I have x100, xp1, dp1 and dp2 Merrill's.
X100 pros
- slightly faster af
- better dynamic range by at least a stop if not more
- better UI
- ovf/evf
- macro mode
- most silent shutter
- faster lens by a stop
- better LCD
- much higher iso. Color 1600 easy versus 400 best case for Merrill. B&w 3200 no problem, Merrill is lucky to push 1600.
- best ooc jpgs
- better battery life by more than double, around 80- 98 shots per charge on Merrill.
- faster write times to sd card
- raw conversion simple due to Bayer filter
Dp Merrill pros
- most accurate color
- higher resolution/sharpness even better than xp1, closer to a 24mp in equiv resolving capability
- quick menu 1/2 I like better than x100s or xp1 implementation
- easier to get b&w from raw files.
Additional here is a cut and past from rff post I did today due a question in that forum someone had for me on Merrill fwiw.
Dynamic range is maybe about 1.5 to 2 stop worst than the xp1.
- best iq at iso 100 to 320. 400 ok, grey zone for color at 800.
- B&w up 1600 iso. Past 400 weird color issues crop up..but depends on situation.
- I like the quick menu 1 and 2 design better than the Fuji implementation
- color accuracy is amazing up to 320 as well as image detail
- jpgs are the worst of any modern digital camera after iso 200, but even 100 to 200 is not as good as it should be.
-- I use jpg+raw so that I can use aperture to do initial sort/process. Anything that I deem good enough then goes thru processing in silky pix to create a tiff16 file for import to aperture.
- has three levels of raw size.
-- about 3.x mp - for about 11mb
-- 7.1mp - for 22.5mb
-- 15mp for about 44-45mb
-- jpg+raw large about 51mb
-- in the smaller mp sizes, it still appears to be using the complete fame, but is interpreting and down revving.
- I use a rollei ovf from my rf days as well
- I have a real right stuff grip, I like the additional weight. Helps dampen for shutter release jitter. Grip looks big w/ it, but works really well for better overall stability.
- as everyone has said, the 30f2.8 is better than the 19 at the corners and is about the same in the center, but 30 has the edge.
- af speed is somewhere between x100 first ship to last firmware update. It is not bad, but definitely not for action. May want to think about zone focus instead...
- metering can be fooled, but then again IMHO no one beats Nikon matrix metering.
-- I tend to use aperture priority and exposure compensation more than I would w/ xp1 or x100
- currently have three custom settings
-- c1 - auto iso to 800, aperture at f5.6, medium raw + jpg
--- default setting
-- c2 - auto iso to 1600, f2.8, large raw + jpg
--- low light.
-- c3 - auto iso to 200, f8, large raw + jpg
--- I c something that deserves best results
- sigma noise suppression implementation is very heavy handed, this is one of reasons in camera jpgs are not very good
-- in spp raw converter I tend to use -2 for noise values. Would rather live r fix in better sw apps then live w/ what sigma is doing.
- shutter noise is not bad once u disable all sound. But x100 w/ leaf shutter has it beat and Ricoh gxr or Pentax q w/ electronic shutter mode is the absolute quietest.
Hope that helps
Gary
