One trick pony Locked

I followed this thread with considerable interest and amusement.

OK, first off, the original reviewer shouldn't be let near any camera with Foveon technology inside it. His sample photos are garbage and he probably just isn't intelligent enough to be trusted with something like Foveon.

I've handled the Quattro, and it feels...unusual, I think the word is. The resolving power seems pretty outstanding. The question is - how much more outstanding is it than the current DP Merrills?

I remember very well the first time I saw a DP2 Merrill file on my 21 inch Imac. I think I actually used an obscenity, in the good sense. As in, "f**k, look at that!".

My main doubt is that the Quattro improves upon that to the degree that the Merrill improved upon (in terms of acuity) any camera I had used up to and including that point. I can't see it happening; it would be a quantum leap - and I consider the DP Merrills to be a quantum leap ahead of Bayer sensors (at low ISOs, let me add).

Let's put this in context. I have a DP Merrill 3 and a Nikon D3. As different as you could possibly get; one camera which does one thing unbelievably well and one which does many things very well. I was shooting an indoor sports event today and, while I used the Merrill for a few creative-type shots, the Nikon got 90 per cent of the action, as it should have.

Yet, as entirely irrational as it is, I find myself considering selling the Nikon and getting the Quattro. Logically, this makes absolutely no sense - the D3 and the DP3 Merrill complement each other very nicely. Yet Sigma are starting to have a "Leica effect"; you want one, knowing full well that you don't need one.

My logical brain says "just get a compact for the wides" (I use a 70-300 on the Nikon, the DP3 Merrill is 75mm in 35mm terms, so I need something wide). My irrational brain says "get the Quattro".

The logical brain is winning at the moment, fortunately. I just can't see the Quattro being enough of an improvement on the Merrills. I don't doubt that they improve in terms of pixel acuity, but to be frank, the Merrills already have an almost obscene amount of that.

My better half dabbles in the stock market, and tells me that Sigma stock has recently shot up. They are presumably doing something right....