Considering Quattro H concerned about SA lenses

dazzleships wrote:

I owned at least one of every generation on DPX camera. My most sold landscape photo was taken on a DP1s. My Merrills are getting on and I am considering the Quattro H. I recently bought a Sony A7rii ($1600 new), Loxia 21mm, and Zeiss 55mm. However, I wasn't happy with the IQ compared to my Merrills and am considering returning it. My goal is to print A0 and even larger.

Now, the Quattro H is on my radar; but, I am concerned about the SA series lenses being discontinued. I don't want to invest in an already obsolete system. To those maybe more knowledgeable about this:

- Is SA dead?

- What lenses can be adapted to fit the SDQH?

I do not have the SDQ-H instead the SDQ. The price is about 1.8x and using only full-frame lenses could result in less performance than an optimized new APS-C lens. I did a vigneting check with the viewfinder of a SA-9 film camera. The real crop factor of the SDQ-H is 1.353x instead of the claimed 1.3x. This give an image circle of 32.1mm versus 28.2mm for the SDQ. Not significant more! To check the vignetting a view at the center of the left and right hand edge in the SA-9 viewfinder. This is a little less than 36mm because most analog camera viewfinders show less than 100%. So my guess is in between 34-35mm on the edge. For zoom lenses I record the value where a slight vignetting start and vanish. The last colum show the useable range from the vignetting observation.

There are APS-C lenses which seem to cover the 32.1mm sensor diagonal.

1.4/30mm EX DC

2.8/50-150mm DC HSM

both are older non-GV lenses

Here is the sensor calulation

I have seen images from the SDQ-H with the 1.8/50-100mm which is of interest to me. It seems that this the only new non-FF lens which cover the 32.1mm SDQ-H diagonal. Investing into FF lenses to cover other cases and getting sub-optimum result is a strong argument against a SDQ-H on my side.

The actual price of the A7R2 ~ SDQ-H also trigger my interest but then I need a new lens line with bulky and expensive FF lenses. Using the A7R2 as an intermediate for my SA, mostly APS-C lenses is also sub-optimum because the pixel size on the A6xxx is already smaller than on the A7R2.

The results of the new develped APS-C lens line 1.4/16mm+30mm+56mm was the eye opener to me. The results are very near FF primes. Technical it only remain a one stop sensitivity difference at the maximum apture opening if you compare APS-C and FF. If you need depth of field there is NO difference. But what matters is price and size.

So if Sigma is putting the APS-C Quattro sensor into a L-Mount camera and offering the APS-C prime series in this mount I will buy into L-Mount. Technical only better lenses could improve a Foveon + lens combination. All my lenses have shortcomings with the Quattro resolution. There is no wideangle which is sharp in the corner. There is no wideangle for the SDQ-H. The 8-16mm is too old to consider the resolution needed at the time where Merrill and Quattro apears.

If you like a compact and high resolution system there is no alternative to the DPx series now. If a compactness and versality is key I use the LX100. This is because the DPx is missing a zoom for whatever reason.

Hope I could help with sharing my thinking in a similar situation.