With all the hype over the Leica/Sigma/Panasonic L mount alliance, it’s easy to forget about the Leica M mount. But not everybody’s forgotten about it. French startup PIXII SAS has announced their new Pixii camera. It’s a new digital rangefinder camera, based around the Leica M mount, and the specs have been released.
PIXII founder, David Barth, says that “the digital camera hasn’t changed much since the 90s” and that the Pixii will take advantage of the proliferation of smartphones. I’m not quite sure I agree with that assessment, but I do like the direction the Pixii seems to be taking. Essentially they’re offloading a chunk of the work that normally resides in your camera to your smartphone.
It has no LCD on the back and no SD card slot. It communicates with an app on your mobile device which “develops” and shows the images on your smartphone screen. Taking some of the functionality away from the camera and into your phone is a smart move. It allows them to regularly update and easily disseminate one of the biggest things that holds cameras back. The software. But let’s look at those specs…
Viewfinder
Optical viewfinder with coinciding rangefinder (magnification 0,67X)LED backlit framelines with exposure indicatorsAutomatic parallax correctionAutomatic led intensity adjustmentFramelines for standard prime lenses: 40/50mm, 28/35mm
Sensor
CMOS sensor with 5.5um pixels12-bits sampling rate, and high dynamic range (60-90dB)Global electronic shutterNative gain: ISO 200, programmable from 100 to 6400 ISORGB colour matrix, optimized with micro-lensesIR filter, no low-pass < 1.0mm
Lens
Interchangeable lens systemManual focus and aperture controlM compatible lens mount, also compatible with M39/LTM lenses (with adapter)Dark chamber designed to fit collapsible lenses
Body
Machined aluminium bodyFinish: silver anodized, grey, matte black lacquer, carbon titanium (special order)ISO accessory shoe, tripod socket A ¼, lugs for carrying strapDimensions : 138x79x33mmWeight: approx. 460g (incl. battery)
Controls
Manual shutter speed selectorAutomatic speed mode2 stage shutter button: exposure metering/lock, shutter releaseQuick ISO selection, white-balance and supplementary settings via an integrated menuOLED control screen
System
ARM processors (2) with integrated FPGA acceleratorWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, Bluetooth LE 4.2 (upgradeable to 5.0)8GB or 32GB internal storage
Power
Li-ion 7.4V battery, 1000mAh capacity, model NP-FW50Integrated USB chargerProgrammable suspend and power off timer
The front lens mount is Leica M, although the camera is obviously not made by Leica. It will also take M39 and LTM lenses by use of an adapter. Focusing and aperture control are fully manual and the shutter speed can be either automatic or manually controlled.
There is a shoe mount on top, but no mention of flash capability or compatibility. Hopefully, it would at least offer basic single pin firing. There’s also no mention of video, which leads me to believe that it’s incapable of shooting it, which is hardly surprising in a manual focus rangefinder. Especially one that doesn’t even have a built-in LCD. PIXII SAS hasn’t released a price or an actual availability date on the camera yet. They’ve just said that information will arrive in the coming weeks. Find out more on the Pixii website.
