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1 hour ago, jaapv said:

can the camera communicate directly with a computer?

It has a USB port - which can also be used for battery charging.

I also note the PIXII appears to have at least minimalist internal menus via the top LCD - there is a MENU/OK button and SELECT dial on the back next to the USB port. Likely for ISO, WB and such. Appears it may be possible to shoot independent of a phone, up to the limits of internal memory (4/8 GB).

I also wish them well - especially since trying to compete directly with Leica M in the rangefinder niche since about 1970 has been the path to eventual extinction:

Minolta
Kyocera Contax
Konica
Epson
Yasuhara
Zeiss-Ikon
Voigtlander R
Red Flag
Zorki
FED

 

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7 hours ago, jaapv said:

I would wait for reports on RF accuracy. The base appears rather short and it is only 0.67x [...]

The PIXII site refers to a 49.20 mm EBL (effective base length). Sounds simply impossible to me. The camera should have a longer mechanical base length (MBL) than the M10's for that. Assuming the PIXII has a 38.20 mm MBL, like the R-D1, its EBL would be 38.2 x 0.67 = 25.60 mm instead. By comparison, the R-D1's EBL is 38.20 mm and the M10's 50.60 mm. 

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2 hours ago, jaapv said:

Yes, but you will always need two pieces of gear to take a photograph, which does not really fit the Barnack philosophy. Anyway, I wonder. Do you always have to download to your phone first, or can the camera communicate directly with a computer?

According to this site, yes: "When you plug Pixii into your computer, you can see the files on the camera’s memory – it has a developer interface that gives access to the whole computer system."

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7 hours ago, jaapv said:

Tesla is a completely different product from conventional cars - no other car maker had long-term experience either. That is not a valid comparison. The Leica CL is notorious for inaccuracy with anything but its own lenses and Leica said so from the start.  And full-frame on film.

Unfortunately, if we use this Tesla analogy, PIXII is destined to fail, because PIXII picked wrong product features.

Combustion engines are way more complicated to make than electric motors.  That is why China (or Tesla) are coming up with scores of EV companies, while all their domestic car companies make terrible cars.  Tesla was really smart to leap frog conventional car companies in a new product category.  That being said, the battery systems in early Tesla were truly industry leading, with optical network controlling hundreds of laptop batteries.  And on top of that, Tesla outsourced car design to Lotus, a conventional automaker with a lot of experiences.

In a way, Tesla moved from analog to digital to leapfrog conventional auto companies.  PIXII would be doing the same if it is purely electronic: no OVF, no mechanical shutter, connected.

But that is not the case. PIXII uses OVF, which is not easy to make and calibrate.  I had problem with Leica FF OVFs that required factory calibration multiple times with various lenses.  I suspect OVF is a big part of cost, both R&D and manufacturing, for PIXII.

Perhaps a more adapt analog using Tesla would be a combustion engine Tesla model competing with a luxury car company. In this case, PIXII seems more like a DeLorean than Tesla.

That being said, I hope PIXII to be successful.  I suspect the high cost is associated with the initial design and small production.  Hopefully there are enough buyers to allow the company to scale the operation and reduce the price in the future.  

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11 hours ago, jaapv said:

I would wait for reports on RF accuracy. The base appears rather short and it is only 0.67x An APS sensor is more difficult to focus by RF than a FF  one - reason the M8 was not meant for 135 mm, Stefan Daniel once explained to me. Hard to imagine that they can beat an optical company with over 70 years of experience and development.

I still don't know what Leica's trick, but anyone have owned non-Leica M mount camera should know how difficult it is to have every lens focus right. 


In my limited experiences, I tried or owned Konica, Rollei, Zeiss and Minoilta CLE. I can't achieve the same focus with all three M lenses (50mm f2, 35mm f2, and 90mm f2.8) as what I got on Leica M3. Not to mention the awkward frame line pop-up that has the 40mm as the standard focal length.   

Even the proprietary Mamiya 7 mount has frustrating problems to focus all lenses. The standard lens is fine, but all others are more or less off-focus in the middle distance. I sold it because of this.  The only good reason to keep it was the zone focus with the super wide angle lens. But I gave up.   

Would any new trier break the curse? You bet!

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It is not a curse -  nor magic. The secret is to machine the mount and flange to extremely tight tolerances and adjust everything to a precise common standard. Leica is precision - the others you mention strive for precision. There is a difference - and it shows.

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22 hours ago, jaques said:

do they have any image samples to show at all? I can't find them on the website. That's odd if the thing actually exists. One thing: I think it looks quite nice. Another thing: it costs too much.

 

What I want to see is a full frame mechanical RF competitor to leica. Or not so much a competitor as a cheaper alternative. I would be very interested in such a camera- with no LCD- smartphone connected. I would happily have an anolog control to manually change RF lines- and a form factor like the Hexar RF. I've been wanting that for years and it just never happens.

Reminds me of some new product advertisements on social media. Very interesting to see and designed to capture pull in online orders, only to disappoint when they don't arrive as promised. If this was a serious and real camera launch, I am sure that there would be early testers with detailed reviews, videos and images.

With none of these in the public domain other than artwork and paper specifications, I wonder. 

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And this is what we see when following the link to the original announcement on Leica Rumors. Hmm...

 

 

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3 hours ago, Einst_Stein said:

I still don't know what Leica's trick, but anyone have owned non-Leica M mount camera should know how difficult it is to have every lens focus right. 

While focus on my Zeiss IKON ZM was way off when I got it (used) because the infinity adjustment had come loose, once I adjusted it it has been fine with all the lenses I've tried (35, 50, 90). In fact, I like the VF/RF better than my M bodies. Of course, film is more forgiving that a digital sensor, so this new offering may show more focus issues.

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12 hours ago, lct said:

The PIXII site refers to a 49.20 mm EBL (effective base length). Sounds simply impossible to me. The camera should have a longer mechanical base length (MBL) than the M10's for that. Assuming the PIXII has a 38.20 mm MBL, like the R-D1, its EBL would be 38.2 x 0.67 = 25.60 mm instead. By comparison, the R-D1's EBL is 38.20 mm and the M10's 50.60 mm. 

I agree with you. They made a mistake by confusing base length and EBL. They are not equal. 
Even 49.2mm base length seems generous. If accurate Pixii has 49.2mm x 0.68 = 33.46mm EBL only. 

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Suggested firmware updates would be

Tri-x only mode with authentic grain simulation and perforation frame.

Cartier Bresson decisive moment AI mode using nanosecond precision auto shutter timing.

Limited edition mode for print only output with superimposed signature and limited print number before file self deletes.

 

 

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