Sigma dp0 Quattro review – Build and handling

There’s little to complain about in terms of build. The magnesium-alloy body feels solid, and operation is fast and responsive. Chunky twin dials on the top-plate are used to change exposure settings, and the lens has a large, smoothly rotating manual focus ring. Dedicated buttons are provided for focus mode, focus-area selection and autoexposure lock, and other key functions, including ISO, can be accessed quickly using the user-configurable QS (Quick Set) menu. There’s no exposure-mode dial, but instead a top-plate button allows selection from program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes.

There’s no getting away, though, from the strangeness of that grip. It’s surprisingly good for carrying the camera around, and actually not too bad for shooting, although mainly because you tend to support the camera by the lens instead. Yet it doesn’t really improve anything compared to conventional designs, while adding bulk and demanding an odd-shaped space in a camera bag. It also induces a lot of thumb movement while changing settings, as the rear buttons are at two distinctly different depths.