Rain falls in the Home Counties on an average of 15 days throughout the month of September but on the 17th of September it made an exception for the official SIGMA dp0 Quattro UK launch event held at the historical Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. The day was greeted with spells of sunshine, puffy white clouds and glorious blue skies.
The venue location chosen for the event was the unique and historical country house in Hertfordshire. Renowned as the residence of Queen Elizabeth I during her childhood, Hatfield House is also associated with Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth II and of course the Cecil Family.  Along with the romantic royal connections, it is also located a short distance from central London and offers all the advantages and qualities of the country.  Its stunning architecture and gardens made it the perfect location to test the SIGMA dp0 Quattro’s 14mm lens. Guests were also provided special access to the historic and unique Old Palace as well as the Knot Garden, an intricate design containing a mini-maze located on the east side of the Old Palace to further compliment their picture-taking opportunities.

The day showcased the newest member of the Sigma Quattro camera line-up, the Sigma dp0 Quattro which was first announced by the Sigma Corporation in February of this year.  The new Sigma dp0 Quattro is unique to the existing line-up as it incorporates a 14mm F4 lens, equivalent to a 21mm lens on a 35mm SLR, making it the widest angle lens in the series. The other lens equivalents are 28mm on the dp1 Quattro, 45mm on the dp2 Quattro and 75mm on the dp3 Quattro, or 90mm with the dedicated 1.2x conversion lens.

The guest list was carefully chosen and made up of a unique blend of innovative thinkers, artists, photographers and technical editors.  Our unique guest list complimented the unique qualities of the Quattro camera series as all possessed the ability to discover something unique about the camera and get maximum benefit from it.

Each guest was provided with their own SIGMA dp0 Quattro and were encouraged to explore the magnificent gardens. Sample units of the Sigma dp1, dp2 and dp3 Quattro cameras were also provided and were often used in the indoor studio setup which was complete with lighting, backdrop and a female model.
Guest studio photographer, Matthew Maddock, provided the technical assistance in the studio and helped to guide our guests in obtaining the best portraits with their loan Quattro camera.  Guest landscape photographers, Lea Tippett and Karl Holtby, assisted other guests with obtaining the best landscape images while they explored the magnificent gardens and guest photographer, Paul Monaghan, provided the technical assistance with obtaining the best from the Foveon sensor.

The full day event offered our guests the opportunity to share photographs and exchange ideas. Guests learned that one of the primary goals in designing this camera was to offer photographers the best optical performance with the lowest possible distortion.

 

 

 
SIGMA’s goal was to produce a camera that produced natural and realistic renditions. Straight lines should remain straight and the wide angle should not be over exaggerated.   In addition to producing & incorporating one of the best ultra-wide angle lenses in SIGMA’s history, it was designed to be paired with the supreme Foveon X3 sensor. True colours and breath taking resolution are brought to life with an amazing realistic quality as evident in the images on display by our guest photographers Lea Tippet and Karl Holtby.

The day’s event provided each guest with an understanding of these goals, the opportunity to explore these unique qualities of the new Sigma dp0 Quattro camera and to discover first-hand the “Reinvention of the Camera”!