Thread: DP2 Merrill first images

Yes I've done the tiff thing too and it does work well but as you say more time and faff.
It is rather a shortcoming of spp that it's got no crop or alignment tools.
With lr4.1 I find almost no need to use spp now.
The only exception is that I think (it's purely personal) when I want a monochrome it has a nicer look converted in spp and then imported into lr as a tiff. But I bet there's no technical reason how this could be so and it's just a fixed but groundless belief on my part!

Originally Posted by pdh

Kyle I imagine a DP with 28mm-equiv lens would do you very nicely.

As for processing, the main issue seems to have been that using anything other than Sigma's own SPP software left something of the Foveon "punch" behind. I've seen this myself with my DP2s and Lightroom 3.x.

The trouble is that some people (I'm one) find SPP not only slow but with a horrid user-interface that makes it difficult to use. Plus the well known inconsistency of the Foveon output depending on light conditions can make post-processing a frustrating experience.

Sigma have updated SPP for the Merrill edition sensors but they haven't changed the user interface except marginally.

The good news (from my point of view anyway) is that LR4.1 is nearly as good now with the DP2s raws as SPP. However there may be a lag before the Merrills are supported in LR (I'm not a press-release or blog reader so it might already be there, of course)

hope this helps. it's all from personal experience.

I appreciate the input! Yeah, I must have researched some old threads, as I remember reading that it had to be SPP (which was brutally painful).

I have been saving my pennies for a full frame, mostly for landscapes and some family portrait stuff. I wasn't super excited, to say the least, about going DSLR, so I am excited to learn more about the DP Merrills. It would be nearly perfect for my uses, very complimentary to my m4/3 setup, and I would be a good deal more likely to take both for travel (betting the FF would have stayed at home).

This is alarming:

the DP2M ate through 2 batteries for my 51 shots thus far

That is a quote from a user posting in DPReview regarding her new DP Merrill.

Edit: She later clarifies that, in addition to the 51 images produced, there was also battery drain due to setting up the camera and checking photos. However, it's still alarming when a manufacturer decides that it needs to include two batteries in the box.

I think it is just good business to include 2 batteries with every new camera. Setting up camera can "eat" a lot of battery. And the first charge, doesn't always last a long time. So my first emotion is not alarm, just life. Small camera, bright LCD, small battery, new toy: = short life.

Love is blind :)

I've been keeping up with discussions about this camera on several forums, with the most heated being at DPReview. Someone there very generously posted a gallery 96 photos, RAW files included! It was nice to be able to download a RAW file and play with it using Sigma Photo Pro (available for free on Sigma's website - only works with X3F files).

The ISO800 RAW I downloaded still had quite a bit of noise, but less than an ISO800 file of my DP1. There was some ugly banding, however, which is absent on the DP1. According to several DP and SD owners, the banding did not appear until Sigma introduced the Analog Front End feature on their newer cameras (SD15, DP1X, DP2X, SD1, and the Merrill generation DP). If you'd like to see the banding, enlarge the image on this blog post: foxfoto.exblog.jp You will be able to see the vertical and horizontal lines in the sky. I don't mind the noise, but the banding is quite ugly.

Despite everything I've read about the poor battery life and poor image quality in some scenarios, I'm still lusting after this camera.

The high ISO banding is the main factor my DP1x is sitting in a drawer and my DP1 is being used when I feel like playing with a wide angle Foveon camera.
Not that I want to shoot high ISO often, but sometimes I enjoy a B&W conversion and the banding is very visible even there.

What causes this banding?

It sounds like the banding starts to become a problem after ISO 400? I saw a base ISO shot with some (shadows at 100% view), but it looked like the file was flogged a bit in PP.

I also saw some comments also on sky noise at base ISO. I wonder if this is compared to a FF camera, or if it is similar to something like you would see with the NEX-7 or OM-D?

PhotoAcute can fix the noise, the banding, and it can increase the already-stellar resolution. A better camera and lenses will cost you at least $3500. PhotoAcute will cost you about $150.