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.
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| 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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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:
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.
Here a few more samples shoot with the SD1 and various lenses:
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| Swan in the park - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 85mm f/1.4, 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100 |
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| Swans in the park - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 85mm f/1.4, 1/4000 sec @ f/1.4, ISO 100 |
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| Portrait with umbrella - Sigma SD1 Merrill, 150mm f/2.8, 1/80 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 100 |
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| 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.
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