PIXII New french M Mount digital rangefinder announced

[Ko.Fe.]

The Leica market has gotten noticeably younger since the days of the Epson R-D1. If Fuji made a full frame M-mount rangefinder for $3000, it would sell like crazy.

Young ones have three thousands to waste? Where?
Young one at my work purchased used Canon 6D yesterday as travel camera.
Another young one is just like me ten years ago, 5d mk something and bunch of L.

 

[aizan]

At public events in Los Angeles (marches/protests, art and photography events and openings, waiting for a table at a popular restaurant), I almost always see someone under thirty with a full frame digital Leica.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

We are at different social levels. 🙂 I'm not in favorites restaurants and cozy protests.
I just talk, see people at work, on streets and at popular camera store. With cameras.
Few film Leicas and plenty of film cameras of low price and DSLRs.
But it is Torono. They say in Tokio every fashion teenage girl has M6....
Yet, been in Manhattan, Boston, Philadelifia, Chicago in previos couple years, I haven't seen young ones with 3k$ cameras. But never been in cozy protests and super super restaurants.
Just in Cheese Factories. I was only one with Leicas.
I guess this is where tough crowd is with expensive gear. Cozy protests for social justice and then dining out....

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Up until a few years ago, Cosina was able to sell Voigtlander bodies with rangefinders for $1000, and to be quite honest, you could get literally everything else needed to make a good digital rangefinder from off the shelf. Yeah, full frame sensors are a bit more expensive than the example I'm about to make, but look at how cheaply the Yi (Young Innovators) M1 micro four thirds camera was made and sold out of China, with actually a very good Sony sensor that is only put in the higher-tier cameras by Olympus and Panasonic. I know the kit was under $500 out of the gate, and frequently sold for far less.

My point was that if there was money just sitting there waiting to be made by making this camera, or something like it, someone would make it. Over the long haul, nobody leaves available money on the ground. It’s not one of those ideas that that no one has had. That’s not the reason it doesn’t happen. It doesn’t happen because once all the market and manufacturing variables are analyzed and understood, those with the idea, no matter how appealing the idea might be to outsiders, realize it’s not viable.

 

[aizan]

We are at different social levels. 🙂 I'm not in favorites restaurants and cozy protests.
I just talk, see people at work, on streets and at popular camera store. With cameras.
Few film Leicas and plenty of film cameras of low price and DSLRs.
But it is Torono. They say in Tokio every fashion teenage girl has M6....
Yet, been in Manhattan, Boston, Philadelifia, Chicago in previos couple years, I haven't seen young ones with 3k$ cameras. But never been in cozy protests and super super restaurants.
Just in Cheese Factories. I was only one with Leicas.
I guess this is where tough crowd is with expensive gear. Cozy protests for social justice and then dining out....

And this is why I always get annoyed when people say things like "Leicas were always expensive" (when they demonstrably were not AS expensive as they are now). Leica is now a gentrified brand. Millenials who buy a digital Leica either 1) can't "comfortably" afford it but got one anyway because it's a status symbol and an investment in your creativity (and it's the only "real" option available), or 2) can easily afford one...probably along with higher education, their loft, and new luxury car because of their parents.

I've only gone to NYC on your list, and I actually did see a young guy with a digital Leica at Dia:Beacon.

 

[Huss]

If it is APS-anything and the price is similar to a used M240 then...

It is about $3800 (EUR to $ conversion from their website) and offers 12-14mb sensor.
Used M240 with FF 24mb sensor is about $2500. And it is a Leica which sounds much more impressive than Pixii.

 

[Huss]

Young ones have three thousands to waste? Where?

Los Angeles
San Francisco
San Diego
Sacramento
Santa Barbara
New York City
Chicago
Boston
Miami
Austin
Dallas
etc etc

p.s why is it "to waste"? Don't you have a digital M? Was that a waste?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

And this is why I always get annoyed when people say things like "Leicas were always expensive" (when they demonstrably were not AS expensive as they are now). Leica is now a gentrified brand. Millenials who buy a digital Leica either 1) can't "comfortably" afford it but got one anyway because it's a status symbol and an investment in your creativity (and it's the only "real" option available), or 2) can easily afford one...probably along with higher education, their loft, and new luxury car because of their parents.

I've only gone to NYC on your list, and I actually did see a young guy with a digital Leica at Dia:Beacon.

The only young, millennials I have seen with Leica in thee years were two.
One with M6 walking in Central Park, Manhattan in 2017 and one by st.Laurence market in Toronto, 2019. This one was pulling it out from statement camera bag like his kidney he is about to sell on black market.
The rest of Leica users I have seen on the streets in major American cities in three years are like me. I live now in mortgage free home and probably could afford 3k$ camera on CC purchase, well, I just have enough gear to sell 🙂

Huss, I have M-E as gift in 2016. Maybe all of your Leica crowds you and only have seen are like me and m-e. 🙂

 

[jsrockit]

I lived in NYC for many years and there are certainly young people with expensive Leicas. If they can afford to live in NYC, they have a good job. If they don’t have a good job, they have rich parents. People come from all over to live in NYC and it takes $ to do it. Some of these young people even came to our RFF meetups. Think about it this way.... you don’t need a car in nyc so you can buy a camera instead. These young people also don’t have kids or a spouse... it is the perfect time to splurge.

 

[benlees]

It is about $3800 (EUR to $ conversion from their website) and offers 12-14mb sensor.
Used M240 with FF 24mb sensor is about $2500. And it is a Leica which sounds much more impressive than Pixii.

For sure. That the Leica was the obvious choice was my point. I'm all for companies offering alternatives... but they have to be good. And they should understand their market.

 

[Archiver]

Either I've not seen this thread before, or I have, and somehow blotted it from my mind. The Konost is the only other DRF that I've read about in the planning stages. The Pixii looks like a good idea, being able to charge via USB and transfer its images to a USB stick, not to mention using a commonly available battery.

So this is an aps-c sensor, but the megapixel count is not stated. This suggests that it might be either a 20mp or 24mp sensor, based on a guess by availability and cost.

With only 8GB internal memory, you'd be filling it up pretty fast, and using USB drives rather frequently if you're on the go. I don't mind the idea, but I'm not sold on how this is more desirable or usable than a camera with screen. I feel the same way about the screenless Leicas, too. Sure, film cameras don't have screens, but just as we've largely moved beyond film, we've moved beyond not having an integrated screen.

I really like the idea of this, as an aps-c M mount rangefinder that is as small and thin as a film camera, but I'm leery of spending 3500+ euros for a first generation camera with limited functionality.

 

[CameraQuest]

this is an older Pixii thread

 

[loranger]

The first coverage of the pixii on a french photo magazine https://www.reponsesphoto.fr/actualites/science-vie-photo-n-10-special-guide-d-achat-36543
There is a long article about the company and the adventure of building a new camera and a hands on review.

 

[loranger]

Since most of the people here won't be able to get the magazine and to read french, here are some of the key facts related in the article:

• The technical adventure started in 2014 with the help of two engineers students working on a prototype, they were really starting from scratch.

• First the company has been in contact with Cosina / Voigtlander for the rangefinder and with Rollei for the viewfinder, unfortunatly Rollei was ceasing activity and Cosina was not able anymore to provide ranfinder parts. Therefore they decided to build their own rangefinder, the Minolta CLE was their reference.

• The shutter has been a big issue as well, the project of making one by themself from scratch was too difficult so they decided to use the solution of a global shutter instead.

• At the end of 2018 the camera is officialy released and ready to be sold but a financing issue stops them. David Barth admits that the camera at that time was ready but "not very good" !

• In 2019, a former VP of GoPRO, Fabrice Barbier joined the team and helped solving all the remaing technical issues, at the same time the company has been able to get a new 700 000 euros financement and to restart the production.

• The design of the camera was inspired by Apple products, the Leica CL and a super8 movie camera Braun Nizo S800.

• The team is now working on a upgrade based on a best performing APS-C sensor, they will be able to propose this upgrade to the buyers of the first version.