Introduction
If you have never heard of the Sigma DP2 Merrill, I don’t blame you. It is an old and very niche camera and has a cult following. To introduce this camera to those who have never heard of it is like introducing Robert De Niro to an extraterrestrial alien. To summarize, I would say that this is film-like camera from a performance perspective, but produces the best photos, at ISO 100, hands down, and yes this includes full-frame cameras like the Sony A7RV, the Nikon Z8, and others; get the picture, and if you don’t just scroll down to see some of the photos, I took with the DP2M. The DP2 Merrill is a 15MP/45MP APS-C camera (I’ll get back to that later), it is extremely slow to operate, slow to record an image on a SD card, very quirky, and battery life is abysmal, but that three-layer Foveon sensor paired with the sharp 30mm lens are simply out of this word! Let us explore the Sigma DP2 Merrill!
| Body Style | Digital Mirrorless Point and Shoot |
| Sensor | APS-C 15/45 Megapixel CMOS |
| Focus | Auto Focus Contrast Based – Manual Focus |
| FPS | 8 frames per second |
| Shutter Speed | Maximum 1/8000 seconds |
| Video | |
| Storage | Single SD card |
| LCD | |
| Dimensions | |
| Weight | |
| Battery Capacity |
Handling and Ergonomics 9/10
The DP2 Merrill is a small pocketable point and shoot, very light but very built. There is no EVF, you will need to compose the image through the LCD screen, which is low resolution, low refresh rate, and dim in sunlight. The camera is easy to operate, and fun to carry around single handedly.
Battery Life 7/10
The battery is small and thin, and lasts about 50 shots, or 70 if you don’t use the LCD. This is due to the processing of three layers of 15MP data, one layer for each Red Green and Blue. You will need 3 or 4 batteries when you are out shooting. Think of it as carrying 3 or 4 rolls of film.
Image Quality 10/10
At ISO 100 the quality is unsurpassable, even though this is an APS-C camera it runs circles around any full-frame cameras in 2024 and can hang all day long with medium format cameras. Rendering is excellent, images are extremely sharp without being over sharpened. There is no Bayer filter, and the image has great micro contrast. The three-layer design records all light intensity of red, green, and blue channels, in comparison CMOS sensors record a single layer of interpolated red, green, and blue pixels.
At ISO 200 the image degrades very slightly, you still get amazing image quality that rivals many high-end full frame cameras.
At ISO 400 the image has degraded but still very usable, I would say it is similar to ISO 2000 on a modern full frame.
At ISO 800 image degradation becomes very noticeable even when viewed from a distance, this is a good time to switch to black and white photography and select the blue channel in post, because the blue layer is at the top of the Foveon sensor, and that layer receives the least amount voltage, and least amount of noise. Black and white is very usable until ISO 1600.
Focusing 7/10
Focusing is pretty snappy in good light, a bit slower in darker areas, focusing is accurate and does not hunt.
Video/Audio Recording 7/10
Who Is This Camera For?
This camera is great for street photography, landscape, architecture. I would never use it to chase around pets or for wedding parties. I would not hesitate to take photos of people posing for you, such as a wedding ceremony, in daylight.
Final Verdict – VERY IGHLY RECOMMENDED
The Sigma DP2 Merrill is an amazing camera, I bought one in 2018, and will never sell this camera. I also purchased the DP3 Merrill 50mm focal length which is also a fantastic camera but didn’t find much use for that focal length. If you like slow photography and enjoy photos rather than the mechanics of a camera, I highly recommend it to you.
Here are some photos from the DP2 Merrill. They are slightly edited in Sigma Photo Pro.