New Pixii 26MP

[oldwino]

I think Pixii needs to find another shipping partner for the US.

 

[boojum]

I think Pixii needs to find another shipping partner for the US.

I think that shipping is screwed up everywhere. Just take a walk through any retail operation and look at the shelves. There are things just not able to be stocked. I have read numerous explanations of why this is. I know it is not permanent. It is just a temporary disruption we will have to live with.

The good news is that Pixii is in Portland, OR, two hours from me. That means for sure it will be here tomorrow. A day late in today's world is easily bearable. And quickly forgotten once my Pixii Perle is here.

If we have sunshine this weekend I can drive over to my favorite magic village, Oysterville, WA, and take some photos and maybe do a Pixii - M8.2 side-by-side shoot through a set of three or four lenses.

Succinctly, I am thrilled.

 

[Godfrey]

It seems the same UPS Louisville Lizard which ate Godfrey's Pixii is nibbling at mine. Delivery is now 29 April between 1:45 and 4:45. Hopefully this will be the final postponement. I'll just put on a pot of soup for dinner in this chilly weather here.

Sorry to hear that UPS continues to be the mess that they are.
I agree: Pixii SAS should work with another service provider for the USA. UPS is the worst on international stuff that I've ever experienced.

G

 

[Godfrey]

Back to lens testing...

Another walk with the Pixii, this time testing the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1 with its sensor. I also fitted a Ricoh GV2 28mm accessory viewfinder for framing purposes ... It's a pretty close match to a 21mm lens on APS-C format, and is compact and handy in size.

I decided to simplify operations as much as possible ... I set ISO 320, f/3.5, and Aperture exposure automation with the Auto-L lock enabled. I powered up the camera when I left on the walk and carried a spare battery. WiFi was turned off.

The walking route I chose is normally about an hour and a half walking time ... I didn't shut the camera down between shots because I was stopping about every two minutes to make another exposure. The first battery lasted for about an hour and 50 shots used this way, the second battery was half depleted in the last 38 minutes of the walk with another 29 shots. If there's one thing I would stress to Pixii SAS, it would be to improve the power management/efficiency so that batteries to last longer in use. Similar walks and power treated the same way with other cameras at my disposal (Leica CL, Hasselblad 907x, Light L16) will deplete a fully charged battery by 1/3 for the entire walk.

The Pixii sensor stack must be rather different from the Leica CL or Hasselblad 907x sensor stack: The Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1 displays a good bit of edge/corner color shifting on the Pixii sensor where it shows virtually none on either of those other two cameras (and the Hasselblad sensor is 33x44 mm, even larger than FF format). I've edited out the color shift in rendering this set of photos. It's usable but I'd have to call the Color-Skopar 21mm a difficult optical match to the Pixii sensor, same as the MS Optical Aporia 24mm f/2.

As I've seen in photos prior to this set, the Pixii sensor does capture high resolution/high dynamic range data that can produce some very lovely color tonal renderings.

I also ran into two other issues this time out: Switching batteries after one hour, many of the configuration settings I'd made at the start of the walk were reset to the defaults ... for instance, the ISO setting went from 320 to 160, the Auto-L lock feature was disabled. This tells me that after changing batteries, it is a good idea to check your settings and be sure that the camera is set the way you want.

The other issue is the haptics of the shutter button: the 'click over' point that initiates an exposure and the quiet acknowledgement beep that an exposure has been made are very light and quiet ... in walking about outdoors, with traffic nearby and/or wearing head phones to listen to music or a book reading, it is hard to sense when an exposure has actually been made. I lost several exposures because it wasn't clear whether the exposure had been made... If you're using an accessory finder, the other indicator (a brief flash of the frame lines at the end of exposure) is invisible, and the frame counter seems to only show for a few seconds and then disappear. I would suggest a shutter release that has a little more significant 'click over' action and a persistent frame counter on the top display or in the viewfinder would help in this regard.

Finally, a few photos:

Tree Arch - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Our Lady, Missile - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


The Bronze Horse - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Tree Against Sky - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Sidewalk Ornamented - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Sidewalk Swimming - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Tree In Leafed Grove - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Sidewalk Tar Structures - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 160 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Paychic - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 160 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Doorway With Stair - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 160 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


White BMW - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 160 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority


Utility Box - Santa Clara 2022
Pixii + Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
ISO 320 @ f/5.6 - aperture priority​

Enjoy, G

 

[aizan]

Those two tree photos are pretty cool. =)

Too bad about the 21mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar. That's the lens I was thinking of getting for the Pixii. Is the heavy vignetting also due to the sensor stack?

Thanks for the detailed description and analysis of small quirks! You won't find that info anywhere else.

 

[ptpdprinter]

However, looking at my exposures, it seems the Aporia 24/2 is not as good an optical match to the Pixii sensor as it is to the Leica CL sensor. At f/4, I expect a little corner and edge fall-off to occur, but on the Pixii sensor I see a good deal of color shifting as well as much more light fall-off than I see with the CL. The on-center sharpness is excellent, and likely would be at f/5.6-f/8 as well.

Why would the full frame MS Optical Aporia 24/2 lens show corner and edge fall-off and color shifting on a APS-C sensor? You're only using the center of the image circle.

The Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1 displays a good bit of edge/corner color shifting on the Pixii sensor where it shows virtually none on either of those other two cameras (and the Hasselblad sensor is 33x44 mm, even larger than FF format). I've edited out the color shift in rendering this set of photos. It's usable but I'd have to call the Color-Skopar 21mm a difficult optical match to the Pixii sensor, same as the MS Optical Aporia 24mm f/2.

Same question. Why would the full frame 21mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar lens show edge/corner color shifting on an APS-C sensor? You're only using the center of the image circle.

 

[Emile de Leon]

Too many issues..

 

[Godfrey]

Why would the full frame MS Optical Aporia 24/2 lens show corner and edge fall-off and color shifting on a APS-C sensor? You're only using the center of the image circle.
...
Same question. Why would the full frame 21mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar lens show edge/corner color shifting on an APS-C sensor? You're only using the center of the image circle.

All comes down to the same thing: the specific optical match between a sensor and a lens design. Symmetric lenses in short focal length, with a short mount register, are the hardest to match to a sensor stack. Exactly what the Pixii sensor stack looks like compared to the Leica sensors, I cannot say, but you *know* Leica has spent a great of time optimizing their cameras sensor stack to their M-mount lenses, both past and present, for best results. All the other makers' lenses benefit from that too, to some degree.

G

 

[Godfrey]

Emile,

Quite honestly I don't find "warnings" and opinions about stuff that the person doing the opining has never touched to be of any substance. Of course I knew the camera is a new product and has some issues. But of course I also knew that I had a couple of weeks to test and evaluate it myself, on spec, and return it for a refund. I didn't need someone else to warn me about these things. You don't need to go on like you knew it all beforehand.

It is actually an excellent camera. It does have some issues. It may not be the excellent camera that meets my specific goals in buying it, but that's something else entirely.

G

 

[Godfrey]

Why would the full frame MS Optical Aporia 24/2 lens show corner and edge fall-off and color shifting on a APS-C sensor? You're only using the center of the image circle.
Same question. Why would the full frame 21mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar lens show edge/corner color shifting on an APS-C sensor? You're only using the center of the image circle.

And the same answer for aizan: Yes, it's down to issues with the specific optical designs of this sensor match to those lenses' optical designs. Short focal length, mostly symmetrical lenses with a short mount register are the hardest lenses to match to a digital capture sensor. Retrofocus (inverted telephoto) lens designs are generally an easier match.

The only way to know for sure what works and what doesn't is to test, which is part of the reason why I bought the camera rather than just read specifications.

G

 

[ptpdprinter]

All comes down to the same thing: the specific optical match between a sensor and a lens design. Symmetric lenses in short focal length, with a short mount register, are the hardest to match to a sensor stack. Exactly what the Pixii sensor stack looks like compared to the Leica sensors, I cannot say, but you *know* Leica has spent a great of time optimizing their cameras sensor stack to their M-mount lenses, both past and present, for best results. All the other makers' lenses benefit from that too, to some degree.

I am familiar with the problem of non-retrofocus design wide angle M-mount lenses on full frame sensors where the light strikes the pixel wells at a steep angle at the corners and edges of the sensor. I did not realize that the same problem existed in the center area of the image circle of the lens on an APS-C sensor.

 

[boojum]

I cannot understand why this camera has excited as much negative comment as it has, especially among those who have absolutely no first-hand knowledge. Perhaps it is a Rorschach test.

From the color and definition in Godfrey's pics on Flickr I would say the camera does its job well.

NB, no one will be required to buy one of these cameras who does not want one. For those who believe there is a purchase requirement let me assure you that there is none. Purchase is strictly voluntary.

 

[aizan]

The bummer is that the Color-Skopar V1 was fixed so it doesn't have color shift on other cameras.

https://jacktaka.com/voigtlander-21mm-f35

Even uncoded, there is no color shift on my Leica M10. In fact, there’s no color shift on any digital sensors, including Sony bodies.

 

[boojum]

OTOH, perfect is the enemy of good. There will always be flaws in those things we can afford. Perfection costs. Cameras are like cars, speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?

I am not a pixel-peeper and never have been. The picture will speak for itself regardless. Other than engraving I cannot think of an application which demands any real degree of optical perfection. Oh, reconnaissance photography, too. I appreciate higher quality lenses but also like the Soviet Jupiters which are really copies of pre-WW II Zeiss lenses. Razor sharp and color perfect with zingy contrast? Uh-nhh. Nice images nevertheless. I can live with imperfections. They are a part of my life.

As always, YMMV.

 

[Emile de Leon]

I'm happy for Godfreys honest review..

 

[Godfrey]

And there are those that like to know the truth of things by experimenting with those things first hand, rather than prejudging stuff without hands-on knowledge.

The Pixii is actually an excellent camera for a lot of uses. The fact that it isn't a perfect match to the Aporia 24 and Color-Skopar 21 doesn't bother me at all. My previous Color-Skopar 21 was not a good match to the M9, M-P typ 240, or M-D typ 262 either. The new version works well with the CL ... I can't personally say about how it works with other Leica models. It doesn't work well with the Pixii. None of my Leica M lenses worked worth well on the Sony A7 either, and don't work well on my Olympus E-M1 either. That doesn't make those two bad cameras, it just means these aren't the right lenses for them.

G

 

[oldwino]

Godfrey would you be willing to post an “undoctored” sample or two of the Skopar 21, for informational purposes?

 

[Godfrey]

Godfrey would you be willing to post an “undoctored” sample or two of the Skopar 21, for informational purposes?

Sure: Here's a DropBox link to four unedited raw files that correspond to four edited files I posted above.

G

 

[aizan]

I wonder if there are any 21mm lenses that don't have color shift on the Pixii. MB said the 21/2.8 Biogon ZM has color shift, and it's a retrofocus lens:



The 21mm f/2.8 Elmarit and 21-35mm f/3.4-4 M-Hexanon are also retrofocus lenses. Maybe those also color shift on the Pixii, but hopefully they don't!

 

[Godfrey]

I don't know about other 21mm lenses, I can only comment on what I've tested.
When all else fails, incorporating CornerFix into your workflow for processing problematic lenses poses a good solution.

G