Only 2 cameras ever made me so excited and so passionate to shoot with. The first one is the Leica M9, and the second one is the Sigma DP2 Merrill. Maybe people will start questioning me why not a D4 or a D800E or a 1DX?
Well, first of all, I shoot raw, I don’t need any hocus-focus fancy camera features. And I’m not a sports cameraman. I don’t shoot wild life in some caves. I don’t want to break my neck because of the weight. I don’t enjoy the public attention for carrying large DSLRs. I don’t like people to think that I’m a Pro or a photo journalist. I don’t bla…bla…bla… I can mention 1001 reasons why I don’t like DSLRs. Perhaps except when I’m doing my commercial photo works or when I need to shoot under heavy rain, then I’ll carry a DSLR.
Clients loves big DSLRs. They think the bigger a DSLR, the result must be better, too. That’s of course normal that they think in such a way. What they didn’t care to know is that what really matters in creating good pictures is the photographer himself. You can give a non photographer person the best camera in the world, and in the end he still will not make better pictures than a Steve Mccurry with a $100 pocket camera.
Anyway, back to the Sigma DP2 Merrill, this is a fantastic camera. Looking at the full resolution images in my monitor, feels like looking at shots by MF (medium format) and view cameras. Excellent details in every shots. Amazingly vibrant colors, too.
The only drawback of this camera is the white balance in camera. It really sucks! It is only precise in sunny outdoor. THE SOLUTION: always use custom white balance. Buy an Expo Color Disc or just a Mennon white balance cap will do.
The first test shot I did indoor was so horrible, especially in the camera’s monitor. It was full of reddish and magenta-ish colors all over the picture. I even thought the camera sensor was damaged or something. Really a nightmare! But after getting that picture processed in the SPP (Sigma Photo Pro) 5.5.1, it turned out okay and normal. LOL! THE MAIN PROBLEM is because I took the shot underexposed. It would be much better if I had overexposed the shot by 0.3 or 0.7 stops. Highlights are easily recovered in the SPP.
Let me show you the ‘nightmare’ I mentioned just now. I used a Ricoh GR Digital II to capture how the image appeared in the Sigma DP2M. Here it is:
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Here’s the picture after being processed in the SPP 5.5.1. Almost clean from those magenta-ish and red-ish evils:
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Okay, now I welcome you to enjoy watching some of the shots I took with the Merrill.
B&W processed only in the SPP 5.5.1. Grain added.
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This was taken at ISO 1600. Indoor. Surprised?
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Lucky Number 7.
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Diagonal Lines.
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Old Warehouse. Shot at ISO 1600.
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The Fall of The Flowers. Shot at ISO 1600.
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Chrysanthemum Flowers.
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Thank you for watching.
Cheers!
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Prem Promono Photography 