Narrow sweet spot DP2 Merrill

A review and Photo example of the SIGMA DP2 Merrill.

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Review
Specification
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Review

Overview
Usability
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1．Overview

The DP2 Merrill is the successor to the DP2, which was released in 2012.

The sensor, the heart of any digital camera, is the same APS-C size 3rd generation Foveon sensor as the SIGMA SD1 single-lens reflex camera, with a resolution of 15 megapixels x 3 layers.
Raw images in X3F format generate files of approximately 50MB.

Because the sensor size is 1.5 times APS-C size, the lens has a newly developed focal length of 30mm. This lens has a focal length of 45mm in 35mm format.

The battery is a lithium-ion battery BP-41.

Image recording formats support Raw format, X3F, and JPEG recording.

2．Usability

The DP2 Merrill feels plastic and cheap and voidy to the touch, but it has a compact body with a high-performance APS-C sensor and a lens equivalent to a standard lens in terms of focal length of 45mm in 35mm format, so it should have been a good choice for snapshot photography.

You can’t set the distance indicator position like with old manual focus lenses and quickly capture the scenery by eye.

The lens is electronic and there are no distance indicators or depth of field scales on the lens barrel. Also, the method of fixing the focus position is troublesome, so it must be said that it is not very suitable for snapshots. There is no function to fix the focus at a specified distance like other cameras.

For users who want to fix the focus position on the DP2 Merrill, please refer to the following website, which introduces how to fix the focus position by switching between AF/MF.

maro’s notebook

Unfortunately, the DP2 Merrill inherits the tradition of Sigma compact digital cameras, and has weaknesses such as poor battery life due to a weak electrical system, poor response due to a weak processing system, easy camera shake, and a narrow exposure sweet spot, which are also reasons why I think it is not suitable for snapshots.

The minimum shooting distance is 28cm, which is almost 10 times the focal length of the actual focal length, and it does not seem to be an unreasonable lens design.

The minimum shooting distance can be shortened to 19cm by attaching the dedicated optional close-up lens, AML-2.

As for the minimum shooting distance, it seems that Sigma itself was aware that the minimum shooting distance of the DP2 Merrill was insufficient due to the existence of the AML-2. However, the successor model, the dp2 Quattro, has a minimum shooting distance of 28cm and no close-up option. The exact reason why the AML-3 was not released is unknown, but if I had to guess, it would be for the following two reasons.

The DP3 series, which is responsible for the macro range, was added to the product line.
The AML series did not sell well.

For close-up lenses, the following information is useful.

Also, since the AML-2 is a 49mm screw-in type, any lens with a 49mm diameter can be used as is, and if the diameter does not match, you can use it by changing the diameter with a step-up or step-down ring.

The VF-21 viewfinder, which is dedicated only to checking the composition, has been continued from the DP2. Since the DP2 has a 1.7x APS-C sensor, the actual focal length of the lens is 24.2mm, which is equivalent to 42mm in 35mm. There is a 3mm difference between the DP2 Merrill and the 45mm equivalent in 35mm, but the VF-21 has a field of view of 85% vertically and 85% horizontally, which is a 15% error compared to the actual shooting range, so it is likely that the 3mm difference in focal length is not a problem. In fact, when taking close-up shots, the difference between the visible range of the VF-21 and the actual shooting range becomes large due to parallax.

As of 2024, the DP2 Merrill has been on the market for more than 10 years, so it is considered an old compact digital camera.

Used prices in the 2020s are relatively high, but considering the poor JPEG quality, the difficulty of handling X3F files, the battery life, and the fact that Sigma’s repair support has ended as of 2024, I don’t feel like buying it because it is so expensive.

As an alternative to cameras with Foveon sensors, it seems like a good choice to buy the dp2 Quattro, which supports DNG and is currently repairable as of 2024. However, the visual impact of the dp2 Quattro’s tonfa body is equal to its poor portability, and it does not fit well in a camera bag, so you need to be prepared for it to be difficult to carry around.

It’s a real shame that Sigma did not release a camera with a Quattro sensor using the body of the DP2 Merrill. Since the sensor size changed from the DP2 to the DP2 Merrill, I understand that the body was inevitably larger, but as a user, the change in shape from the DP2 Merrill to the dp2 Quattro is a change that is difficult to understand.

I think it’s great that Sigma is always trying to create new things. I think it’s a difference in company policy, but sometimes it’s better to take the approach of keeping the concept and brushing up the contents like Ricoh, so I often feel that a sense of balance is necessary when looking at Sigma’s new cameras.

My decision to purchase the DP2 Merrill had rather impure motives. From February to June 2013, Sigma was running a campaign offering cash back on purchases of the DP series, so I bought a set of cameras to take advantage of this.

3．Add Info.

X3F files

X3F files store information on the three colors R, G, and B for each pixel, so the amount of data is three times that of a normal Bayer sensor.

The DP Merrill series is equipped with a third-generation Foveon sensor, which has the same APS-C size as the SD1, and has a resolution of 15 million pixels x 3 layers. When saving raw images in X3F format, a file of about 50 MB is generated.

The file size of raw data from the HASSELBLAD X2D, which has a 100 million pixel Bayer sensor, is 200 MB, so based on the file size, it is thought to contain 1500*3=45 million pixels of data. Since a data volume of about 50 million pixels was achieved in 2012, it seems that the slow file writing after shooting and heavy PC processing were inevitable at the time, in 2024.

I have been using SIGMA PHOTO PRO (hereinafter referred to as SPP), which processes X3F, since the SD9 era, but I complained about its instability and slow operation. However, when I used it on a 2024 Mac mini equipped with an M2 Pro, I hardly saw any accidental crashes of SPP, and I realized that the image processing speed has reached a practically sufficient speed. It was an incident that made me feel the benefit of the processing speed improvement due to the increase in CPU power of the PC.

I also tried using a freeware utility software that converts X3F to DNG, but in the version I used, it was difficult to achieve the same quality as SPP unless you processed the image after converting it to DNG quite a bit, and I had the impression that it was difficult to master. It is unclear whether it has been improved since then.

If the image after DNG conversion can be obtained as equivalent to the SPP default, it would be an ideal workflow for users who are accustomed to other software to make fine adjustments with other software, but it was not so easy. Since the conversion software is freeware created by an individual, it is certain that users have no reason to complain.

I found out that I could develop the images using the image processing software Affinity Photo, so I tested it on this page. I know that I have to study the adjustment method carefully to get the same results as SPP, but since SPP can output adjusted images without stress, I haven’t pursued it too much. I think that the better workflow for now is to output JPGs using SPP and then do the final adjustments using Affinity Photo.

As of 2024, development of a new Foveon sensor seems to have stalled. I’m waiting with interest to see if I’ll come across any new X3F data in the future.

JPEG images

The DP Merrill series’ JPEG recording is about 10 MB (4,704 x 3,136) at the highest image quality, JPEG High Fine, and the number of pixels is the number of pixels in one layer of a three-layer sensor, which has 15 million pixels per layer, so it seems that it was deemed necessary to increase the number of dots by combining pixels, as this was a sufficient total number as of 2012.

In addition, the image processing chips at the time were heavy in processing JPEG images from RAW images, so it may not have been possible to increase the number of pixels.

In the first place, JPG was never used with the DP2 Merrill due to the difference in quality between images developed with SPP from X3F files and the resulting JPG images.

Merrill series

The DP Merrill series has three models with different focal lengths: the DP1 Merrill, which is equivalent to 28mm in 35mm format, the DP2 Merrill, which is equivalent to 45mm, and the DP3 Merrill, which is equivalent to 75mm.

All of the camera bodies have a square shape with few bumps and indentations, making them a little difficult to hold without any accessories, but this can be improved by attaching a third-party grip or a leather case.

The dimensions of the three cameras are the same except for the lens, so grips and other options can be reused. In particular, the lens size of the DP1 Merrill and DP2 Merrill are almost the same, and the difference cannot be seen unless you look at the lens plate and the model number on the top right of the body.

互換バッテリー

The BP-41 battery is compatible with the DB-65 used in Ricoh GR series compact cameras. The same shape is also used by Fujifilm, Leica, and Panasonic, so it’s good that you won’t have any trouble finding a compatible battery.

Specification

Items	DP1 Merrill	DP2 Merrill	DP3 Merrill
Camera Effective Pixels	Total pixels:48MP Effective pixels:46MP (4,800×3,200×3)	←	←
Lens focal length	19mm(28mm)	30mm(45mm)	50mm(75mm)
Lens Construction	9elements in 8groups	8elements in 6groups	10elements in 8groups
Max aperture	2.8	2.8	2.8
Min aperture	16	16	16
Leaf blade	9	9	7
Image sensor	FOVEON X3®(CMOS)・23.5×15.7mm	←	←
Back LCD	3.0 inch /920,000 dots	←	←
View Finder	VF-11	VF-22	–
Minimum shooting distance(m)	0.2	0.28	0.226
Battery	Li-on battery(BP-41)	←	←
Size(mm) W x H x D	122 × 67× 64	122 × 67 × 59	122 × 67 × 80
Weight(g)	360	355	400
Release date	9.14.2012	7.12.2012	2.22.2013

The image below is taken from the SIGMA website and the size has been adjusted by us, so it may not be exact.

Options

VIEW FINDER : VF-21
LENS HOOD : LH2-01
CLOSE-UP LENS : AML-2
ELECTRONIC FLASH : EF-140 DG
In addition, hand grips were released by a third party.

Reference links

Update history

2024.03.11:Update
2023.04.12:First draft

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