Sigma DP3 Merrill with full range of creative shooting modes

If you want a digital camera with excellent image quality at lower ISOs you can choose Sigma DP3 Merrill. This camera also has very sharp lens, simple interface and solid build quality. You can enjoy better high ISO image performance than previous cameras but still can’t keep up with most other modern sensors. The cameras have always exhibited exceptional low ISO abilities and some extremely detailed and chromatically-rich RAW files.

Sigma DP3 Merrill. Image: luminous-landscape.com

Sigma, with its long history of making lenses for other manufacturers' cameras and more recently its own DSLRs, has developed this lens specifically for the DP3 Merrill. The Sigma DP3 uses a new 50mm f/2.8 prime lens, which -- after accounting for the 1.5x focal length crop of its APS-C image sensor -- is the equivalent of a 75mm optic on a 35mm camera. The lens design features 10 elements in eight groups, and there's a seven-bladed aperture diaphragm. Focusing is possible to as close as 8.9 inch (22.6cm), and maximum magnification be 1:3 (0.33x). 

 

Foveon X3 CMOS image sensor

This camera is equipped with 15.4 megapixel Foveon X3 CMOS image sensor as seen in both previous fixed-lens Merrill’s, as well as the Sigma SD1 DSLR and its rebranded variant, the SD1 Merrill. Like all Foveon sensors, this captures full color information at every pixel location.

The Sigma DP3 Merrill, the newest iteration of the company's enthusiast large sensor compact camera. The Sigma DP3 Merrill also armed with Dual TRUE II image processing engine, 3-inch TFT color monitor with 920,000 dots, and full range of creative shooting modes, manual focus ring, external hotshoe, RAW format support and Quick Set button. You can maximize this camera to make many creative photos.

Utilizing an aluminum alloy body, the Sigma DP3 Merrill is an exceedingly well built camera. If you'd wish using an optical viewfinder to frame your images, Sigma offers the optional VF-21 viewfinder. Sigma's viewfinder solution offers a large, bright view of the scene in front of you. Just like a DSLR, the DP3 Merrill offers both JPEG and RAW recording formats. There are 3 different JPEG compression levels, and a choice of four sizes including a 16:9 widescreen mode. 

The Sigma DP3 Merrill is a compact camera with a large APS-C sized sensor, as used in larger and heavier compact system camera and DSLR models and therefore promising finer image quality than other compact cameras. This camera can also be used to make a movie or a video clip. 

Sigma DP3 Merrill a brilliant compact camera. Image: steves-digicams.com

The main rival of this camera are: Fujifilm X100S promises to be a faster version of  the X100, The Leica X1 a premium camera with a premium price-tag US$1995 is a lot to ask for a compact camera, albeit one with a large APS-C sensor, the Canon PowerShot G1 X is a serious compact camera with a large 1.5-inch image sensor, also Olympus XZ-2 is a serious compact that's aimed at the enthusiast and professional user, Ricoh GXR a truly innovative modular system, where you swap both the lens and the image sensor at the same time, the Pentax MX-1 with tilting 3-inch LCD screen and an appealingly retro design, and also Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 is the first ever compact camera with a 35mm full-frame sensor.

Is Sigma DP3 can compete in the market in terms of features and price? The lens on this camera is capable of producing sharp pictures and satisfying, but you are entitled to choose a camera of any brand according to the needs, style and other factors that could be your consideration before selecting a camera for a variety of needs.