Sigma DP2 Merrill (45mm f/2.8 Lens)
Following my extensive review of the Sigma DP1 Merrill in Guide to Mirrorless, I had to send back the loaner DP1M (thanks go to B&H Photo for the loaner).
I mulled over the sensational sharpness of the DP1 Merrill sensor, and made a decision to order its sibling, the DP2 Merrill to expand my coverage, partly on the strength of hearing from DP2M owners that the 45mm lens (equiv) is really good. Since I thought the 28mm (equiv) lens on the DP1M was quite good, this sounds really promising. The DP2M has a 30mm f/2.8 lens equivalent to 45mm field of view on full frame.
And so I confess to a (rare) excitement in seeing the $999 Sigma DP2 Merrill show up today. From experience, I take this as an endorsement that the camera is unusually good in some way (I count the Nikon D800, the Sony DSC RX100, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sigma DP1 Merrill in this elite group among the deluge of other cameras this year).
It’s a list in which each camera brings together key factors in a compelling way. The Sigma DP1M and DP2M qualify, and not just on sharpness; they are one of very few (if any) cameras that successfully omit feature creep and provide quick and simply usability for key controls.
Software headaches with Sigma Photo Pro notwithstanding, the per-pixel sharpness of the Foveon true-color sensor in the Sigma DP1/DP2 Merrill is addictive, and stunning, though the Nikon D600 is still a little sharper with 14 more megapixels in its finished images (14.25 vs 24 megapixels for finished RGB images, respectively).
Going stealth
With a little black gaffer’s tape @AMAZON over the Sigma logo, one can have a stealth camera that hardly anyone can recognize.
You can have fun letting the curious know that it’s a secret _____ from ______ with _____ megapixels and you just cannot talk about it (you fill in the blanks to your own amusement).