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Sigma DP2 Merrill shots

Millsart

New member
Anyone else cut down their DP2M usage ? I find that when I'm leaving the house these days I'm back to grabbing my little Sony RX100 more again.

I still think the DP2m is a fantastic camera, but its one that I'm really only seeing myself grabbing for specific photo outings where I know it will excel.

Seems that for me at least, after a couple of weeks shooting random stuff just to see how much detail I can get, the thrill of the IQ alone has sort of worn off.

Again, its fantastic IQ, and with a good subject, composition, lighting etc, will produce some stunning images, but not everything the camera see's turns to gold.

I used to run around shooting tree bark, bricks, leaves etc just to come home and view them at 100% and oooh and ahhh over the detail. I think that got a bit old frankly.

Still impressive, but after several hundred images ran through SPP, just isn't that exciting or novel.


Anyone else finding their Merrill is now more of simply a high quality and very specific tool, rather than a new toy ??
 

Rand47

Active member
Anyone else cut down their DP2M usage ? I find that when I'm leaving the house these days I'm back to grabbing my little Sony RX100 more again.

I still think the DP2m is a fantastic camera, but its one that I'm really only seeing myself grabbing for specific photo outings where I know it will excel.

Seems that for me at least, after a couple of weeks shooting random stuff just to see how much detail I can get, the thrill of the IQ alone has sort of worn off.

Again, its fantastic IQ, and with a good subject, composition, lighting etc, will produce some stunning images, but not everything the camera see's turns to gold.

I used to run around shooting tree bark, bricks, leaves etc just to come home and view them at 100% and oooh and ahhh over the detail. I think that got a bit old frankly.

Still impressive, but after several hundred images ran through SPP, just isn't that exciting or novel.


Anyone else finding their Merrill is now more of simply a high quality and very specific tool, rather than a new toy ??
Kinda a "Horses for Courses" sort of thing. What it brings to the table for me is the ability to "always have at hand" a camera the has really gallery quality IQ. While it isn't my primary camera on any given day, it will always be at arm's length. And for any given photo essay there are always those detail shots that can benefit from eye popping detail and dimensionality. Between my extensive FF & APS-C DSLR kit, my little Fuji X-100 and now the DP2M, I'm living in a photographic possibilities world that I couldn't even dream was possible 30 years ago.

Rand
 

scho

Well-known member
Anyone else cut down their DP2M usage ? I find that when I'm leaving the house these days I'm back to grabbing my little Sony RX100 more again.

I still think the DP2m is a fantastic camera, but its one that I'm really only seeing myself grabbing for specific photo outings where I know it will excel.

Seems that for me at least, after a couple of weeks shooting random stuff just to see how much detail I can get, the thrill of the IQ alone has sort of worn off.

Again, its fantastic IQ, and with a good subject, composition, lighting etc, will produce some stunning images, but not everything the camera see's turns to gold.

I used to run around shooting tree bark, bricks, leaves etc just to come home and view them at 100% and oooh and ahhh over the detail. I think that got a bit old frankly.

Still impressive, but after several hundred images ran through SPP, just isn't that exciting or novel.


Anyone else finding their Merrill is now more of simply a high quality and very specific tool, rather than a new toy ??
The DP Merrill is still my primary camera and probably will be until something better comes along. I never get bored looking at and especially printing high quality images. If I need snapshots I'll use my iPhone.
 

peterb

Member
Anyone else cut down their DP2M usage ? I find that when I'm leaving the house these days I'm back to grabbing my little Sony RX100 more again.

I still think the DP2m is a fantastic camera, but its one that I'm really only seeing myself grabbing for specific photo outings where I know it will excel.

Seems that for me at least, after a couple of weeks shooting random stuff just to see how much detail I can get, the thrill of the IQ alone has sort of worn off.

Again, its fantastic IQ, and with a good subject, composition, lighting etc, will produce some stunning images, but not everything the camera see's turns to gold.

I used to run around shooting tree bark, bricks, leaves etc just to come home and view them at 100% and oooh and ahhh over the detail. I think that got a bit old frankly.

Still impressive, but after several hundred images ran through SPP, just isn't that exciting or novel.


Anyone else finding their Merrill is now more of simply a high quality and very specific tool, rather than a new toy ??

The DP2 M I bought just last month was the first new camera I've had in years. The previous camera (and one I still use on rare occasion now) is Panasonic's G1 which was the first new camera I had since Leica's Digilux 2 (which was the first camera that I personally felt proved that a digital camera could produce images good enough to equal and possibly surpass film).

When DSLR's first arrived on the scene as much as I liked them I felt they were way too bulky. And, for the most part, they still are. When the G1 came out the first thing I noticed was that it was the same thickness as an M6 (that I ditched along with some really nice lenses when Leica said there was no way they would be able to produce a digital M).

While many didn't like the EVF in the G1, coming off the Digilux 2 which had a very crude one it was a dream! And I immediately took to it. I also liked the side angled articulating screen on the G1 which made off angle shots a pleasure as well. Perfect for just going about and shooting.

The problem was I had shots that galleries on Cape Cod (where I do most of my shooting) really liked but the images I wanted to print for sale were far too small at the resolution I wanted. So I was always on the lookout for a camera that could deliver the goods without being too bulky.

I looked at Sony's A900 and A850 which had great optics at an affordable (read non-Nikon D3x or Canon 1d prices). But I always imagined that I'd probably grow weary of toting them around. The higher pixeled APS-C cameras that came out last year (in particular the A65 and NEX-7) were intriguing but while they were certainly compact and lighter (well the a65 was certainly lighter) the images I'd see on Flickr and other sites (which are perfect way to compare camera/lens combinations) were just so-so. The Fuji X-Pro-1 with it's unique array sensor with no AA filter looked good but I wasn't wild about the 'feel' when I held one. The images were good but still seemed a bit 'off'.

Then I read a review of the DP2 M on Steve Huff's site. He, of course, sent it back but he waxed on and on about how good the color and image quality was. The images I saw on Flickr seemed bear this out as well. Thinking about my own photo process and the shots I typically took the camera became even more intriguing. With the G1 I also rarely shot anything higher than ISO 400. Anything higher I would make it monochrome which the G1 (and I predicted the DP2M as well) produced with a rather grainy, romantic film-like quality (noise was always something I embraced and made the best of I suppose).

For the images of Cape Cod that I'd do when I'd typically go out at 6 in the morning until around 9 or so to a destination that looked promising I felt the DP2 would be fine. No EVF? The OVF would be fine. And I could always double check with the LCD.

I now have the camera (with four batteries mind you!), the Sigma OVF and got John Milich' fabulous grip and put the whole setup in a small belt pack I got from a company here called Easter Mountain Sports. A nice tidy kit.

Issues with AF? Well my experience with the Digilux 2 and it's horrible AF was good practice in dealing with those situations. Even the G1 had low light AF issues that one adjusted to. (And, personally, I find for most situations that I shoot in low light, the DP2 M has found it's target easily and quickly plus its manual mode along with Sean Reid's recommendation on early iterations of this camera that also apply here to use Zone focusing also work. Finally, over the years I've learned to pick my targets well.

The other thing I like about the DP2 M is how unassuming it is. It's about as unobtrusive and simple as you can get. No scene modes. No mishmash of dials and buttons. No brand names people recognize. (And as good as their lenses have become, for the most part, Sigma is simply not a recognizable name as seeing Canon, Nikon or Sony emblazoned on the front of the body when you're out and about.) Just a simple deck in a simple brick-like form. Doesn't get any better than that.

But as many know, this year is exciting times in photography. With a plethora of truly sweet choices all beckoning ones wallet to open. At times I've considered getting an additional camera (like the Fuji's new X-E1 with same highly touted sensor as the X-Pro 1 or the NEX 6 which is the perfect body compromise between the NEX 7 and NEX 5N) but again those I've seen don't seem to have the output I've become quite fond of from the DP2 M's sensational Foveon sensor (which, by the way, I've always been enamored with conceptually but never really considered until they got the level of pixels to where I liked it).

Yes the new FF darlings, Nikon's D600 and the yet to be seen 6D from Canon are other tantalizing prospects that can deliver the goods I seek (and they are much less bulky). And while I've considered them like every other camera I've considered as a second fiddle to the DP2M I keep asking myself the same two questions, "With the way I shoot and the subjects I typically shoot under what different circumstances would you use it? And would the DP2 M still be a viable choice?"

And I keep coming up with the same answers. "Quite a few." And "Yes."

So call me among the hopelessly hooked by this intoxicating little camera.
 
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pophoto

New member
I bought the camera as my keep it simple stupid, landscape camera! Actually, it's not at all simple, since I will go out with my RRS panoramic kit and light tripod. I always knew its limitations, but have been trying to push it, but so far, not much luck. It's ideal for very specific use in my view, and is great at that!

My light kit now consists of my OMD EM5, and the DP2M.

The DP2M, or any DP camera at this point still has it limitations, were I would love to still see improvements in software and a bulb mode (future models), that and perhaps noiseless IQ up to ISO 1600.

My Canon DSLRs are still finding its use for more serious work but when the Sony RX1 arrives, I feel there's a huge possibility these two camera (DP2M & RX1), could over take my DSLRs for most things....otherwise still pending...
 

biglouis

Well-known member
I don't know about using it less. If anything I'm even more confused about whether I should keep using my MF bodies or whether I should sell them and get a DP1M.

I'm not a casual shooter - although I am an opportunistic one (see the picture of Whitechapel High Street, above).

I've been doing a year long project (which has now turned into a two year project) using MF film in old graveyards in the east end of London. I've been comparing the output of the DP2M with my film scans. If I had to start all over again I am not convinced I would be shooting on film - I think I'd be using the DP2M and a DP1M, instead.

It is not just a sharpness thing. I really do think this is a wonderful sensor and a fabulous lens. Not the same as Kodak Portra or Ektar on my Hasselblad with an 80/2.8 but equally as good in terms of colouration and IQ (but different, if you know what I mean).

Here is the balancing judgement. I have to walk all my kit into the locations for the project. This means carrying it on my back. I can only carry a Hass with one lens at a time. I have in the past driven to the locations at quiet times of a weekend when I pack out my roller case with the Hass, several lenses and my m43rds kit as a backup.

With the DP2M I barely notice is in my backpack and I have now acquired the tiniest Manfrotto tripod which weighs in at 1Kg. That makes a lot of difference to my back! Even if I added the DP1M I don't think it would be as heavy - or as importantly bulky - as my Hass kit.

So, the thrill is not wearing off but the stress of whether to abandon film for the DP2M continues.

Decisions, decisions!

LouisB

PS I should add I would never sell my Hass SWC, that is totally irreplaceable unless Sigma bring out a 21mm equivalent version.
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
>I have now acquired the tiniest Manfrotto tripod which weighs in at 1Kg.


Have a link? How shaky is it?
 

biglouis

Well-known member
>I have now acquired the tiniest Manfrotto tripod which weighs in at 1Kg.


Have a link? How shaky is it?
It is here: Manfrotto MKC3-P01 Compact Photo Kit - Black

It is very cheaply made and looks like it would be shaky but I took a lot of pictures with it recently with speeds down to 1 second and they came out sharp.

I'd really prefer one of the tiny lightweight carbon fibre ones but they are ridiculously expensive.

Louis
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
>I'd really prefer one of the tiny lightweight carbon fibre ones but they are ridiculously expensive.


Yes, I think so too.

Still ok with center column extended?
 

biglouis

Well-known member
>I'd really prefer one of the tiny lightweight carbon fibre ones but they are ridiculously expensive.


Yes, I think so too.

Still ok with center column extended?
I've found no problem so far. I put the camera on 2 second autoshutter and stand well back!

Louis
 

Millsart

New member
Speaking of compact tripods, I think the Velbon Ultra Voxi can't be beat. Its under $200, weights under 3lbs, and it folds up under 14". Now plenty of tripods can offer at least 2 out of the 3 of those features, but what really sets the Velbon apart is that it can go to around 60" tall without having to raise the center column

I've had plenty of compact ones before that were otherwise nice, but they only go to 44" tall and sometimes that just isnt' enough to shoot over railings etc, not to mention uncomfortable, and raising a center column up high just isn't very stable on them either

The quick leg height adjustment of the Velbon is quite novel as well. Super fast to deploy it

Bottom leg sections don't look like little whisps either, they are pretty substantial.

I use it for everything from my Nikon DSLR's to my Gigapan head, right down to compacts like the DP2m and RX100
 

scho

Well-known member
Calm before the storm? The media has been hyping a "Super Storm" that is brewing off the atlantic coast and due to merge with an approaching cold front from the NW. I've even received calls from the utility company warning of potential power and gas outages for up to a week. People are freaked out running around looking for generators, sump pumps, firewood, canned food, bottled water, etc. Walking around the waterfront today was an eerie experience with not a puff of wind, no birds singing, and just a dreary gray calm.

DP2M on tripod

FULL SIZE
 

scho

Well-known member
Speaking of compact tripods, I think the Velbon Ultra Voxi can't be beat. Its under $200, weights under 3lbs, and it folds up under 14". Now plenty of tripods can offer at least 2 out of the 3 of those features, but what really sets the Velbon apart is that it can go to around 60" tall without having to raise the center column

I've had plenty of compact ones before that were otherwise nice, but they only go to 44" tall and sometimes that just isnt' enough to shoot over railings etc, not to mention uncomfortable, and raising a center column up high just isn't very stable on them either

The quick leg height adjustment of the Velbon is quite novel as well. Super fast to deploy it

Bottom leg sections don't look like little whisps either, they are pretty substantial.

I use it for everything from my Nikon DSLR's to my Gigapan head, right down to compacts like the DP2m and RX100
Sounds good. I looked at this tripod on B&H and the specs note that the legs are 5 section (not so great), but the picture looks like the legs are 3 section? Which is it?

 

Millsart

New member
Its 5 Sections, but they cleverly torsion lock into one another, which is why it can fold to such a compact length. Saves a couple of inches this way.

The bottom section is actually pretty thick and sturdy as well, much better than my Gitzo Traveler which has little spider legs on the bottom section, not to mention costing about 5x as much.

Really got to have 5 sections as well if you want decent high and still compact size folded. 4 sections would only make it 44" tall or so, and then you'd be stooping over all the time, or two short to shoot over railings/guard rails at scenics etc
 

Rich M

Member
Calm before the storm? The media has been hyping a "Super Storm" that is brewing off the atlantic coast and due to merge with an approaching cold front from the NW. I've even received calls from the utility company warning of potential power and gas outages for up to a week. People are freaked out running around looking for generators, sump pumps, firewood, canned food, bottled water, etc. Walking around the waterfront today was an eerie experience with not a puff of wind, no birds singing, and just a dreary gray calm.
Nice shot Carl......the tripod really seems to make a difference. This is becoming a commonplace comment, but the detail in the full size image is astounding. I found myself wishing you could crop out the blue barrels...but when you look at the thumbnail, you barely see blue barrels.

I guess the "superstorm" hype is worth it if it saves lives. We had our tsunami warning sirens go off last night and all the inundation zones were safely evacuated in the few hours we had before the arrival of the first wave.

The wave was barely discernible......but, better safe than sorry.

Stay dry......R
 

scho

Well-known member
Its 5 Sections, but they cleverly torsion lock into one another, which is why it can fold to such a compact length. Saves a couple of inches this way.

The bottom section is actually pretty thick and sturdy as well, much better than my Gitzo Traveler which has little spider legs on the bottom section, not to mention costing about 5x as much.

Really got to have 5 sections as well if you want decent high and still compact size folded. 4 sections would only make it 44" tall or so, and then you'd be stooping over all the time, or two short to shoot over railings/guard rails at scenics etc
Thanks, I'l check it out.
 
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