Sigma Announces Pricing and Availability of New DP1 Merrill

Sigma Announces Pricing and Availability of New DP1 Merrill

Sigma Corporation of America has announced that the Sigma DP1 Merrill compact digital camera will be available in the United States in mid-September for the retail price of $999. Check the specs, read the deets, and decide if you're going to grab this nifty little beast.

This upgraded, high-resolution, compact digital camera with a fixed lens is named in honor of Richard “Dick” Merrill, the co-creator of the Foveon X3 Direct Image Sensor technology that powers Sigma’s unique lineup of cameras. It differs from its predecessor, the DP1x, because its lens now includes one “F” Low Dispersion glass element to correct aberrations, and its resolution has grown by moving from Foveon’s 14.6-megapixel APS-C size image sensor to the 46-megapixel APS-C image sensor found in the company’s flagship SLR, the Sigma SD1 Merrill. The full-color Foveon X3 direct image sensor ensures outstanding resolution, richly gradated tones and images with a three-dimensional feel. A focus ring and custom Quick Set (QS) mode also improve the user interface.

The Sigma DP1 Merrill boasts an exclusively designed, high-performance, telecentric 19mm F2.8 lens, which is the equivalent to a 28mm lens on a 35mm SLR camera.This camera differs from the DP2 Merrill, which was released in June, due to its wider focal length. The DP2 Merrill has a 30mm F2.8 lens, which is the equivalent to a 45mm lens on a 35mm SLR camera. Both cameras are compact and lightweight, and feature Super Multi Layer Coating to reduce flare and ghosting.

Other features of the Sigma DP1 Merrill camera include:

  • A dual, three-layer responsive ultimate (TRUE II) engine that now incorporates two TRUE II processors to improve the processing speed and overall quality of the final image
  • RAW and JPEG format recording to retain the full image detail of the utmost quality captured through the direct image sensor, as well as a JPEG recording format for convenience
  • Sigma Photo Pro processing software to convert RAW data quickly and easily
  • Manual focus for use when autofocus or focus-lock is not desired
  • Easy-to-use auto focus with a “nine-point select mode” which can select the desired focusing point from nine different frames, and a “free move mode” that allows shooters to select their desired focusing point
  • An advanced user interface complete with a custom QS menu and the metallic command dial to improve usability
  • Continuous shooting capabilities to capture up to seven RAW images per sequence
  • A large, highly visible, three-inch TFT color LCD monitor for great visibility
  • A hot shoe for the use of the dedicated external flashgun EF-140 DG (optional)
  • Movie mode for movie recording with VGA (640×480) size, with 30 shooting frames per second


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Jaron Schneider is an Fstoppers Contributor and an internationally published writer and cinematographer from San Francisco, California. His clients include Maurice Lacroix, HD Supply, SmugMug, the USAF Thunderbirds and a host of industry professionals.

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14 Comments

"Movie mode for movie recording with VGA (640×480) size, with 30 shooting frames per second" Really? Why did they even include video?

Pardon my ignorance but isn't this just an overpriced point and shoot?

I understand that this has a highly specific audience. I really would like to speak to someone who loves these cameras to better explain to the rest of us. I think that would be beneficial. 

And I thought the Sony RX100 was kinda expensive...

The more Sigma churns out products, the more I wonder how they are still in business.

+1

 Ummm, what?

$1000.00 for that?
I'm stunned.
As i sit here making a long list of things i'd rather do than pay 1000.00 for a point and shoot sigma camera;  Slam my dick in a sliding glass door, made the list.

Sorry Sigma, not paying you $1000 for this.

Have a look at this http://www.sigma-dp.com/DP1Merrill/samplephoto.html

Can any camera under $1000 do this? Will it fit in your (largish) pocket?

 iphone, nokia 808? CANON g SERIES?

C'mon if you can't see any difference between the pics taken with the DP Merrill and the ones taken with an 808, you really need to read more FS articles or take a visit at an optician...

 I've never been impressed with Sigma products.
Over price point and shoots, are in that category.
As for seeing a difference, i'd have to have both cameras in hand and take pics of the exact same stuff, under the exact same conditions to be able to answer that.

And i'd rather have the nokia808, the I-phone or a canon G series, than that sigma.

I wouldn't go that far, but $1k for a point and shoot is ridiculous. Canon and Nikon couldn't even pull that one off.

Yeah Sigma have many expensive products, i think the price comes because of the sensor. It is a Feveon sensor with a different technology. Sigma bought Feveon for about some years, the development costs are higher because the sensor is produced only for sigma cameras. But i think the images are absolutely awesome from this camera. And i think the sensor technology is really innovative!