For those of you who have been using a Pixii, are you satisfied with your decision or should you have put the same money toward a used digital Leica? I am looking for something to replace or supplement an M8 bought new and now very long in the tooth. I do not want to download to a smartphone, just move the photos to a desktop Mac and use them in our weekly newspaper. Any information appreciated.
Thanks.
I received my Pixii last October, and since the beginning of the year I have been carrying it to work every day and using it at least several times a week. The photos I make are mostly routine documentation pics showing daily activities at the arts center where I work in marketing; we use them for email newsletters, social media posts, our website, and occasionally in printed publications and grant reports. I gathered up a small collection of typical examples that you can see in
this gallery.
When I first got the Pixii, it seemed frustrating and quirky, to the point that in my original YouTube review I likened it to a "temperamental French girlfriend" and wasn't even sure I would keep it after my trial period expired. I did keep it, though, and thanks to more familiarization and some timely software updates, most of my issues evaporated. It's now the camera I reach for first; when I have to use my Fujifilm X-T4 -- because I need a longer lens, for example -- my initial reaction is always, "Yuck, back to THIS clunky old thing." It's not that there's anything wrong with the X-T4, which I liked a lot when I got it; it's just that I learned photography on rangefinder cameras, and using the Pixii reminded me of how much I prefer that way of working.
So yes, I'm satisfied with my decision, and I certainly wouldn't have put the same money toward a used Leica or a used anything. People on RFF are always blithely assuring you that yes, of course you can buy a used but absolutely rock-solid, near-mint X for Y dollars with a seller warranty; however, my own experiences haven't been nearly that uniformly satisfactory, and I don't especially enjoy the "thrill of the hunt" aspect that goes into finding a good specimen of the camera you want being offered for sale by a dealer who isn't the Bernie Madoff of photo retailing. In buying the Pixii I liked knowing that I was buying a brand-new, manufacturer-warranted product from a company that has been in business for several years and offers excellent product support (for example, scroll up the thread to my story about discovering my rangefinder needed adjustment, and getting emails from a Pixii SAS engineer assuring me that I could do it myself, supplying complete illustrated directions, and offering to get on a video call with me if I wasn't sure I could do it.)
Still, the Pixii would strike me as an odd choice for mainstream newspaper photography, especially if it's going to be your main or only camera for that purpose. An M8 would strike me the same way, and presumably you've adjusted to that, but I'd still suggest several reservations:
- Lack of lens versatility -- you're limited to a range from semi-wide to short telephoto.
- Lighting limits -- there's absolutely no flash sync of any kind, so if you want to add supplementary lighting to your photos you're restricted to using LED video lights or similar.
- Power consumption -- often I'll shoot a couple of hundred photos during a session of a couple of hours, but to do that I need to rotate through three batteries and keep recharging them in succession. That works for me because I work in an office, but it might be more of a problem if you're out and about (although a PD battery pack might be a solution.)
On the other hand, if you've got a DSLR or mirrorless camera and some lenses for most of your newspaper photography and mostly are looking for a very discreet, quiet camera to use for close-in documentation of people and their activities, the Pixii might be an excellent choice. That's my take, anyway; I'm sure you'll be able to hear other opinions (but remember, I'm pretty sure I've owned and used a Pixii longer than anyone else on RFF!)
