Last Updated on 10/28/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
Pixii, touted as a contemporary rangefinder camera with a radical design, reveals its images on a smartphone display instead of a built-in screen.
In a bid to bring a unique photography experience to the smartphone generation, French company Pixii officially announced their new rangefinder camera. Also named Pixii, this new camera records RAW images and gives full manual control of the settings to the photographer. It also connects and communicates through a mobile app to show the images on the mobile screen. These photos can be edited or shared as soon as they are taken.
The Pixii is an M mount interchangeable lens camera that lets users and take advantage of lenses from renowned manufacturers such as Leica, Zeiss, and Voigtlander. It also has a rangefinder system integrated into the optical viewfinder, so users are guaranteed to get the true rangefinder experience. According to the Pixii company, they developed this camera for more experienced photographers who are after the unique experience a rangefinder camera offers.
Here are the full specifications for the Pixi rangefinder camera:
VIEWFINDER
- Optical viewfinder with coinciding rangefinder (magnification 0,67X)
- LED backlit framelines with exposure indicators
- Automatic parallax correction
- Automatic led intensity adjustment
- Framelines for standard prime lenses: 40/50mm, 28/35mm
SENSOR
- CMOS sensor, 5.5µm pixel pitch
- 12-bits sampling rate, and high dynamic range (60-90dB)
- Global electronic shutter
- Native gain: ISO 200, programmable from 100 to 6400 ISO
- RGB color matrix, optimized with micro-lenses
- IR filter, no low-pass < 1.0mm
LENS
- Interchangeable lens system
- Manual focus and aperture control
- M compatible lens mount, also compatible with M39/LTM lenses (with adapter)
- Dark chamber designed to fit collapsible lenses
BODY
- Machined aluminium body
- Finition: silver anodized, gray, matte black lacquer, carbon titane (special order)
- ISO accessory shoe, tripod socket A ¼, lugs for carrying strap
- Dimensions : 138x79x33mm
- Weight: approx. 460g (incl. battery)
CONTROLS
- Manual shutter speed selector
- Automatic speed mode
- 2 stage shutter button: exposure metering/lock, shutter release
- Quick ISO selection, white-balance and supplementary settings via integrated menu
- OLED control screen
SYSTEM
- ARM processors (2) with integrated FPGA accelerator
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, Bluetooth LE 4.2 (upgradeable to 5.0)
- 8Go or 32Go internal storage
POWER
- Li-ion 7.4V battery, 1000mAh capacity, model NP-FW50
- Integrated USB charger
- Programmable suspend and power off timer
The company will announce the price and date of availability for this camera in the coming weeks. Hopefully, they’ll also update the specs sheet to include the actual sensor size. Check out the Pixii website for more info and updates on this new rangefinder camera.
All images via Pixii website