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Archive 2013 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #1 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

I decided I was never going to get over my curiosity about the Merrill cameras until I tried one out. Despite the consensus that most of the magic resides in the DP2 and DP3 cameras, I decided to go with the DP1 Merrill since it has the focal length I am most interested in.

I am always hesitant to post camera comparisons because of the flak you sometimes receive. Did you make sure you had super duper focus enabled? I wouldn't compare anything on a manfrotto tripod, you really need to be on a wood tripod that has been aged for 73 years in 24 degree temperatures in a cave in France. Were Venus and Saturn fully aligned? However in this case I thought it might be useful for others to see the results, since I searched for a similar comparison without much luck.

First the actual camera. I was really impressed with the feel of the camera. The camera is a great size and it feels very solid and well built in my hands. The focus ring is nice and silky smooth. I found the button layout and interface very intuitive. Within 10 minutes of having the camera I knew how to do everything I needed to do. No complaints about the actual camera here. Battery life is of course pretty sad, file sizes are quite large, and write times to the card are ridiculously slow, but if you are interested in these cameras you already knew that.

First I took the camera to the zoo to see how it functions as an actual every day camera. Overall I was quite pleased, it was extremely nice to not lug around my huge SLR, I found myself taking more pictures simply because it was easier to haul a little camera around. Again I was surprised how much I liked the functionality of the camera, the lack of options and fancy features kept me from being distracted fiddling with stuff. Auto focus was not bad, though in hindsight, the camera consistently focused on the background instead of my kid. I contribute most of this to user error.

Here are some shots, along with 100% crops of those shots.

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/polar_bear_full.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/monkeys_full.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/polar_bear_crop.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/monkeys_crop.jpg

I am incredibly impressed with the quality coming out of this camera. The lego brick detail on the polar bear shot blew me away.

Next I decided to compare this camera against my 7D + 17-55 f2.8 lens. Tripod mounted, both cameras set to f8, both cameras set to ISO 100, Mirror lock up on the 7D, remote released, manual focused on both cameras, etc..... The 7D files were downsized to match the Sigma, using bicubic sharper. Below are 3 100% crops. The sigma shot, the unsharpened 7D, and the sharpened 7D.

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop1_sigma.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop1_unsharpened.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop1_sharpened.jpg

Yikes. At this point I was feeling pretty lousy about my 7D. The Sigma absolutely blows away the 7D. The sharpened version is better, but the Sigma is still the clear winner. The way it resolved the detail in the fence and chicken wire blew me away.

Later I realized I had forgot to turn off IS on my lens, which I thought might be adversely effecting the image quality of the 7D. I decided to do another test. Below are 100% crops of a second shot. The sigma shot, the unsharpened 7D, and the sharpened 7D.

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop2_sigma.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop2_unsharpened.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop2_sharpened.jpg

And another section of the image.

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop3_sigma.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop3_unsharpened.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/crop3_sharpened.jpg

Overall I think the results in this one are slightly more even. The 7D seems to hold up a bit better, and the sharpened version brings it much closer to the quality of the Sigma file. to my eyes the Sigma is still the clear winner though, not to mention the 7D files require such a heavy dose of sharpening to get them close the Sigma files, that you really start to accentuate the noise in the 7D shots, you can especially see this in the white fence area.

Unlike the DP2 and DP3, The DP1 suffers from some softening in the corners, simply because of the nature of wide angle lenses. Here are 2 corner crops, I will let you draw your own conclusions.

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/sigma_bottomleft.jpg

http://andysportfolio.com/external-files/merrill_compare/sigma_bottomright.jpg

I did a few test shots to see how well it handled flare. It was decent, not as good as my 7D, but not as terrible as I was expecting. You get some green flare bubbles in the frame.

My conclusion.

First, it confirms how soft I have always felt the 7D is. I actually wonder if there is something wrong with my 7D.... I would say it might be the lens, but these results are pretty typical not matter what lens I am using, and I have pretty nice lenses.

Second this is an incredibly impressive camera. I was a bit worried that the DP1 wouldn't have the magic that I have seen in DP2 shots, but I think it holds it's own. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed shooting with it. It has quite a few limitations so I won't be getting rid of my 7D anytime soon. The most impressive thing to me is that you can get this amount of image quality in such a small package, it is absolutely going to be my backpacking/long hiking camera. I think the D800 would beat it, or even the 5D III with a really good lens might slightly best it, but as far as IQ/Portability it's unbeatable in my opinion.

May 13, 2013 at 10:14 AM

mirkoc
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p.1 #2 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Thank you for the comparison. Would you like to also post some unresized crops of 7d along with dp1 crops? Perhaps you can just add them to the original post.

May 14, 2013 at 01:00 PM

asbalyan
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p.1 #3 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

What about these weirdo artifacts on animal captures??

May 14, 2013 at 01:10 PM

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #4 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Yeah, those animals are totally pixelated!

Unfortunately I think I deleted the original test images. The unsized 7D images weren't much different, it's really only scaling it down like 5-10%, plus theoretically that should actually give the 7D files a slight resolution edge.

It's also worth noting that I think the Sigma files do get some sharpening, even when the sharpening is set to 0 in the Sigma software. That said, they sharpen up wonderfully and I can't see any weird halos, nor does it seem to accentuate the grain much. Obviously whatever sharpening they might be getting isn't anywhere near the level that is required on the 7D files.

It is my experience this camera really demands good technique to pull the resolution it is capable of. I handheld some shots yesterday with 1/200 second shutter speed and they still looked like they showed some very slight camera shake.

May 14, 2013 at 01:33 PM

mirkoc
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p.1 #5 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

I believe down scaling few percent doesn't do any justice to the original file. The Sigma is clearly sharper of the two, I don't aspect any wonders here. Have you perhaps tried DLO in DPP with the 17-55?

May 14, 2013 at 01:47 PM

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #6 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

I didn't try that no, I converted these in ACR. I don't think I have deleted the images off the card yet, I will see what kind of difference that makes.

May 14, 2013 at 02:19 PM

sflxn
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p.1 #7 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

I think a lot of people are intrigued by the Sigmas, but the workflow scares them. Since you went from a DSLR to Sigma, please share your thoughts from a more traditional workflow perspective. I hear the SPP crashes a lot. Also, please comment on low-light photos. I'm not big on super high ISO, but I would like to take street photos at night since I live in an Urban environment. I have a NEX which I carry around everywhere, but it's still not pocketable so I am definitely interested in a fixed lens, large sensor camera that I can carry in a belt pouch.

May 14, 2013 at 03:12 PM

corposant
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p.1 #8 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

SPP: it's incredibly clunky and unintuitive, but after about 30 minutes, you get the hang of it. My philosophy was to just adjust WB and levels and then export to TIFF as quickly as possible. The downside is obviously very space inefficient, since you have the 50mb RAW and 90mb TIFF (and that's before you bring it into PS). I just import the TIFFs into LR and work from there.

This is not a low-light camera. This is a "shoot at ISO 100-400 in good light without being in a hurry" system. I also would not classify it as pocketable at all. Maybe you should look into the Coolpix A?

May 14, 2013 at 03:36 PM

sflxn
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p.1 #9 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Hmm, Coolpix A. That is a thought. Even though I own a Nikon DSLR, I pretty much dismiss all of Nikon's attempt at non DSLR cameras. Thanks, I might do some investigation.

May 14, 2013 at 03:43 PM

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #10 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Pocketable? No, the lens sticks out quite a bit. It fits easily in any small bag though, I will most likely get a small bag and clip it to my belt along with my GPS.

Workflow. SPP worked fine for me. It's slow, it takes a while to process the full resolution image, but it's really a non issue for me. All I ever do is adjust basic parameters in raw and then bring my images into Photoshop anyway. I usually am not processing hundreds of images, if I was it could be a bit of a pain.

Low light images. I shot a few at ISO 800 and they looked okay. A bit noisy, but the noise seemed more pleasing to me than the noise from my 7D.

One thing I want to test but haven't yet is long exposures. I often run into exposures of 2-5 seconds when shooting twilight. That is of course at ISO 100 on a tripod. I am thinking it will be fine.

May 14, 2013 at 03:47 PM

juju1958
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p.1 #11 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Andy you are replicating what seems evident across the web with images I have seen. I have been looking at the Merills for a while now and but for the cost would definitely get one for landscapes, either the dp2 or dp3. I do use a tele on the 5DK2 for landscapes and stitch, so the dp3 would be closer to focal length I am used to. I will certainly get one if the price drops a bit. aside from the clarity the image light quality at low iso is very much to my liking.

May 14, 2013 at 06:19 PM

luminosity
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p.1 #12 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

corposant wrote:
SPP: it's incredibly clunky and unintuitive, but after about 30 minutes, you get the hang of it. My philosophy was to just adjust WB and levels and then export to TIFF as quickly as possible. The downside is obviously very space inefficient, since you have the 50mb RAW and 90mb TIFF (and that's before you bring it into PS). I just import the TIFFs into LR and work from there.

This is not a low-light camera. This is a "shoot at ISO 100-400 in good light without being in a hurry" system. I also would not classify it as pocketable at...Show more →

I think the view camera approach is one that is likely necessary with the Merrills. Nothing wrong with that.

I just wish it allowed for a cable release.

May 14, 2013 at 06:22 PM

tsdevine
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p.1 #13 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

At least it has the 2 second self timer....that's my standard setting for the DPxM's when mounted on a tripod.

-Tim

May 14, 2013 at 06:47 PM

luminosity
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p.1 #14 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Can you set it for longer than that?

May 14, 2013 at 06:55 PM

kwalsh
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p.1 #15 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Thanks for taking the time to share! I've eyed Foveon's for a long time and the DPs have finally made it reasonable to "taste". Unfortunately my photography is these days dominated by shots of my daughter with barely any time to spare for landscapes. So not the right time for me, but fun to live vicariously through posts such as yours.

One thing, it looks like the first corner crop (of the wood chips) is showing quite a bit of lateral chromatic aberration. That can make things look rather soft but is fairly easy to correct in post processing. You might try correcting that and discover the corners are less soft than first appearances.

Ken

May 14, 2013 at 08:09 PM

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #16 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

luminosity wrote:
Can you set it for longer than that?

Yes, there is a 2 second and 10 second option. I too wish there was an actual cable release option though.

May 14, 2013 at 09:16 PM

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #17 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

kwalsh wrote:
Thanks for taking the time to share! I've eyed Foveon's for a long time and the DPs have finally made it reasonable to "taste". Unfortunately my photography is these days dominated by shots of my daughter with barely any time to spare for landscapes. So not the right time for me, but fun to live vicariously through posts such as yours.

One thing, it looks like the first corner crop (of the wood chips) is showing quite a bit of lateral chromatic aberration. That can make things look rather soft but is fairly easy to correct in post processing. You might...Show more →

Yeah, I just figured out how to fix the CA in SPP, it does help a bit with making it a bit sharper.

May 14, 2013 at 09:17 PM

andyjaggy82
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p.1 #18 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

Here are 2 more 100% crops. Handheld 'macro' shot. You can actually focus quite close with this camera.

May 14, 2013 at 09:23 PM

luminosity
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p.1 #19 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

andyjaggy82 wrote:
Yes, there is a 2 second and 10 second option. I too wish there was an actual cable release option though.

That's all that's standing in the way of it basically being a tiny (but powerful) view camera.

May 14, 2013 at 09:57 PM

ytwong
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p.1 #20 · DP1 Merrill vs 7D

very impressive... I wish they will bring a mirrorless with that sensor.

May 14, 2013 at 10:42 PM

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