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Sigma DP2 Merrill

Started Aug 23, 2015 | User reviews
Theelderkeynes Junior Member • Posts: 26
Sigma DP2 Merrill
1

Astonishing image quality from a £300 pound camera! Not designed for low light and providing you set the Iso at 320-400 the shutter speed will stay fast enough to compenasate for the lack of image stabilisation. Very comfortable in the hand and fairly discrete in plain black, it has a quiet shutter and probably the best lens I have ever used. Have a look at the output here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9235496@N02/albums

Why by a Leica Q when you can have this image quality for a tenth of the price?

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Sigma DP2 Merrill
15 megapixels • 50 mm
Announced: Feb 8, 2012
Theelderkeynes's score
5.0
Average community score
4.3
bad for good for
Kids / pets
weak
Action / sports
weak
Landscapes / scenery
excellent
Portraits
excellent
Low light (without flash)
weak
Flash photography (social)
great
Studio / still life
great
= community average
Bassy Forum Pro • Posts: 11,590
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill

yes for a 300.00 pound camera it's a bargain and to be honest i dont use mine very often

but when i do. it give's me the wow factor these day's i find myself lusting after the sigma

dp0 quattro,just for fun here are a few shot's from my dp2 merrill

papillon_65
papillon_65 Forum Pro • Posts: 27,030
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill

I agree but to be honest I don't think I've shot my DP2M over ISO 200 and using a Loupe strapped to the back I can handhold at lower shutter speeds than 1/40th. Once you go over ISO 200 IQ definitely takes a hit.

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OP Theelderkeynes Junior Member • Posts: 26
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill

Almost all the stuff posted here is shot at Iso 320...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9235496@N02/albums

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papillon_65
papillon_65 Forum Pro • Posts: 27,030
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill
1

Theelderkeynes wrote:

Almost all the stuff posted here is shot at Iso 320...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9235496@N02/albums

Understood, many of the shots have a yellow cast to them. You can shoot higher than ISO 200 but you do run the risk of colour casts.

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nick_webster
nick_webster Veteran Member • Posts: 7,623
5 stars seems optimistic :-)

Considering how much the camera can't do well I wouldn't give it more than a qualified 3 or 4 stars. Of course for some things it is a 5 but for others it would barely make 1

And yes, I bought mine for just over £300 as well,

Nick

xpatUSA
xpatUSA Forum Pro • Posts: 23,016
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill
1

Theelderkeynes wrote:

Almost all the stuff posted here is shot at Iso 320...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9235496@N02/albums

With all due respect to an Elder, that does not disprove the statement that "Once you go over ISO 200 IQ definitely takes a hit".

Getting theoretical (moi?), if we shoot at ISO 320 and obey what the metering tells us without in-cam exposure correction - we will get a sensor exposure of approx 1200 ADC levels out of 4095. That's a loss of almost 2 EV!

However, we won't notice it because SPP will multiply the image brightness by 3.2 compared to ISO 100. But I, moi, will notice it because the shadow noise will be 3.2 times as bright.

ISO 100 roolz

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Ted

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Lin Evans
Lin Evans Forum Pro • Posts: 17,702
Re: 5 stars seems optimistic :-)
4

Nick,

Would you give a medium format film camera barely a 1 for things it wasn't designed for? There are even more things it can't do well.

The point is that for about half the price of a decent lens for your favorite dSLR or mirrorless masterpiece you get a camera with lens that can out-perform either for the things it was designed to do which is make incredibly good images which are tack sharp corner to corner.

As the OP plainly showed in his review - it was given excellent credit for what it does well and poor marks for what it can't do well. It's pretty plain that the OP is discussing image quality.

Best regards,

Lin

nick_webster wrote:

Considering how much the camera can't do well I wouldn't give it more than a qualified 3 or 4 stars. Of course for some things it is a 5 but for others it would barely make 1

And yes, I bought mine for just over £300 as well,

Nick

OP Theelderkeynes Junior Member • Posts: 26
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill

As I said, the objective, if you have very old unsteady hands, is to get a shot thats visibly sharp and pleasing to me....

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xpatUSA
xpatUSA Forum Pro • Posts: 23,016
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill
1

Theelderkeynes wrote:

As I said, the objective, if you have very old unsteady hands, is to get a shot thats visibly sharp and pleasing to me....

Sorry, I must have missed where you mentioned "very old unsteady hands" - was that what it meant here?:

Theelderkeynes wrote:

. . providing you set the ISO at 320-400 the shutter speed will stay fast enough to compensate for the lack of image stabilisation . .

At 75, with early Parkinson's disease myself, I do sympathize with your shaky hands.

I myself am sticking with the Sigma DSLRs and OS lens - or a tripod which helps a lot with the non-OS macro lens.

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Ted

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 Sigma SD9 Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH OIS Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM +11 more
OP Theelderkeynes Junior Member • Posts: 26
Re: Sigma DP2 Merrill

Now that SD1 Merrill tempts me, shakey hands or not!  I've found the metering on the DP2 a bit hit and miss but its early days so I'm trying the broader evaluative mode and see what happens...

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