(Hilariously, I forgot about my similar post on the DP1 from almost FOUR YEARS AGO!)
I finally gave in and got a DP2M. I did the usual "take pictures of your pets and loved ones until they want to murder you" the first day I had it. Using a bounce flash I got some incredible pictures of my annoyed wife and confused dog! Really top-notch, groundbreaking stuff!
I had used both the DP1 and the DP2s a few years back. Loved, loved the output, but honestly I wasn't a patient enough photographer to deal with it at the time.
We're in the middle of a terrible bout of Seattle weather. Rainy, windy, dark. Regardless, I took it down the our local beach for an attempt at a "storm sunset".
I love it. I love it so much.
And not that dumb, pure puppy love that annoying teenagers have. The love you have for a woman who has repeatedly wronged you, but you still can't stay away from.
(This was ISO400 pushed to the absolute limits of the histogram in post. The blue channel was completely clean, but for the scene the red channel had all the tonality. It was actually quite late and after sunset, so the fact it came out like this is astonishing!)
So, ecstasy, done.
Agony. Oh, the agony.
First off, I've become accustomed to ISO9,999,999 pocket cameras with f/1.7 lenses and IBIS. It's all I've shot with for some time. You know what? It makes you lazy! Dumb and lazy! You can hand a GX7 to a child and that child will probably produce a reasonable picture. Same with pretty much any (non-Sigma) digicam made after 2006. You hand a DP camera to a child and they will start crying. As they should! (also, why are you handing a $500 camera to a child? Are you nuts?!!)
I asked myself some questions too. Like:
"Why did it focus on the background even though there is a clear and contrasty target in the AF selector?"
"Why does this person have green skin? Do they have scurvy?"
"How is this out of juice after 43 shots?!?! It's 2015 for $#*% sake!!!!"
"Is Sigma Pro Photo actually some kind of large-scale test that mental health professionals send out to define the limits of human patience?"
"Was 'sharp bar of wet soap' the design inspiration sent down from the Sigma executives?"
The answer to all of these questions was, "stop being such a little pansy".
At the end of the day, there is simply nothing I've ever used that produces photos like the Merrill. When I export the TIFFs into Lightroom and go 1:1 I get so happy. Unreasonably, ridiculously happy. Like a little kid. Because if I've done everything right, I will produce the most true to life, beautiful, rich image of what my eyes actually saw at the time. Something no other camera I've owned can be said to have done.
I finally gave in and got a DP2M. I did the usual "take pictures of your pets and loved ones until they want to murder you" the first day I had it. Using a bounce flash I got some incredible pictures of my annoyed wife and confused dog! Really top-notch, groundbreaking stuff!
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
I had used both the DP1 and the DP2s a few years back. Loved, loved the output, but honestly I wasn't a patient enough photographer to deal with it at the time.
We're in the middle of a terrible bout of Seattle weather. Rainy, windy, dark. Regardless, I took it down the our local beach for an attempt at a "storm sunset".
I love it. I love it so much.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
And not that dumb, pure puppy love that annoying teenagers have. The love you have for a woman who has repeatedly wronged you, but you still can't stay away from.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
(This was ISO400 pushed to the absolute limits of the histogram in post. The blue channel was completely clean, but for the scene the red channel had all the tonality. It was actually quite late and after sunset, so the fact it came out like this is astonishing!)
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
So, ecstasy, done.
Agony. Oh, the agony.
First off, I've become accustomed to ISO9,999,999 pocket cameras with f/1.7 lenses and IBIS. It's all I've shot with for some time. You know what? It makes you lazy! Dumb and lazy! You can hand a GX7 to a child and that child will probably produce a reasonable picture. Same with pretty much any (non-Sigma) digicam made after 2006. You hand a DP camera to a child and they will start crying. As they should! (also, why are you handing a $500 camera to a child? Are you nuts?!!)
I asked myself some questions too. Like:
"Why did it focus on the background even though there is a clear and contrasty target in the AF selector?"
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
"Why does this person have green skin? Do they have scurvy?"
"How is this out of juice after 43 shots?!?! It's 2015 for $#*% sake!!!!"
"Is Sigma Pro Photo actually some kind of large-scale test that mental health professionals send out to define the limits of human patience?"
"Was 'sharp bar of wet soap' the design inspiration sent down from the Sigma executives?"
The answer to all of these questions was, "stop being such a little pansy".
At the end of the day, there is simply nothing I've ever used that produces photos like the Merrill. When I export the TIFFs into Lightroom and go 1:1 I get so happy. Unreasonably, ridiculously happy. Like a little kid. Because if I've done everything right, I will produce the most true to life, beautiful, rich image of what my eyes actually saw at the time. Something no other camera I've owned can be said to have done.