Well, three people that are not / were not exactly happy with the camera, in a rangefinder forum no less, is not a great endorsement guys. This should be the place that loves this camera. As much as Emile came to just say I told you so, and that can be annoying, you have to admit there is more negative than positive about this camera so far.
boojum
Mentor
The fact is the camera could be better. Also, the happy campers have not chimed in and a visit to the FB page will reveal a bunch of them. Pixii has to get their sierra together, especially on software. When mine was working it worked well. My biggest gripe is the puny shutter click. "Pixii, sound off like you've got a pair."
ptpdprinter
Mentor
You've got a brand new $3000 Pixii camera which is broken and sitting on the shelf which you can't be bothered to have the manufacturer repair or replace. Quite the endorsement.
Well, it doesn't have a shutter right? So that has to be a recording. You should be able to increase the volume of that recording.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I believe that in my conversations with the folks at Pixii SAS, when the UPS mess was in process, mention was made that they had sold quite a few cameras to customers in the USA with only a few of those sales experiencing the kind of shipping difficulties I was going through. And that they'd sold probably 500 or more cameras world-wide. A sampling of only three people that I know of on this forum who purchased one is not a statistically significant sample. You cannot infer anything with any degree of confidence from a sample that small.
G
Godfrey
somewhat colored
One of my review comments to Pixii SAS included the fact that there was insufficient tactile/audible feel from the shutter release. Having an all-electronic shutter is one thing ... Providing consistent and sufficient user feedback so that the photographer can know precisely when, and whether, the shutter was released is essential to making photographs of anything but still life subjects since timing is such an important part of making good photographs. In my testing of the Pixii, there were many instances where I could not hear the moment of exposure, with the sound enabled, and there was virtually no tactile feedback at all from the shutter release to tell me that I had hit the point in its movement where the circuit was triggered. Other electronic release/electronic shutter cameras (including most smartphones) have done this far better.
I lost many photos from not being able to sense when or if the exposure had actually been triggered. That was one of the factors that played against my keeping the camera. The feel of a shutter is extremely important to my use of a camera ... I operate my cameras almost entirely by feel when I'm out shooting, rarely looking at the settings or controls, and usually with any simulated shutter sound disabled.
G
I understand your point, but it also isn't making me feel good about the camera either. 3 out of a small sample of people on this site is significant. 2 out of the 3 had shipping issues as well and shipping to the US might be one of the easiest to do. We do not know the issues those 500 people have had. Believe me, I want to like this camera, but shipping issues, firmware issues, rangefinder alignment issues are just not fun to deal with especially when you live where I live. It just is not cost effective.
boojum
Mentor
The sum total is that Pixii could be doing better. Hopefully they will. Or they will die. The choice is theirs not ours.
ThatOtherZoey
Newbie
We're not all looking for the same thing in a camera. I understand why the Pixii may not be for you. But despite the challenges I have faced with it, I do not regret purchasing it. It's not my only/primary camera, but since I have a few M mount lenses it's a great option. I may find it more challenging to use, but since I'm not dependent on it, I feel the rewards are greater when I succeed. The major benefit the Pixii has over other options is it's app integration. It's a new paradigm that many have been asking for from the other manufacturers for a long time. If you don't understand what they are trying to do or are unwilling to persevere through some growing pains, don't get one. But personally I'm stoked to be a participant in what they are creating.
boojum
Mentor
I am not sure if this was addressed to me. If it was let me address a few things. First, I am looking for a camera which will take a consistently correctly exposed photo every time I press the shutter. All my other cameras can do this.
App integration is a farce on my phone and the previous one. Current phone is a Samsung and previous was a Nokia. Android 11 on both and now Android 12 on the Samsung.
Maybe I do not understand what they are trying to do but I sure do understand what they are doing, not enough.
That you are pleased dealing with shaky software and irregular and difficult results is great. Good for you. I am not pleased with that. If the manufacturers are on a crusade they had better first make sure their ship is watertight before they set sail.
I champion the Pixii SAS group for what they are trying to do. But promises do not feed the bulldog, results do. I pick up an M9, turn it on, press the shutter, presto, a photograph!
Let me lay this out again, the body is well made, the electronics are apparently also well made. This is subbed out. The software is in house. Get it? It's not rocket surgery. I am perplexed that the cameras still do not work as advertised.
I will try to get Pixii SAS to fix mine on-line. It really would be nice to have a working Pixii camera. It's not asking a lot. It's really not.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Blame that on UPS, not Pixii SAS, please. The folks at Pixii went above and beyond to try to fix what the UPS clowns f****d up.
You chose to live where you live, for whatever reason. That also has nothing to do with Pixii SAS or the Pixii camera.
The safe choice if you want a digital rangefinder camera is to simply spend the money, buy a Leica M, and be done with it. Buying young, not yet fully realized, startup products from new companies is a sure way to be frustrated. I've done the latter many times, in fact, it was part of my career work in tech. I had been very curious about the Pixii, my curiosity redoubled with the updated model, and I bought the camera specifically to see if it was a viable choice for me. It turned out it wasn't developed to the level that I required ... yet ... so I did exactly what I planned: returned it and bought what I knew would do the job.
G
Godfrey
somewhat colored
And, btw, by similar reasoning on this "rangefinder forum" as well as several other "Leica enthusiast" forums, the whining, wailing, gnashing of teeth, the cat calls of "Too Expensive!", "Not what I wanted!" ... ad nauseam ... whenever Leica announces a new model should convince you to never buy a Leica M either. There's a lot more of that which goes around than there is anything to do with Pixii...
G
Ok, Godfrey... I do not think I was being too hard on Pixii here. You have really jumped to some conclusions about me when I was not attacking you in any way and when I have never said half of what you have accused me of saying... over a camera. A camera.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I haven't jumped to—or posted—any conclusions about you at all. I'm simply responding to precisely what you posted as your opinion with my own opinion, noted by the specific quote of your words and backed up by my first hand experiences. Don't try to instigate some nefarious intent by me to pose an ad hominem argument against you. I happen to think you're a pretty decent person, but some of the opinions you've posted about the Pixii camera and/or Pixii SAS do not make sense to me ... that's all.
I have had first hand experience both with the camera and with the people who manufacture and sell it. The camera is, in many ways, quite good; the people proved to be wonderful to deal with. The facts of the camera's capabilities/qualities/etc cannot be inferred with confidence from a sample of three out of 500+ cameras sold, period, regardless of how much you might value RFF subscribers' opinions. That simply makes no sense ... I'm a Mathematician by training with a specialization in Statistics and Statistical Theory ... If you believe that such a sample can be used to make inferences with any confidence at all, you simply do not understand Statistics. That's nothing bad about you, it's just a little bit of ignorance which is shared by 90% or more of the people I know who are not trained in or have not studied Statistics ... And even some who have.
The Pixii is not the first camera I've purchased to evaluate, found wanting for my use, and returned. I doubt it will be the last, either.
G
I'm going agree to disagree here Godfrey. I want to like this camera, but for me in my current situation (yes, I chose it and it is ok), I cannot take the chance. I am sorry if my fears seem irrational to you. Maybe they are, but they are there nonetheless.
I understand basic statistics and agree that 2 or 3 out of 500 is nothing, but I have no idea how many of the 500 people are happy. None of us do. I do know what is in this thread. It is enough for ME to relax on this camera and consider a used Leica instead based on MY current situation. I see no issue in that. I still think it is a cool camera and I concede that blaming UPS problems on Pixii went too far. It just seemed strange that 2 out of the 3 had shipping issues.
I understand basic statistics and agree that 2 or 3 out of 500 is nothing, but I have no idea how many of the 500 people are happy. None of us do. I do know what is in this thread. It is enough for ME to relax on this camera and consider a used Leica instead based on MY current situation. I see no issue in that. I still think it is a cool camera and I concede that blaming UPS problems on Pixii went too far. It just seemed strange that 2 out of the 3 had shipping issues.
Coldkennels
Barnack-toting Brit.
The facts of the camera's capabilities/qualities/etc cannot be inferred with confidence from a sample of three out of 500+ cameras sold, period, regardless of how much you might value RFF subscribers' opinions. That simply makes no sense ... I'm a Mathematician by training with a specialization in Statistics and Statistical Theory ... If you believe that such a sample can be used to make inferences with any confidence at all, you simply do not understand Statistics. That's nothing bad about you, it's just a little bit of ignorance which is shared by 90% or more of the people I know who are not trained in or have not studied Statistics ... And even some who have.
The problem with opinions and feedback is not all opinions are created equal. I'm not a statistician by any means, but I learned that very quickly doing product development in my own niche.
The RFF crowd is, largely, a very discerning audience; it's a forum full of (predominately) older people who've spent a lot of time using some of the most celebrated cameras that have ever been made; Leicas, Hasselblads, Nikons both S and F, and so on.
On the flip side, another community will have different expectations. Let's pick on Lomography here, for example - if you put the most flawed and inherently defective camera into that community, they'll actively celebrate its flaws. The weird colour balance issues and erratic exposures I've seen reported on here about the Pixii would go down fantastically on that website.
A more "balanced" community - let's take Flickr here - will probably give a fairer assessment, but without knowing the background of the user, it's tough to know whether your experiences will match theirs. I've never used a Pixxi myself, but I think it's fair to see that as a prototypical RFF user, I'm far more likely to agree with the three negative experiences on here than I am the responses of the average Flickr user.
Applying statistical analysis to reviews is ultimately a fool's errand without that background information, no matter how you want to spin it.
spb_ch
Member
I took these beautiful glass courtesy windows, into C1 as DNG files and then cropped them. The first two images are really one image,
split up by cropping to two separate images. The camera was M11 Leica, whilst I wait for my Pixii and the lens is a Heliar 3.5 50mm,
which I look forward to attaching to my Pixii.
spb_ch
Member
spb_ch
Member
Sorry about the attachment mess. I wanted all 3 images together but messed up.
JeffS7444
Well-known
When I purchased my Leica M8 and M9, I assumed that I was buying handcrafted, low-production products not as thoroughly tested as your typical Canon consumer product, and that there might be glitches. And there certainly were! But I purchased these first-generation products anyway, because who knew if there would ever be more-polished successors? And although I've since moved onto other things, I have no regrets.
IMO, the way to be a happy digital RF shooter is to be grateful that such idiosyncratic products even exist, and not to sweat the small-to-middling stuff. And if that's not possible, then better stick with products from companies with much greater resources, like Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm and Ricoh. For the moment, Pixii is the lower-cost alternative to Leica, there may not be a followup model, and perhaps there will be no other digital rangefinder cameras produced within our lifetimes.
IMO, the way to be a happy digital RF shooter is to be grateful that such idiosyncratic products even exist, and not to sweat the small-to-middling stuff. And if that's not possible, then better stick with products from companies with much greater resources, like Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm and Ricoh. For the moment, Pixii is the lower-cost alternative to Leica, there may not be a followup model, and perhaps there will be no other digital rangefinder cameras produced within our lifetimes.