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Venice with the Sigma DP1 & DP2 Merrill - user review

vieri

Well-known member
This is not totally Nikon-related if not in the fact that in this case I decided to leave my big (Nikon) guns at home on this occasion. Last November, I went to Venice to do some shooting for my Fine Art website, and this time I decided to bring just small cameras along. Being this an easily repeatable trip for me, I was confident in bringing with me, together with my Sony Nex7, the newly arrived DP1 & DP2 Merrill. I enjoyed working with these cameras, albeit they aren't perfect: you can read the complete review on my blog. Here a couple of samples:











Thank you for viewing, I hope you enjoyed these little cameras as much as I did! :D
 
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Thorkil

Well-known member
Lovely pictures there, Vieri !!(although the watermarks are distracting at the first with the dreaming movements of the gondola's)
Make me miss Venice a lot. What is your opinion of the DP1 against the DP2, considering the need for a wide, but does it stand up well enough in quality?
Thorkil
 

Rawfa

Active member
I just adore the 3d organic feeling that only the foveon sensors can offer so far. I would really love if sigma decided to make a mirrorless foveon camera...then again, it would be extremely overpriced like all their cameras.
 

mazor

New member
Wow, amazing photos. It almost feels surreal. So much dynamic range and sharpness. Brings back memories when I went to Venice many years ago
 

Michiel Schierbeek

Well-known member
I just adore the 3d organic feeling that only the foveon sensors can offer so far. I would really love if sigma decided to make a mirrorless foveon camera...then again, it would be extremely overpriced like all their cameras.
Extremely overpriced is not really true. The DP2m can be bought now for € 876,-
which is not so expensive for the (file) quality it represents. The SD1 came down € 1679,- Not to talk about the extremely cheep and good E-mount lenses.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Vieri

I'm glad you've posted this work here. Outstanding, regardless of the camera used. But also inspiring in terms of setting a benchmark for others using the DPxM series.

LouisB
 

vieri

Well-known member
Lovely pictures there, Vieri !!(although the watermarks are distracting at the first with the dreaming movements of the gondola's)
Make me miss Venice a lot. What is your opinion of the DP1 against the DP2, considering the need for a wide, but does it stand up well enough in quality?
Thorkil
Thank you, glad you enjoyed - as far as the 1 vs 2, I think that in absolute terms the 30 mm is the better lens between the two, however as far as wide angles go the 19 holds its ground very well. Except for chromatic aberrations/colour casts, which could definitely be better controlled (but this is true for the 30 mm as well, to an extent(.

I just adore the 3d organic feeling that only the foveon sensors can offer so far. I would really love if sigma decided to make a mirrorless foveon camera...then again, it would be extremely overpriced like all their cameras.
I think it would be great to have a mirrorless Foveon camera, and probably they could keep the body around Sony Nex7 / Oly E-5 prices. Hopefully one day, but they'll definitely need better software support for that.

Wow, amazing photos. It almost feels surreal. So much dynamic range and sharpness. Brings back memories when I went to Venice many years ago
Thank you very much!

Your photos are outstanding. They are a joy to view.
Thank you so much!

Great stuff Vieri!
Good light and good to see Venice so nice and quiet!
(There are Sigma DP Merrill threads :))

Michiel
Thank you very much, and about quietness - nothing like waking up real early... ;)

Extremely overpriced is not really true. The DP2m can be bought now for € 876,-
which is not so expensive for the (file) quality it represents. The SD1 came down € 1679,- Not to talk about the extremely cheep and good E-mount lenses.
I agree, after the screw-up with the SD1 introductory price they are now back to almost-inline prices...

Vieri

I'm glad you've posted this work here. Outstanding, regardless of the camera used. But also inspiring in terms of setting a benchmark for others using the DPxM series.

LouisB
Hey Louis, thank you so much for your kind comment, I really appreciate it. I enjoyed working with the DPx M cameras, and am looking forward to their 75 mm FOV sibling!
 

HansAlbert

New member
Cambiate
There are slow movements in Vivaldi’s music which congeal one overall impression but nevertheless maintain some unrest by the repetition of dotted changing notes. The gondolas are pulsating like these cambiate; they are the main disturbing element in this photo which would otherwise be a perfect postcard beauty. The condensation trail, as a manmade impact of today’s world, is another minor irritating element; it creates an impression of outer and inner distance to the island’s venerable buildings. Both, the sterns of the gondolas and the contrail are directed to the vanishing point behind the basilica, thus underlining the view in perspective. That the island is separated from the foreground by a ”curtain” in the shape of crosses means that the photographer’s world of today is visually and metaphorically distinguished from the quasi staged appearance of the beautiful island at sunrise. In mythological parlance, Aurora, the goddess of dawn, and Veritas, the goddess of truth, are presenting the ”veil of art” to the photographer-artist, i.e. his artistic way of depicting reality genuinely. You can only come near to the idea of beauty by apperceiving individual beauties under that idea, and one traditional topos of the artist’s approach is a morning scenery like this one: alone, looking beyond the daily grind, becoming aware of beauty in an intensified way, apperceiving the experience as a gift from heaven. The pulsating cambiate with their little disharmonies are the gentle reminders not to lose ground in the realm of imagination.
 

vieri

Well-known member
Great pictures, thanks for posting!
Thank you very much!

Cambiate
There are slow movements in Vivaldi’s music which congeal one overall impression but nevertheless maintain some unrest by the repetition of dotted changing notes. The gondolas are pulsating like these cambiate; they are the main disturbing element in this photo which would otherwise be a perfect postcard beauty. The condensation trail, as a manmade impact of today’s world, is another minor irritating element; it creates an impression of outer and inner distance to the island’s venerable buildings. Both, the sterns of the gondolas and the contrail are directed to the vanishing point behind the basilica, thus underlining the view in perspective. That the island is separated from the foreground by a ”curtain” in the shape of crosses means that the photographer’s world of today is visually and metaphorically distinguished from the quasi staged appearance of the beautiful island at sunrise. In mythological parlance, Aurora, the goddess of dawn, and Veritas, the goddess of truth, are presenting the ”veil of art” to the photographer-artist, i.e. his artistic way of depicting reality genuinely. You can only come near to the idea of beauty by apperceiving individual beauties under that idea, and one traditional topos of the artist’s approach is a morning scenery like this one: alone, looking beyond the daily grind, becoming aware of beauty in an intensified way, apperceiving the experience as a gift from heaven. The pulsating cambiate with their little disharmonies are the gentle reminders not to lose ground in the realm of imagination.
Hello Hans, long time no see! Hope you are doing well, thank you very much as always for your deep and insightful writing, which as always is very much appreciated.

You may be happy to know that I just selected the image you wrote about as February Print Of The Month on Vieri Bottazzini Fine Art Photography!
 
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