Pixii Really Surprised me

CameraQuest said:
New? Sounds like you have not seen Leica marketing for the last 20 years
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I don't follow Leica marketing. Their pathetic and empty words about almost everything I have read from them is turning me off. I reminds me my time in sales. I would talk like this if I have to meet not with technicians, users but those who gives big money.

Still, for every new Leica camera it was/are reviews are with pictures. Pirxii, none I could find so far. Just how camera feels. And how it connects to mobile phone. Been in sales and working technician, user it doesn't sounds good to me.

So, I'm glad they have send camera to you as the runner of rangefinders real users hub. Give it to Raid, please.
 
I'd like to see photos taken with this camera.

Not descriptions of how amazing this 12mb $3500 crop sensor camera is.
 
I agree with Huss here; show us many images taken with this camera. Compare images with those taken by similar priced digital cameras. Maybe the Q and SL as they now cost around $3000.
 
raid said:
I agree with Huss here; show us many images taken with this camera. Compare images with those taken by similar priced digital cameras. Maybe the Q and SL as they now cost around $3000.
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I don't think we need to compare it to other camera's images, what matters is if we are happy with the images.

But as far as I can see, we can order the camera but cannot see what it does.
 
I just reviewed the pixii.fr website.

The Connected tab focuses on the ability of the Pixii to connect to a smartphone. Looks like they put a lot of effort into optimizing that connection and the app they provide.

The Rangefinder section mostly focuses on the coupled RF mechanism, but uses amusingly non-technical language IMO.

The Specification list seems pretty complete. I noted micro-USB interface rather than the higher-data rate USB-C interface, a few other details. Native ISO 320 for the sensor seems a bit high: with fast lenses and the desire to shoot wide open, you'll use those high-speed, short exposure times. (BTW: the Leica CL eshutter can go up to 1/25000 sec, only about 1/3 EV longer than the Pixii.) Nothing wrong with using the eshutter at higher speeds, in my experience it's less likely to show rolling shutter and other adverse effects used that way.

The UI seems simple and uncluttered, nice. If the interaction with a smartphone works as advertised, it will be nice too. The 12mpixel output is a bit low, but I also noted that the sensor stack is thin and should allow for high quality performance with short register lenses, much like the Ricoh GXR with M-mount camera module.

The price point competes almost directly with the Leica CL but it is a different kind of camera. The service and support issues remain a future discovery thing, same for reliability and durability. A point of fragility in the system is compatibility of the app over time, through iOS and Android changes. Stephen's report that the camera build and the packaging are all first class is encouraging and sounds similar to the Light L16 in that respect. (The L16 is in a similar position of fragility with respect to its dedicated macOS and Windows rendering app "Lumen", btw, since Light has moved on from producing hard products and the L16 is discontinued now.)

All in all, it looks like a very interesting new camera. Since I have a full complement of Leica M lenses, I could get one to play with for $3300 and see if it had value to me. But that's a chunk of change for a 12 mpixel camera. The Sigma fp is similarly interesting as heck and is about 2/3 that price. And, realistically, I really don't need any more cameras at all... !!!

But interesting remains interesting. I haven't talked about my rekindled interest in high end mechanical watches .... LOL!

G
 
Pictures taken in broad daylight, and/or on a tripod, mostly tell you about how good the lens is, not the camera. Pictures taken in low lighting, with movement, which modern digital cameras now handle with very few issues, those tell you about the camera and it’s limits or strengths.

Edit: Enlarged and printed, I should add. Viewing small images on a screen won’t tell you much. Though, if that is all you ever use a camera for, maybe that’s good enough. Phones have shown they are more than adequate for the way most people view photos these days. That’s not a knock, just the current reality.
 
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Showing photos would be nice but web-resolution photos never show the full capabilities of even a 12 mpixel camera. Also, no disparagement to Stephen or anyone else intended, how “good” a photo a camera produces depends a whole lot more on the photographer than it did on the camera.

Make a few test exposures in different lighting — average daylight scene, average evening scene, indoor bar scene, a difficult image like cars on the road in rain at night, etc — and post the raw files somewhere so that interested parties can download and see them in their chosen image editing environment. Be sure to use a wide range of ISO settings. That would be useful to evaluate the camera.

Frankly, I can’t imagine that any camera with 12 mpixels and a Leica lens could not make excellent photographs unless the sensor was simply defective or misassembled. If my GXR-M could do it in 2009-2011, I’m sure Pixii can do it now.

G
 
Oren Grad said:
A handful of samples:

https://www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/1388368447/pixii-camera-sample-gallery/
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Those look fine, but tell you nothing about the quality of the body, for the reasons I outlined above. You’d really need to buy or rent one for a while to know how good it is as a picture taking device, as opposed to something you enjoy using to take photos, which are two different things. (Not that there is anything wrong with the second thing.) Looking at photos on the web won’t tell you much, if anything.
 
Where it might shine is in the HDR modes promising 60-90dB dynamic range:
The three step pixel reset mode may offer extreme dynamic range for no loss of resolution, if there is no fast motion, but analogue readout is still 12 bit ADC so in that mode the mid-tones may be a bit flat and fall apart quickly in post.
The alternate exposure line HDR mode might hold together better if interpolation does not lower resolution.

It will be interesting to watch where this goes.
 
The samples posted at DP Review are soft and noisy, even the full-resolution color one. Without passing judgment as to whether that is good or bad - you might like the image character, you might not - it certainly points to some important questions to ask before putting down ~$3000 for one.
 
Jeez some really cranky people here... maybe give him a few days to make photos? There’s nothing wrong with talking about how it feels and being impressed with that. And let’s be honest... you’ll hate the photos too.
 
One thing I didn't find on the website is exactly what the crop factor size is. I'll assume 1.5, but I know other manufacturers can vary from this by 0.1 either way. The only reference is mention of the bright frame lines for primes of 28, 35, 40, and 50mm, but doesn't say if this is 35mm equivalent or actual, like if you mount a 28mm lens do you get a 42mm focal length FOV?


PF
 
farlymac said:
One thing I didn't find on the website is exactly what the crop factor size is. I'll assume 1.5, but I know other manufacturers can vary from this by 0.1 either way. The only reference is mention of the bright frame lines for primes of 28, 35, 40, and 50mm, but doesn't say if this is 35mm equivalent or actual, like if you mount a 28mm lens do you get a 42mm focal length FOV?


PF
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The review on 35mmc says APS-C in the first sentence and the Pixii site shows APS-C as the first thing on the home page. So yes, 1.5.
 
jsrockit said:
Jeez some really cranky people here... maybe give him a few days to make photos? There’s nothing wrong with talking about how it feels and being impressed with that. And let’s be honest... you’ll hate the photos too.
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My own comments has nothing to do with OP having camera and reporting how it feels. Here is no pictures on the manufacturer site and on review from dude who never hesitates post his kids pictures in good enough quantities. Something is fishy. He has camera for some time and only one and half picture in the not particularly short article.

Those only eight other pictures resurfacing elsewhere are looking good to me.
 
Interesting camera development but it is really expensive for what it is, ie basically a compromised M.
For the money, if I wasn’t already a digital M owner, I would buy a second hand Leica rangefinder. No question.
 
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