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Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill Comparison

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Ricoh G900

20 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Ricoh G900
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Sigma SD1 Merrill

15 MP | APS-C (24 x 16 mm) CMOS (Foveon X3) Sensor

Sigma SD1 Merrill
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Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Ricoh G900, which was introduced in February 2018 is a Waterproof camera with a 20.0MP 1/2.3" sensor whereas Sigma SD1 Merrill, which was introduced in April 2012 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 15.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, SD1 Merrill is 6 years older than G900. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing a DSLR camera to a Fixed Lens camera is not an easy task but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Ricoh G900 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2018-02-21
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • 28-140 mm F3.5-5.5 Zoom Lens
  • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
  • fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 247g. 118 x 66 x 33 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Sigma SD1 Merrill Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2012-04-10
  • 15MP - APS-C CMOS (Foveon X3) Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sigma SA Bayonet Mount
  • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • fps continuous shooting
  • No Video Mode
  • 790g. 146 x 113 x 80 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Sigma SD1 Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose Ricoh G900 over Sigma SD1 Merrill
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs No very handy for portraits
Max Sensor Resolution
20 MP vs 15 MP 33% more pixels
LCD Screen Resolution
1.040k dots vs 460k dots 126% higher resolution screen
Weight
247 g vs 790 g 543 g lighter
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs None Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Digital video stabilization
Yes vs No Stabilizes your videos in-camera
CHECK G900 PRICE


Reasons to choose Sigma SD1 Merrill over Ricoh G900
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Optical vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Sensor Pixel Area
25.00µm2 vs 1.39µm2 1698% larger pixel area
CHECK SD1 Merrill PRICE

Common Strengths of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs Yes shoot at tough conditions
Common Weaknesses of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill
In-body Image Stabilization
Digital only vs No No Built-in stabilization
Fixed Screen
Fixed Type vs No No flexible viewing angles
Continuous Shooting
fps vs fps Slow shooting speeds
New4
Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Ricoh G900 has external dimensions of 118 x 66 x 33 mm (4.65 x 2.6 x 1.3″) and weighs 247 g (0.54 lb / 8.71 oz) (including batteries). Sigma SD1 Merrill has external dimensions of 146 x 113 x 80 mm (5.75 x 4.45 x 3.15″) and weighs 790 g (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill. Ricoh G900 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 28mm narrower, 47mm shorter and 47mm thinner than Sigma SD1 Merrill. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh G900 has a built-in lens but Sigma SD1 Merrill doesn't. Once you put a lens on SD1 Merrill, its thickness will increase significantly.

Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill.

Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill.
Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Ricoh G900 is significantly lighter (543g ) than the Sigma SD1 Merrill which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on SD1 Merrill, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.00".

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.
Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill: Sensor Comparison

Ricoh G900 has a 20.0MP 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Sigma SD1 Merrill has a 15.0MP APS-C (24 x 16 mm ) sized CMOS (Foveon X3) sensor and features Dual True II processor.

Ricoh G900's sensor provides 5MP more than Sigma SD1 Merrill's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely. On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.

Below you can see the G900 and SD1 Merrill sensor size comparison.

Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill Cameras


As seen above, Sigma SD1 Merrill has a 13.7x Larger sensor area than Ricoh G900. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Ricoh G900 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Sigma SD1 Merrill for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large APS-C (24 x 16 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 15.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Ricoh G900 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Sigma SD1 Merrill for Street Photography

AVERAGE
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large APS-C (24 x 16 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details

Ricoh G900 for Sports Photography

POOR

Sigma SD1 Merrill for Sports Photography

GOOD
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
140 mm Tele Lens
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
9 Focus Points
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
No Image Stabilization
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/s
Focus Points
Read the details

Ricoh G900 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sigma SD1 Merrill for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Compact Body
Environmental Sealings
247g
5.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Large APS-C (24 x 16 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
790g
Body Thickness 80mm
Read the details

Ricoh G900 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sigma SD1 Merrill for Landscape Photography

POOR
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Environmental Sealings
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Exposure Mode
Read the details
Large APS-C (24 x 16 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Average Resolution Sensor: 15.0MP
No Live-view
Read the details

Ricoh G900 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Ricoh G900 and Sigma SD1 Merrill scores compare:

Ricoh G900
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #66 out of 477 in Compact cameras
Ranked #527 out of 1244 in all Cameras
Sigma SD1 Merrill
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #82 out of 95 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #732 out of 1244 in all Cameras

Ricoh G900 has a higher Overall Score than the Sigma SD1 Merrill. It also has more features, more compact body and offers higher value for the money. But there is one area that G900 trails behind the SD1 Merrill: Imaging.
If image quality is the most important aspect in a camera, choose the Sigma SD1 Merrill. If not, we recommend the Ricoh G900.

Ricoh G900
Ricoh G900
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Sigma SD1 Merrill
Sigma SD1 Merrill
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Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Ricoh G900 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Ricoh G900 Sigma SD1 Merrill
Brand Ricoh Sigma
Announced 2018-02-21 2012-04-10
Body Type Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS (Foveon X3)
Size 1/2.3" APS-C
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 24 x 16 mm
Area 28.07mm2 384.00mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 15 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 4800 x 3200
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 6,400 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 125 ISO 100 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 9 n/a
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Sigma SA Bayonet
Lens Focal Range 28-140 mm (5x) no lens
Max Aperture F3.5-5.5 no lens
Macro Focus Range 1cm no lens
Screen
Type Fixed type Fixed type
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 1,040k dots 460k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 96%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.64x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s n/a
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Digital only No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 5.50 m (with Auto ISO) no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync n/a s
External Flash
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 None
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 n/a
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Supports FlashAir SD cards None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 247g 790g
Dimensions 118 x 66 x 33mm 146 x 113 x 80mm
Battery Life 340 shots n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS Built-in None
DxO Sensor Scores
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