cboy
Well-known
It interesting the mindset on how cheap (quality) m lenses are flooding the western market in order to profit and obtain the luxury goods thats been undercut.
How long until a Chinese company makes a digital rangefinder?
- Thread starter jsrockit
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Rayt
Nonplayer Character
One of those two Artisan brands need to change its name because I still don’t remember who makes what. What they are doing is creating brand reputation in a niche market. This is counterproductive if your biggest competitor has more or less the same name. Who knows if they are even turning a profit?
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I am not sure that Pixii is a cheap Leica. It has the similar form factor, as do may others which are RF's.
Technically it differs from Leica in that it is shutterless with a global electronic shutter, and runs an APSC sensor which will produce both RAW B&W and RAW color. Neat trick and awaiting patent. All that is mechanical is the rangefinder. It is a computer with a lens on the front. The Leica is mechanical.
It does accept Leica RF lens mount lenses. I have a Pixii and like the color very much, less bright and "Kodachrome" than the M9. I compare the Leica to Kodachrome and the Pixii to Agfachrome for those of us old enough to remember it. Agfachrome was less exciting but more accurate IMO.
cboy
Well-known
China is good at 'reverse engineering' existing tech for their purposes, since most things are manufactured there. If ever PIXII or Leica outsources their manufacturing there then you'll be sure to find a Chinese copy of it soon afterwards. Unlikely that will ever happen though
Out to Lunch
Veteran
I believe that both Artisan lines are produced in the same factory. Cheers, OtL
santino
FSU gear head
You think so? Greed - or profit, as some economists use to call it - „forced“ a lot of companies to outsource their production. Those companies are well aware of their steps and risks on the chinese market and take copies of their products into account.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
The photo of that camera is amusing. It looks like a near-perfect copy of a Leica I in modern style-bomb finish ... with a 35mm lens and a 5.0cm optical viewfinder. 😉
G
TL7
Member
There are a lot of Chinese photogs that are into the vintage stuff..including LF & ULF. They snap up the good vintage lenses fast and appreciate stuff, and are starting to really produce cool things.
I have no doubt when they decide to develop a real RF camera and put it up into the market that they will.
Sure it probably wont be as nice as a Leica M..but who knows..the LLL lenses are every bit as good as the vintage M lenses.
There is a market in Japan for this..as well as China and the US and Europe...they will definitely sell.
I have no doubt when they decide to develop a real RF camera and put it up into the market that they will.
Sure it probably wont be as nice as a Leica M..but who knows..the LLL lenses are every bit as good as the vintage M lenses.
There is a market in Japan for this..as well as China and the US and Europe...they will definitely sell.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
There is always a market for bling. I wonder how many of these retro cameras, if made, will sell. And how many would sell if no one noticed the camera? Possible reenforcement of Thorsten Veblen's theory of conspicuous consumption.
TL7
Member
Priced right..will eat right into Leicas sales...and Pixii's...
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
jsrockit
Moderator
I think he meant a Chinese made digital rangefinder of course.
Out to Lunch
Veteran
Leaves me wondering if Chinese companies/brands are actually producing any type of digital camera. Cheers, OtL
bob_summers
Member
Waiting for a Pixii here. Under no illusion that I'm buying an M10 for 1/3 the price. I think the Pixii is unashamedly a scanner with an M mount. Polycarb top and bottom plates as opposed to brass. Electronic shutter etc.
Money no object, I likely wouldn't go for the Leica either, it's not what I want - and by extension, neither would a Chinese copy.
Money no object, I likely wouldn't go for the Leica either, it's not what I want - and by extension, neither would a Chinese copy.
jsrockit
Moderator
Well, they certainly manufacturer them. And then there is Yi which makes cheap M43 cameras. Dji which makes action cameras and drones. Not too many major players though...or candidates for my digital M!
jsrockit
Moderator
It is funny, when I made this thread, I didn't own a digital M. My last digital M was an M9 probably 10 years ago. My choices now were an older M and the Pixii just based on what I wanted to spend. I probably would be fine with the Pixii, but ordering in the country I live means paying major import taxes. I'd be into used M10 territory for a Pixii. No thank you. However, I did end up finding a used M240 and went with it. Now that I have it, I realize it is my least favorite camera vs. my Fujis X and GFX cameras and my Ricoh GR3x. It is still cool and I still use it, but it would be the first camera I would sell. I wouldn't be interested in a Chinese copy either anymore.
bob_summers
Member
It was the MD that piqued my interest in a digital RF. No physical buttons. How many times have I ruined shots on my X100 by unintentionally turning on the ND filter, or similar? No screen. Hefty brass lump that takes all my film M glass. And the thought stewed for years until recently when during a perfect storm of insane film prices and less time to spend on dev & scanning, the Pixii appeared on my radar.
Counterintuitive, maybe (you can buy a lot of HP5 for the price of a Pixii), but as a simple machine to funnel light through M glass to my laptop, I think it will be just the ticket.
Counterintuitive, maybe (you can buy a lot of HP5 for the price of a Pixii), but as a simple machine to funnel light through M glass to my laptop, I think it will be just the ticket.
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
I am really interested in the Pixii and wish I can demo one in a store. Hard to put down that much money based on internet chatter and a few videos posted by a Pixii “ambassador”. User experience for something like the M10D would leave me elated and the Pixii fits the bill but I still like to try it out. A used Epson RD1 would be nice also.
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F
former member
Guest
Chinese made full-frame CMOS sensor, 50MPixels. Color and Monochrome versions available. They've done the hard part, putting it into a camera body based on 1950s Technology takes will to just do it. Get one person like Mr K, in China- an enthusiast, would have not problem doing this.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I have a Pixii A1571, now on its way home to become a Pixii A2572 and return to me as pristine and radiant as Boticelli's Birth of Venus, or almost. I can only speak for mine, the top and bottom are not plastic. It is solid, well-made and sturdy. It does great color. Check out my pics on Flickr (West Phalia’s albums | Flickr) to see how the Pixii does. It really likes a good lens like a good Jupiter 8, a '57 KMZ in this case, or the very nice Cooke Amotal. If you have been misled on this topic I regret it. Look at how it does color, granted a few had the AWB off but that was my fault not the camera's, but overall the color pleases me very much. I find it a little toned down from my M9 and more towards the X2D. These are my personal observations and as always, YMMV.
And BTW, you can try it out. Pixii has a generous 30 day return policy.
And as for the comment that it is just a scanner with a lens, well, all the digitals are that. This one is not mechanical, though, other than the rangefinder. And it can do RAW B&W as well as RAW color. There is a user group on FB where you can loiter and get the feel of what users are doing. Cheers.
And as for the complaints that the memory was not removable, so it is in the X2D, too. The M11 has some non-removable internal memory but it seems more an afterthought than a planned, designed item.
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