THE SAGA BEGINS: SIGMA SD1 MERRILL VS NIKON D800E, PART 1

I have been using Nikon equipment all my life. In fact, I took my first photograph, decades ago, with a glorious Nikon F and a 50mm, and have been using Nikon since. Nevertheless, I consider myself brand-agnostic: I do not use any brand exclusively, nor do I refuse to use a particular brand on purpose; during my photographic journey, besides my faithful Nikons I have been shooting with Leica, Hasselblad, PhaseOne, Aptus, Canon, Fuji, Sony, Holga, you name it... I am always looking for the best tools for the job at hand, and I enjoy experimenting with different equipment, whenever something new and interesting comes out on the market. At the moment, to create images for my VIERI BOTTAZZINI FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY business I am using mainly a D3X and a D800E, both wonderful cameras, and I am quite happy with Nikon's offer of cameras & lenses at this point in time.

But - there is always a but, isn't it?

But last fall I got interested in the Sigma DP Merrill series of compact cameras, and decided to give the Foveon technology a try. I was hooked. The results coming out of these small, portable cameras with fixed focal lenses were so good that I started thinking about getting a Sigma SD1 Merrill to enjoy the Foveon sensor in a DSLR body, with the choice of lenses and accessories that this allows. Finally, a couple of months ago I took the plunge - got the camera and a few lenses and started experimenting with it (I wrote about the SD1 Merrill on the blog HERE for those interested).

Of course, since I am always purpose-driven when I buy and review equipment for my personal use, my sole concern is this: will the Sigma SD1 Merrill and Sigma lenses be up to the task of creating artworks for my business? How will they compare with my Nikon D800E and its lenses? Will the difference in sensor size (Full Frame vs APS-C) make a big difference when it comes to image quality? Will the prints be good enough to make me and my customers happy?

The Sigma SD1 & the Nikon D800E with some lenses

To answer this questions and decide what to use on my outings from now on, I decided to do a thorough comparison between the Sigma SD1 Merrill and my Nikon D800E with as many lenses as possible. Here we go!

FEATURES

No contest here: the D800E is without a doubt the feature-richer camera of the two, offering among others (in no particular order) video, electronic level, live view, possibility to use an external GPS, etc. that the SD1 Merrill lacks. As well, I wish the SD1 Merrill offered double card slots like the D800E does: being able to instantly back up your pictures in the field on two different cards provides you with an extra layer of protection that might save your bacon if anything goes wrong with your main card. More, I also love the D800E's shutter on the viewfinder's eyepiece, which is very useful to prevent stray light to get in from the VF during long exposures, something missing on the SD1 Merrill. On the other hand, the SD1 Merrill offers better timer / mirror up control, a more logical organisation for its custom feature sets (selectable on the mode dial) and the very useful QS menus for quickly setting up the most frequently used parameters. The D800E has a traditional status LCD on top of the camera, which is very useful to quickly check settings without looking into the viewfinder; on the other hand, the SD1 Merrill got rid of the status LCD, and your status information will appear on the main screen pressing the FUNC button. Personally, I prefer Nikon's solution, but your mileage may vary.

The D800E's features are broadly customisable via the menus, even too much so for someone, while the SD1 Merrill is a monument to the Spartan Camera, following a sort of "the less customisation the better" philosophy that might appeal to some and not to others; however, as a big plus it provides you with many different ways to reach the main controls (direct dedicated buttons, the QS menu and the regular menus). If you are a professional, in short, the D800E is a more complete camera, one that you can use for different jobs and customise to suit various shooting styles; while it excels as a studio, landscape and fine art camera, you can use it in a pinch for sports and PJ as well (though a Nikon D4 would of course be better). The SD1 Merrill on the other hand is a more limited tool; it excels at Landscape / Fine Art and in the studio (with people as well, if you shoot at a slow pace). However, having a choice I'd never take the SD1 Merrill on a PJ job, and it wouldn't certainly be my first choice to shoot sports either.

So, while feature-wise the clear winner here is the D800E, according to what you shoot the SD1 Merrill can prove to be the best camera for you if its features are enough for your work and if you are one of those guys that don't like to fiddle with overly complicated menus and like to set the camera once and forget about it. For my kind of work, both cameras provide me with all the features I need; of course, I'd appreciate it if the SD1 Merrill offered at least live view, electronic level and GPS, and a way to close the viewfinder's eyepiece during long exposure as well.

Torc, Ireland - Nikon D800E, 50mm f/1.4 AF-S, 1 sec. @ f11 (multiple shots, stitched)

CAMERA BODY AND ERGONOMICS

As I said, I have been shooting Nikon cameras all my life. Since the advent of digital, in particular, I used the D70, D2X, D2XS, D300, D700, D3, D3X and the D800E: I can easily say that I can operate the D800E with my eyes closed and one hand behind my back. I always felt that ergonomically Nikon cameras are among the best out there, and I am really comfortable using pretty much any of them. That said, contrary to my expectations picking up the Sigma SD1 Merrill was surprisingly easy: the camera felt really good in my hands, all controls are placed very logically (with the exception of the ISO button, which requires a bit of contortion to be reached with your RH index finger!) and those that aren't located where I expected, I managed to get acquainted with in a very short time.

Both cameras feel really solid in the hand, very well built and easy to hold and use. No winner here for me personally, I'd be equally happy to pick either camera and start shooting with it.

Mantua, VII - Sigma SD1, 35mm f/1.4 HSM "A", 30 sec. @ f8

PERFORMANCE

Auto-focus. The D800E is the clear winner here: the 51-points CAM-3500FX is faster, locks more decisively, hunts less and (especially important for me) works between -2 EV and 19 EV, while the SD1 Merrill's AF system works only between 0 and 18 EV. Personally, for my Landscape / Fine Art work I only use the central AF point; I never need AF tracking or 51 AF points (nor 11, for that matter). I only prefer the D800E's AF over the SD1 Merrill's for its low light capability and for that bit of extra decisiveness with which it locks focus. That said, the SD1 Merrill's AF system almost never misses, is about as fast as the D800E's and if you work like I do (using the central AF point to focus & recompose) you'll not notice much difference between the two.

Continuous shooting. The SD1 Merrill is a faster machine-gun shooter than the D800E (5-6 frames per second vs 4 fps at full resolution); however, the D800E has a deeper buffer, is faster in writing to the card and keeps shooting after the fourth frame, whereas the SD1 Merrill will stop after the sixth (14th if you shoot at Medium Speed). Since I wouldn't use either cameras anyway for any situation where machine-gun shooting is required, I'd call this a toss up.

Writing files speed. The D800E works just fine, even if it's not the fastest camera out there; you never wait for the camera, you can playback your images almost instantly after shooting them and you can access all camera's functions while it's writing files to the card - considering the amount of data that the camera is moving around, it is a pretty impressive result. The SD1 Merrill on the contrary feels like the camera of yesteryear: it stops working almost completely when busy writing files to the card; taking a new picture is pretty much the only thing you can do during such times. In this respect, the SD1 Merrill feels like a Medium Format digital back. My experience tells me that the SD1 Merrill's buffer is just fine: you can take up to 14 pictures in continuous shooting (at Medium speed) before filling the buffer, so I think that the problem is in processing the data and / or writing them to the card. The SD1 Merrill uses Dual TRUE II processors, and while Sigma touts that "the Dual TRUE II processes vast volumes of data at blazing speed", with all due respect to Sigma I'd have a different opinion about what "blazing speed" means. This is the only really REALLY annoying performance issue I have with the SD1 Merrill, and I hope that Sigma will either fix in it FW (if at all possible) or in the next iteration of the camera. In short, when it comes down to file writing speed, sadly there is no contest: these two cameras aren't just in different leagues, they are playing two different sports...

Shutter & Mirror. The Nikon D800E features a classic, heavy-duty Nikon shutter & mirror assembly: the electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter is solid, has a long lifespan, features a quick-return mirror and shutter speed ranging between 30 sec. and 1/8000 sec. plus Bulb. However, it's certainly neither silent nor vibration-free. The Sigma SD1 Merrill also features an electronically controlled focal plane shutter with quick return mirror; however, Sigma opted for separate motors for shutter and mirror, and created a very silent, incredibly well damped shutter / mirror assembly; shutter speed ranges also between 30 sec. and 1/8000 sec. plus Bulb (though this is limited to 2 minutes in Extended Mode, 30 sec in normal mode). As a result, the SD1 Merrill is much more silent and creates much less vibrations than the D800E. Flash sync speed is 1/250 sec. (1/320 sec. in extended mode) for the D800E, 1/180 sec. for the SD1 Merrill. Therefore, unless you really need the D800E's higher flash sync speed, the SD1 Merrill's shutter wins hands down here.

Battery life. The Nikon D800E uses the EN-EL15 battery, with a CIPA life of 900 shots. The Sigma SD1 Merrill uses the BP-21 battery, with a life of about 300-400 shots (my measurements, Sigma doesn't provide a CIPA standard measurement). While with the D800E one battery is enough for a day shooting in the field, with the SD1 Merrill you'll need to carry at least one spare battery to be safe.

Devil's Cornfield & Mesquite Dunes - Nikon D800E, 70-200mm f/4 @ 110mm, 1/250 sec. @ f8

METERING
Both camera meter slightly conservatively, underexposing by 1/3 to 1/2 stop to protect the highlights; when using a f/1.4 lens, both cameras tend to underexpose around 2/3 to 1 stop shooting wide-open. Stopping down improves things, and around f/5.6 both cameras meter much closer to a correct exposure. While I understand the physics of shooting a lens wide-open, I am surprised that manufacturers didn't implement an automatic meter compensation of sorts for this.

Both cameras offer evaluative, spot and center weighted metering modes; the D800E of course offers more customisation options than the SD1 Merrill. In the end however they behave in the same way, underexposing more or less equally. No clear winner here.

Swans in the park - Sigma SD1, 85mm f/1.4 HSM (127mm FOV), 1/4000 sec. @ f1.4

VIEWFINDER & LCD SCREEN
The Nikon D800E's viewfinder cover 100% of the image, is very bright and a pleasure to use; besides focus points, shooting info etc., it offers an electronic level which I find very useful. The focussing screen is replaceable, a great feature for people using manual focus lenses. The Sigma SD1 Merrill's viewfinder is indeed particularly good for a APS-C camera; is very bright, covers 98% of the frame and offers shooting info and focus points, but no electronic level. The focussing screen is fixed, full matte and while it works pretty well when used in manual focus you don't have the possibility to replace it. I'd rate both viewfinders equally good, with the D800E having the advantage of featuring a replaceable screen and an eyepiece shutter, particularly useful to avoid stray light coming in both during long exposures and when using Live View.

The Nikon D800E's LCD is 3.2" and has a resolution of 920.000 dots. The Sigma SD1 Merrill's, on the other hand, is 3" with a resolution of 460.000 dots. The D800E's LCD wins here: brighter, more detailed, clearer and better in all kind of light.

Le Corti - Nikon D800E, 85mm f/1.4 AF-S, 1/250 sec. @ f4

THE SYSTEM: LENSES, ACCESSORIES, ETC.
When you buy a camera, you buy into a system: according to what you shoot, it is wise to examine the system in details and decide accordingly. For instance: if your work requires you to use Tilt-Shift lenses, then the Sigma is a no-go, and either Nikon or Canon will necessarily be your system of choice. More, if you need an extremely wide angle range T-S lens, then Canon is the only choice short of a technical camera sporting a digital back. If you need weather-proof lenses, then Sigma's offer pales compared to Nikon's or Canon's. One more thing to consider is that while Nikon, Canon, Sony and Pentax cameras can use third party lenses & accessories besides their own, if you get into the Sigma system you'll only have access to Sigma lenses and accessories. On the other hand, if you need lenses such as a 120-300mm f/2.8, a 150mm f/2.8 Macro, a 180mm f/2.8 Macro, a 50-500mm super zoom, a 18-35mm f/1.8, an esoteric fish-eyes and so on, or if you just are into the Foveon's look, then Sigma is your brand - of course, you can also use Sigma lenses on your favourite brand of camera (without the Foveon sensor and its particular look, though).

In short, buying into Nikon with the D800E you buy into one of the most developed camera systems out there; the lack of a 17mm Tilt-Shift lens aside, between OEM and third-party lenses & accessories there is nothing you will end up wanting. Buying into Sigma with the SD1 Merrill, on the other hand, as things are today you buy into a system that - while quite developed, and more so than some of the competition - isn't as developed as Nikon's. As always, only you can say if this is a serious limitation for your kind of shooting or not; however, it is something you'll seriously have to consider before jumping in one system vs the other. For Landscape / Fine Art work, with the exception of Tilt-Shift lenses, Sigma offers a pretty complete system, one I felt comfortable with when I decided to move on with my purchase.

Mantua, III - Sigma SD1, 50mm f/1.4 HSM (75mm FOV), 3.2 sec. @ f8

IMAGE QUALITY
Comparing two completely different imaging systems is not an easy task, and even less so in a case such as this. We are comparing cameras with different sensor sizes, so lenses' fields of view will not exactly match, nor will depth of field at equal apertures; there isn't any software able to develop RAW files from both cameras; sensor technology is completely different; etc. All this considered, my methodology for this comparison has been as follows:

- Shoot 3 sets of images for each set, re-setting AF every time (using Live View on the D800E), choosing the sharpest set of the three;

- Shoot RAW with both cameras in A mode without any exposure compensation, to be able to compare the two cameras' metering behaviours; 

- Set the WB using corresponding preset WB in each camera (i.e., shade) and correcting it in software via a spot WB on the exact same point of the images;

- Develop the files in Sigma Photo Pro and Nikon Capture NX 2 (since no available software is able to develop the RAWs from both cameras, I went for the softwares I'd use with each camera for my own work); in particular, I sharpened both cameras' files as I normally do for my work (setting Sharpening to -1.0 for the SD1 Merrill and using a combination of High Pass + Unsharp Mask for the D800E); I turned off all Noise Reduction and Distortion Correction options; I left on CA & Fringe correction for both cameras;

- Compare lenses providing as similar as possible an angle of view on both cameras (i.e., 35mm on the SD1 Merrill vs 50mm on the D800E);

- To help you evaluate sharpness, I decided to upload files at native resolutions, as well as files resized to 30 MP (6720 px wide): the (arbitrary) choice of 30 MP has been done according to Sigma's claim that "the luminance resolution of this sensor is, in fact, equivalent to that of a 30MP CFA sensor as measured on the standard B&W resolution chart used in conventional digital camera resolution testing". Of course, such a choice should favour the D800E by some margin, since it downsizes the D800E's file while upsizing the SD1 Merrill's. However, I found the results interesting enough to be worth a look.

One last consideration. While there are many different ways to do a comparison such as this, I decided to proceed in a more user-oriented and result-oriented way rather than embarking in a classic studio comparison with resolution targets and so on. My goal when using either camera is to shoot Landscape and Fine Art, create large high-quality Fine Art prints of my images and sell my artwork. I don't shoot and sell images of resolution charts; my shooting distance and light conditions are very different than those required to shoot charts; etc. Hence, I decided to compare lenses in such a way as to get results as relevant as possible to my kind of shooting.

A FIRST COMPARISON: NORMAL LENSES
In this first instalment, I decided to start with a classic, the "fast normal", comparing the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM on the Sigma SD1 Merrill vs the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-S on the Nikon D800E.

SHARPNESS
Here is the usual, uninspiring test scene:

Uninspiring test scene, Sigma SD1, 35mm f/1.4, 1/640 sec. @ f1.4

Now, let's see some centre crops (600x600 px, 100%), at the original resolutions of 36 MP (D800E) vs 15 MP (SD1 Merrill):

As you can see, in the centre the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 is just OK wide open, gets better at f/2 and is very very sharp between f/2.8 and f/8 - no difference in centre sharpness between these apertures. At f/11, diffraction kicks in, but the image is still very much usable.
The Sigma, on the other hand, is amazingly sharp wide open, and stays like that until f/8, where diffraction starts showing its effects; f/11 is softer still, but quite usable if you need the depth of field.

What is clearly evident is how the SD1 Merrill's colour rendition changed between shots: these photographs have been taken at a few seconds interval and processed exactly in the same way; I can exclude any possible external cause for the colour changes, such as light changes or the like. Out of curiosity, I tried and managed to bring the picture to look exactly the same in SPP in a few seconds, but I chose not to do so in order to let you appreciate the camera's behaviour when left on its own.

Now, let's have a look at some corner crops (600x600 px, 100%), again at the original resolutions of 36 MP (D800E) vs 15 MP (SD1 Merrill):

In this comparison, again the Nikon is softer than the Sigma wide open; they both become very sharp at around f/5.6, with the Nikon taking the lead. At f/8 they are equally sharp, and at f/11 diffraction starts to make things softer again. For both lenses, f/8 is the sweet spot if you want maximum sharpness into the corners.

From this crop, you can also see how the Nikon 50mm vignettes much more than the Sigma 35mm, which is to be expected since the Nikon is a full frame lens on a full frame camera, while the Sigma is a full frame lens on an APS-C camera (thus using the sweet spot of the lens only).

While the D800E has evidently more resolution, you can see how the SD1 Merrill holds its own very well; its files show actually more micro-contrast and fine detail (see inside the tiles) than the D800E's files. Indeed the rendering of homogenous coloured areas looks more detailed, more tridimensional in the SD1 Merrill.

And now, let examine some centre crops resized to 30 MP (600x600 px, 100%):

Now this is an interesting comparison, since Sigma claims that the 45 MP Foveon sensor used in the SD1 Merrill has a luminance resolution equivalent to that of a 30MP Bayer sensor. Here, of course, I am presenting a colour test scene, not a black & white one designed to test luminance resolution. However, the upsized file from the SD1 Merrill holds details very well against the downsized D800E's file, more so if you consider that downsizing a file improves noise and detail, while upsizing it exacerbates noise and reduces detail. Again, if you check the surface of the tiles, you still can see more micro-contrast and fine details in the Sigma files compared to the Nikon's.

Now let's look at some corner crops, also resized to 30 MP (600x600 px, 100%):

Here slightly downsizing the D800E's files improves their perceived sharpness, while upsizing the SD1 Merrill's ones exaggerates the un-sharpness of the original image. Indeed the Nikon files looks better here.

I mentioned above that the SD1 Merrill resolves much more detail than the D800E in areas of homogenous colours, such as the surface of the small tiles presented in the samples above; so I thought I'd post a 100% crop of an area of the original image that illustrates the point pretty well:

The above crops come from files at original resolution; we are talking about 36 MP for the Nikon D800E vs 15 MP for the Sigma SD1 Merrill, and yet - as you can see - the SD1 Merrill's files shows much more detail in this area of the image than the D800E's. It is clear to me, both from this and from hundreds more pictures I have shot so far with the Foveon sensor vs those thousands I have shot with Bayer sensor cameras, that when demosaicing Bayer images of such homogenous areas the algorithms struggle to render the fine details that the Foveon sees with ease.

NOISE & DYNAMIC RANGE
The D800E is a better low-light camera than the SD1 Merrill; even at base ISO, the SD1 Merrill shows more noise in the shadows than the D800E, and I wouldn't recommend the SD1 Merrill for critical colour work at ISO above 400; if you convert your files to black & white using the Monochrome mode in SPP, on the other hand, you can get very clean images up to ISO 1600 and even 3200 if you expose carefully.
The Nikon D800E is a more forgiving camera when it comes to metering; its files have more room to play and recover, and more dynamic range immediately available for you to play with. With the Sigma SD1 Merrill, on the other hand, you'll have to be much more careful. Blowing highlights is not a good idea, since there is little to no room for recovery there; that said, I'd definitely recommend to expose to the right, to get as much light as you can to the shadows without blowing the highlights. If you'll do so, you'll be able to squeeze a lot of dynamic range from your files, almost as much as what you get out of the D800E's; however, the SD1 Merrill is much more unforgiving towards those who don't pay attention - behaving more like a digital back in this respect.

VIGNETTING

Now let's see how these two camera / lens combinations behave as far as vignetting:

As previously noted, the 50mm Nikon vignettes much more than the 35mm Sigma; of course, as mentioned above, using a full-frame lens such as the 35mm f/1.4 Sigma on an APS-C sensor camera such as the SD1 Merrill - thus using the centre area of the lens only - helps reducing vignette. Still, if the lack of vignetting is important for you, the Sigma outputs a cleaner file than the Nikon. Again, you can observe here the SD1 Merrill's behaviour when it comes to colour differences between shots.

BOKEH AND DRAWING
Finally, let's see how these camera / lens combinations deal with out-of-focus areas (focus is on the ColorChecker card):

Judging the rendering of out-of-focus areas and how a particular lens draws the world are very personal matters that depends on one's artistic vision and taste; therefore, I will not comment and leave it to the viewer to decide which lens draws closer to one's own vision. Technically, you can notice how the Sigma images show some "Bokeh fringing", that is the green / magenta cast you can see at f1.4 & f2 on the books on the far top left (green on the left, magenta on the right of some books' edges). You can correct that to some extent in Sigma Photo Pro or in Photoshop; of course, the Nikon ones do not show this behaviour to begin with, and do not need any extra steps to correct it. As well, you can check out the ColorChecker card in the images above to see how the two cameras render colours: to make things as "equal" as possible, I did a spot WB on all images on the third grey square from the top, and used both SPP's and Nikon Capture NX 2's "Standard" colour profiles.

For your convenience, CLICK HERE to download all the test images above and examine them at your leisure on your computer.

THE PRINTS
In short: either cameras (using proper lenses and proper technique, of course) will enable you to print up to 17" wide getting really wonderful, impressive results that needs to be seen to be believed; you can print up to 24" wide with great results, if you know what you are doing. Of course, talking about prints on the internet makes little sense, one literally needs to see them to believe; so I am afraid you'll have to take my word for it when I say that I'll be equally comfortable printing and selling artwork based on files from either cameras.

CONCLUSIONS
The Sigma SD1 Merrill is a 15 MP APS-C camera selling for less than $2.000 US; the Nikon D800E is today's resolution champion of Full-Frame DSLRs and sells for more than $1.000 US more than the SD1 Merrill. Nikon lenses are considered among the best for 35mm DSLR, while Sigma has a somehow spottier reputation; Nikon lenses of comparable focal length and speed cost generally at least 1.5 times Sigma's offer. However, Sigma uses a Foveon sensor which reads full colour information at each photosite vs the classic Bayer sensor of the D800E that needs to interpolate colour information, and this is what makes it unique.
By itself, just being able to compare files from the Sigma SD1 Merrill against the Nikon D800E's tells a lot about the quality of the SD1 Merrill; while the D800E wins in sheer resolution, the SD1 Merrill produce files that have exceptional micro-contrast and fine detail, especially in areas of the image of homogeneous colours (see samples above). The two cameras' colour rendering is also very different: while colours can be manipulated and adjusted in the digital darkroom to no end, of course someone will prefer the one vs the other; however, both cameras produce very good files with very pleasant colours to my eye, files that are perfectly usable as a base to create wonderful images.
The Nikon D800E is a more forgiving camera when it comes to metering, while the Sigma SD1 Merrill will punish you with shadow noise and reduced dynamic range if you expose carelessly. However, if you treat it well, you'll be able to get fantastic images from the Sigma as well.

Which camera would I recommend for Landscape / Fine Art work?

Both, actually. Definitely the SD1 Merrill is the best bang for your buck if you are starting from scratch, or if you want to step up your game and haven't already invested heavily into one particular system; however, if you already have a D800E, I'd not sell it to get the Sigma unless you felt hopelessly in love with the Foveon look. If you shoot stuff other than Landscape / Fine Arts and you can't afford to maintain two systems, the D800E is definitely the choice that makes more sense of the two; however, if you are a romantic like me and do not mind spending a bit of time to get your images and to process them carefully one by one, for Landscape and Fine Art work the Foveon look has something special to it that to me is worth working with - no matter the headaches that Sigma's software will give you to get there.

FINAL WORD
I will keep the Sigma SD1 Merrill for now and bring it with me to my next outing in Scotland (leaving the D800E at home this time over), to work with it exclusively for about a month and see what I can make it do.

I have more lens comparisons in the works involving the D800E & the SD1 Merrill, so stay tuned!

Now for the technical stuff: the quick and dirty product shot at the beginning of this review has been taken with the Sigma DP3 Merrill; light has been provided by one Metz Mecablitz 20 C-2 on camera, sided by 2 Nikon SB-700 Speedlight used as remote slaves on manual. All other photographs data are as noted in the comment under each image.

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MORE ON STABILITY: RRS PLATE & FOOT FOR THE NIKON 70-200 f/2.8

A few days ago, I posted an article explaining how to improve the Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED VR sharpness when used on a tripod by adding a lens collar (see the article HERE). I have been inspired to embark in such a quest by the lack of critical sharpness I noticed in some of the shots I took in Death Valley, and that I determined was caused by micro-motion blur; adding a collar to the lens solved the problem completely. While researching the topic, I also found out that the Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED VR's bigger brother, the legendary Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, could benefit from some improvement in the foot area as well: what is the problem, and what could be a good solution to it?

Really Right Stuff's LCF-10 foot & LCF-10P plate on the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8

Well, there are two possible improvement in the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 foot area: the first involves the foot's plate, that small piece of aluminium attached to the lens where you connect the lens' foot; the second involves lowering the lens / foot gravity centre and eliminating one possible weak point, i.e. the connection between your lens foot and your tripod head's lens plate - however, this second improvement applies only to people using Arca-Swiss compatible tripod heads. To solve both these problem at once, I found a perfect solution from Really Right Stuff, one of the best manufacturer of support accessories such as tripods, heads, brackets and plates: the LCF-10 foot & LCF-10P plate.

The Really Right Stuff LCF-10 foot & LCF-10P plate

So, what's wrong with Nikon's original foot's connecting plate? Well, the problem is that the plate is very thin, and will eventually get bent with time and use. The solution? Replacing it with the thicker, stronger RRS LCF-10P one, which will be much harder to bend even under heavy use. More, the RSS plate uses Hex screws (the appropriate key is included), versus regular Phillips screws for the Nikon; the advantage here is that an Hex key is much less likely to ruin the screws' head than a Phillips screwdriver when you tighten them, an operation that you need to do from time to time to make sure your plate is surely attached to the lens.

The "surgery" to switch plates is very easy: just un-screw the four screws holding the plate in place, take the plate off, place the new one into position and tighten the new screws in: 5 minutes work, if that. I suggest you keep the original plate and screws for reselling purpose, since your eventual buyer might like to have the original plate as well. As you can see from the image below, the RSS plate is much thicker and stronger than the original Nikon:

The Really Right Stuff plate LCF-10P (left) and Nikon's original plate (right)

The Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 with its original plate

The Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 with the replacement RRS LCF-10P plate

The second improvement is even easier and faster than the first: just get a RSS LCF-10 foot to go with your LCF-10P replacement plate, and you are done. The RRS LCF-10 foot comes with an Arca-Swiss compatible plate built-in for your convenience, and - as you can see - it's lower than just the Nikon foot by itself, let alone adding a tripod plate to it!

Nikon's original foot vs. RRS foot for the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8

The Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 with its original foot

The Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 with the RRS LCF-10 foot & LCF-10P plate

Ergonomically, the RRS tightening screw on the foot is a bit easier to operate and tighten than Nikon's original: it protrudes slightly more off the foot itself and it's a bit deeper, offering a surer grip especially when wearing gloves.

So, if you use your Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 on a tripod a lot, and want to prevent your plate to get bent, lower the centre of gravity of your lens / camera combination and dispense with having to attach a tripod plate to your lens foot, I recommend to give the RRS LCF-10 & LCF-10P combination a try; they are perfectly made, solid, easy to mount and use, and will likely save you some headaches!

Now for the technical stuff: all the quick and dirty product shots in this review have been taken with the Sigma DP3 Merrill; light has been provided by one Metz Mecablitz 20 C-2 on camera, sided by 2 Nikon SB-700 Speedlight and 2 Nikon SB-910 Speedlight used as remote slaves on manual.

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ANSWERING FOVEON'S CALL: FIRST LOOK AT THE SIGMA SD1 MERRILL

After a long debate with myself (and my bank account!), and collecting as much information as I could about the camera and about what could be the best lenses to go with it for my kind of shooting, I finally took the plunge and got the Sigma SD1 Merrill together with a few lenses to put through their paces. The primary use I have in mind for this setup is to exploit the quality of the Foveon sensor to create Landscape / Fine Art artworks for my VIERI BOTTAZZINI FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY business; therefore, this first impression have been written with this is mind. If your working needing & style are different, my thoughts and conclusions may not apply to you.

The Sigma SD1 with the 8-16mm, 17-50mm, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, 70mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.4, 150mm f/2.8

Sigma has been known for a long time mostly as a manufacturer of cheaper alternative lenses for various camera mounts, lenses considered to be just of decent quality if that (with a few notable exceptions, of course); as well, when it came to Quality Control their record has always been less than spotless. In recent years, though, this trend has steadily and rapidly changed for the best: their newly released lenses and their high-quality compact cameras (the DP1 Merrill, DP2 Merrill and DP3 Merrill, which I talked about HERE, HERE and HERE) are looking very interesting indeed, providing excellent quality while still keeping a reasonable price. After using the three DPM cameras for a while and enjoying the Foveon sensor's quality a lot, I started thinking about how great it would be to be able to use that sensor with a proper DSLR, enjoying a wider choice of lenses, accessories, flashes, a longer battery life, etc. Enter the Sigma SD1 Merrill: a no-frills, basic-featured, solid photographers camera, built for those of us who aim for maximum image quality and that can take their time while working...

BUILD AND ERGONOMICS

The Sigma SD1's unconventional looking grip, with its deep finger recess, is one of the most comfortable cameras I had the pleasure to hold. The body feels very well build, a solid brick with no cracking or rattling; the rubber covering the grip and the thumb rest is - well - grippy, and makes holding the camera very easy and safe; still, Sigma managed to make the SD1 200 gr. lighter than - for instance - the Nikon D800E (700 gr. vs 900 gr., body only).

Controls are very well laid out and easy to memorize and use. As a long time Nikon shooter, I especially appreciated the AF button, which allows you to separate AF operations from the shutter button: while Sigma's implementation is not exactly the same as Nikon's, it took just a few minutes to get used to it.

The QS and Func buttons complete the array of what I call "particularly useful buttons", versus the "traditional" ones such as playback and delete, for instance, which do not need any explanation. The first (see above) offers 2 panels of quick set options, such as ISO, Metering mode, AF mode, Flash mode (Qs1); WB, Image size, Colour mode, File (Qs2). The Func button (see below), on the other hand, calls the Status display, and here you can change ISO and focus point (you can also change both these setting via dedicate buttons).

I also like the Drive control dial, placed on the left side of the pentaprism, which serves as On-Off switch as well; from the Off position, you can turn it on to Single or Continuous Shooting, 10 sec or 2 sec Timer and Mirror Up (the latter has a timer function as well, which you can control via the menu). Kudos to Sigma on this one: having access to M-UP and Timer without having to fuss with the menus is great.

On the right side of the pentaprism, there is a classic mode dial, with a twist: besides the usual M, S, A and P modes, it offers three custom modes - aptly named C1, C2 and C3 - where, among all sort of parameters, you can also set the exposure mode you'd like to use for each of the C modes. A feature very well thought off, which saves me some time compared to what I am used to with my Nikons.

As you can see, all the most important controls can all be reached in more than one way, more or less directly, through menus or dedicated buttons: the SD1 definitely puts you in charge, and makes it easy to do so. The only exceptions to this are the ISO button, which requires a bit of contortion on the index finger's part to reach it; and the exposure compensation button, which is placed on the side of the shutter and might cause some confusion in fast-paced shooting (on the other hand, you'll probably not want to use the SD1 for fast-paced shooting at all!).

THE SHUTTER
(Added June 10, 2013: I just noticed that I didn't include my paragraph about the SD1's shutter - sorry about that).
Among the best features of the SD1 is its shutter: in short, one of the best damped shutters I ever heard and used, short of film Leicas (and, of course, of lens shutters). As a reference, the SD1's shutter is much quieter than that of my Nikons (D3X and D800E), and a quick test with a laser pointer tells me it generates much less vibration, too, something quite noticeable at shutter speeds below 1/15 sec.

ON THE SOFTWARE SIDE: MENUS & FIRMWARE
The menu is very simple and straightforward; divided in panels, it doesn't have many options but it has all you need to set the camera up to your liking. Particularly useful for me is the AF Micro Adjustment, which allows you to get the most out of your lenses; anything else is basically what you'd expect from a Nikon / Canon of yesteryear. I have nothing to complain regarding Sigma's approach for my kind of shooting, but of course different photographers need different features, and the SD1 is not an "universal shooter" kind of camera by all means.

Well - that's pretty much it about the ergonomics and the UI of the SD1; let's now go and see what my grievances with the camera are, and if they are fixable in firmware or if we'll have to wait for the next iteration to see them fixed.

Mantua, VI - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM @17mm, 5 sec. @ f/11, ISO 100

GRIEVANCES, MISSING FEATURES, THINGS THAT COULD BE BETTER
Once more, let me say that the SD1 is quite a spartan camera by design, with a solid but limited range of features when you compare it to today's Nikon, Canon and Sony's flagships (or even today's middle-of-the-pack cameras, for that matter); it's designed for a particular group of photographers - or more correctly, it is not particularly designed for some groups of photographers, such as sport, PJ and such -  so I will try and stick to that, not talking about missing features that aren't there by design, features that very likely haven't inherently ever been part of the camera's design such as video and such.

Let's start with what for me might be the biggest missing features: Live View. Since the Foveon sensor used in the SD1 can do it well enough (see all the DP Merrill cameras, which work out the LCD only and sport the same sensor), why keep it out of the SD1? This, together with the lack of an electronic level, are the two most useful feature for Landscape / Cityscape / Fine Art photographers that I see missing in the SD1, and I am honestly surprised to see how Sigma thought that we wouldn't need them, particularly seeing the target the camera addresses.

The lack of any possibility to add GPS positioning to one's photographs, even if done via an external accessory, is also something many Landscape photographers might find sorely missing; it is indeed very useful, when you are in the middle of nowhere, to be able to geotag your images automatically.

Coming to the camera's operations, one slightly annoying thing is that when in Single Focus mode the Sigma SD1 works in Focus Priority mode only; when in Continuous Focus mode, on the other hand, you can only have Shutter Priority. While this might makes sense for most situations, it would be great (and probably very easy to implement in firmware) to have the chance to mix and match modes to taste.

Exposure compensation: while it works as expected in S, A and P mode, it would be great to be able to use it also in M mode: here it should work tweaking ISO between a Min and Max ISO range, user-definable via the menu. I think this could be doable in firmware if Sigma so decided.

Writing speed: very unfortunately, this is my main grievance with the SD1's operations. While the camera isn't sluggish at all when it comes to starting up, focusing, browsing and changing the menus, and while all buttons are very responsive, file writing speed, on the other hand, is incredibly slow. Per se, this could be (barely) acceptable since the buffer is deep enough to shoot 6-7 pictures in a row; however, it becomes very irritating because while the camera is writing files to the card you basically cannot do anything except taking more pictures; of course, you can focus and change settings such as shutter speed, aperture and ISO. However, playback is not available, not even for older pictures; and no action on the menu is possible, because while you can actually access it, the camera is so slow that you cannot pretty much change anything. If you shoot a burst of photographs in continuous mode, you'll have to wait a long time before you can see them: a rough test I did showed that if you shoot 7 pictures in Continuous Shooting mode, it takes about 15 sec before you see the first preview on screen; then it takes 5-6 seconds for each subsequent preview; finally, it takes 1.30 minutes before you can start using the camera again for playback and all functions. While this is not making it impossible to use the camera by any means, in these days and age it feels like a lifetime - even compared to my D800E, not the fastest writing camera on the market, the Sigma SD1 feels like it is coming from another century. As far as I remember, the SD1's writing files performance is comparable to my old PhaseOne / Aptus backs (P65+ and Aptus 12R), while it smokes them of course when it comes to burst shooting speed.

IMAGE QUALITY
Well, while this is all good, how about image quality? Does the SD1 really deliver? Is the Foveon sensor really the be-all, end-all of sensor technology? Were the results up to the expectations I had from using the DP1 Merrill, DP2 Merrill and DP3 Merrill?

Mantua, II - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 50mm f/1.4, 3.2 sec @ f/8, ISO 100

To answer all these questions, let's consider a few variables first.

First of all, the RAW processing software: using the SD1, you are forced (at the time of writing) to use Sigma Photo Pro as your one and only RAW converter. While the results you'll get out of it are very very good indeed, SPP will make you sweat to get to them; let's be diplomatic, and just say that the software is not designed in the most friendly and intuitive way. If you are used to Apple or Adobe RAW conversion software, or even to Nikon Capture (not the best designed software ever, just to put it mildly), you'll find yourself fighting with SPP; once you get to grips with it and understand the way it works, however, the results are quite satisfying. Unfortunately, batch editing is all but absent; once you edited your images one by one, though, you can batch save them as TIFF or JPG, with your choice of options.

Mantua, III - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 50mm f/1.4, 3.2 sec @ f/8, ISO 100

Second, the lenses. While the DP1 Merrill, DP2 Merrill and DP3 Merrill do come with dedicated, tuned-to-the-sensor lenses, with the SD1 - as with any DSLR camera - you are at the mercy of the lenses you attach to it. As I said at the beginning, Sigma's past reputation for manufacturing less expensive but also lesser quality lenses is what had me pausing the longest while making up my mind on whether to get into the system or not. Another concern, of course, is that while Sigma offers some lenses that no other manufacturer produces, it is also true that its lineup is sorely lacking in other areas: for instance, Sigma doesn't offer any Tilt-Shift lenses; the Wide Angle side of its lineup is not as strong as Nikon or Canon, especially if you need fast zooms and / or primes; and so on.

So, after long researches, I decided to go for the 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM, 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM, 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM, 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, 70mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro, 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM and 150mm f/2.8 AF APO EX DG OS HSM. Among Sigma offering, these looked like the best options for my kind of shooting.

Mantua, IV - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM @ 8mm, 1 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

During my first week or so with the camera, I went to Mantua, in Italy, and did some shooting there; I used the 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM, 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM, 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM, 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM and 150mm f/2.8 AF APO EX DG OS HSM and I got very very good results with all these lenses; the weakest, not surprisingly, was definitely the 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM, which however turned out to be a better performer than I expected.

Third, the system. When you buy a camera, you buy into a system; and it is wise to keep this in mind when deciding which way to go. With Sigma, you buy into a pretty well developed system, but not into one of the most developed out there. You have Wireless Flash Control a-la-Nikon CLS, but it only works with the Sigma EF-610 DG Super Flash (the good thing is, it's way cheaper than a Nikon SB-700 Speedlight or Nikon SB-910 Speedlight); you have a vertical grip, the PG-31, but it only features a shutter button, no Shutter / Aperture adjusting dials; you have a macro ring flash, the Sigma EM-140 DG Macro Ring Flash, but it's no Nikon R1C1; you have the Sigma USB Dock to fine-tune and Firmware-update your lenses, but just a few lenses can use it and so far no such updates appeared; and so on. Third-party accessories manufacturer, as well, are less keen on creating stuff for the Sigma system, since they wouldn't sell as many as they do when they design stuff for Nikon or Canon cameras: for instance, since there isn't any L-bracket available for the SD1, I had to get the Arca-Swiss universal one which - while sturdy, solid and perfect for the purpose - is bulkier and heavier than the Kirk bracket I use on my D800E.

Mantua, V - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM @ 17mm, 10 sec. @ f/16, ISO 100 

How about the Foveon sensor, then? In a way, the same considerations that apply to the SD1 apply to its sensor as well: if you use it within the boundaries of what it does best, in my opinion there is little than can touch the results you get with it - short of getting a Nikon D800E (more expensive and heavy) or going to Digital Medium Format. Yes, the SD1 is that good: amazing sharpness (equivalent to about 30 Mp on a Bayer sensor); great micro-contrast; and free of most of the usual artefacts we see in digital images shot on Bayer cameras. With the right lenses, the SD1 is a really great tool, capable of outputting images of the highest quality on today's DSLR market.

Mantua, VIII - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM @ 12mm, 2 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

The problems start when you push ISO over 400 - 800 max for colour images, and over 1.600 - 3.200 max for B&W images; colours start to fall apart in a very strange way, and images are good only in B&W. The surprising thing is that due to the Foveon's particular architecture images that look really horrible in colour are amazingly clean when converted to B&W using the new Monochrome mode in SPP - looking at the colour version and at the B&W version side by side one wouldn't believe they come from the same file.

Another weakness of the Foveon sensor, and this is the one that disturbs me the most for my work, is its tendency to get noisy on long exposures, even at base ISO. I'd say that anything up to 15 sec. is perfectly fine, while when you start approaching 30 sec. things start to get a bit noisy; the SD1 limits you to a max of 2 minutes in "Extended Mode" (all other modes are limited to 30 sec.), which is just as well, since my impression is that you'll start to see very noticeable noise in images taken at such long shutter speeds. If you plan to shoot a lot of long exposures (as in star photography, for instance) then you'll probably be best served by a different camera.

Mantua, VII - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 35mm f/1.4, 30 sec @ f/8, ISO 100

OK, I think this is about it for this first impression. I will add more articles on the blog in the following days, time permitting, with lens reviews and comparisons between lenses on the SD1 versus FOV equivalent lenses on the Nikon D800E, which should be interesting.

CONCLUSION
The Sigma SD1 Merrill is not an "Universal Shooter" kind of camera, and as such it is for you to decide whether it is the right camera for you or not; used under the right conditions, the results it provides are nothing short of exceptional for a camera of this size and price. However, I strongly suggest you to make up your mind carefully according to the kind of work you do on you intend to do, what you shoot, what kind of accessories you need, what kind of lenses you need, and so on. Bottom line, if the camera and its features are OK for your work, I'd definitely recommend giving the Sigma SD1 Merrill a try: you'll not be disappointed. I did, and even if it took me a long time, research and debate before deciding to take the plunge, I am now very happy I did. After a week or so of use and a few hundreds images, I decided to keep it and stay in Foveon-land a little longer, just to see what happens...

Now for the technical stuff: all the quick and dirty product shots in this review have been taken with the Sigma DP3 Merrill; light has been provided by one Metz Mecablitz 20 C-2 on camera, sided by 2 Nikon SB-700 Speedlight and 2 Nikon SB-910 Speedlight used as remote slaves on manual. All the other images have been taken with the Sigma SD1 Merrill equipped with the 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM, 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM, 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM, 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM and 150mm f/2.8 AF APO EX DG OS HSM. For support I used a Gitzo tripod equipped with an Acratech GP-s ballhead; last, but certainly not least, I also used Singh-Ray filters, including a polarizer & various ND filters, both Grad and regular ND.

MORE SAMPLES
Here a few more samples shoot with the SD1 and various lenses:

Swan in the park - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 85mm f/1.4, 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100

Swans in the park - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 85mm f/1.4, 1/4000 sec @ f/1.4, ISO 100

Portrait with umbrella - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 150mm f/2.8, 1/80 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 100

Palazzo Te, Mantua - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 150mm f/2.8, 1/100 sec @ f/4, ISO 100

PLUG: If you liked the photographs above, you'll find many more in my ITALY REVEALED gallery on VIERI BOTTAZZINI FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY for your viewing pleasure.

DID YOU ENJOY THE BLOG AND ITS CONTENTS? HELP ME TO PROVIDE YOU WITH EVEN BETTER ARTICLES WITH A $4.99 USD MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION VIA PAYPAL: IT'S LESS IN A MONTH THAN WHAT YOU SPEND FOR COFFEE IN A DAY, AND YOU DON'T GET ANY GEAR REVIEWS WITH YOUR CUPPA!

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SELECT AMOUNT:

1: $4,99 USD2: $9,99 USD3: $19,99 USD4: $29,99 USD5: $39,99 USD6: $49,99 USD7: $74,99 USD8: $99,99 USD