which is used to render the image), and which is then combined with the color data to form the full-color render. Magic Foveon marketing math somehow turns that into a 29-megapixel sensor (with '39 megapixel-equivalent ultrahigh resolution'), though the raw files are 20 megapixels and the JPEGs are 25MP; until I know exactly how it's combining that top 20MP layer with the underlying 4.9MP layers, I'm calling it a 20MP sensor. As always with the Foveon sensors, my stance is that they might outperform sensors with similar resolutions, but that doesn't mean they can claim to have a higher resolution; 'resolution' is a spec, 'resolvability' is a measurement result.
(Credit: Sigma)
Sigma has always released its compacts in trios: same camera, different prime lenses. The Quattro generation retains this practice, with dp1, dp2 and dp3 models equipped with 28mm, 45mm and 75mm-equivalent f2.8 lenses. As far as I can tell from the provided specs, the innards of the camera, with the exception of the new sensor and updated TRUE III (Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine) image processing -- no details there, either -- everything else is the same. Even the lens specs look the same.
Its new design is striking but odd. It's extremely elongated, which gives it a bigger grip, but given that it has the same size LCD as before I can only surmise that either the new battery pack is bigger and can handle more than the pitiful 97-shot rating of the Merrill generation or that the extra data requires a lot more silicon for processing. Or both.
Here's how they compare to some of the higher-end compacts:
Sigma has not released pricing or availability for any of the dp Quattro models.
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