Pixii vs RD1 vs M8 / 8.2

CameraQuest

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The soon to be released Pixii has a 12MP sensor APSC sensor, more pixels than the much loved and praised (in this forum) Epson RD1 and Leica M8 / 8.2

Will the Pixii turn out images as good, or better, than these older machines?

I look forward to finding out.

Stephen
 
The choices of a 12MP sensor and base ISO of 320 were curious ones, especially for a going price of US$3700.

It would seem to me that a monochrome version of the Pixii would have the greatest appeal, with the actual resolution higher than the 12MP would imply.

At that price point, an M9 with a new sensor seems a better value.
 
The choices of a 12MP sensor and base ISO of 320 were curious ones, especially for a going price of US$3700.

It would seem to me that a monochrome version of the Pixii would have the greatest appeal, with the actual resolution higher than the 12MP would imply.

At that price point, an M9 with a new sensor seems a better value.

The Pixii price will be $3050
 
A used M10 makes more sense to me. It is not a good practice to go back too far for a digital camera, so getting an M8 or RD1 now is not for me.
 
A used M10 makes more sense to me. It is not a good practice to go back too far for a digital camera, so getting an M8 or RD1 now is not for me.

Yep, used digital Leica M are bargains compared to new M10 prices

even so, the Pixii has some unique features for those who want them thanks to the super fast global shutter.

f/0.95 at 1/32,000 on a sunny day at ISO 320 is kind of interesting

personally in 2020 I would not want to invest into digital M's older than the M240 due to repair issues.
 
It would be a very different camera from my M8 or M9.
The M240 and I did not get along well. The camera is too bulky, but works like a workhorse.
 
I cannot fathom why anyone would want to buy this at the suggested price or for any reason actually.
 
The electronic shutter is intriguing but they couldn’t have chosen a worse economic time to release a new product.
 
None of the listed in the thread title.

IMO, used M240 is much better deal and camera. Pixee is unknown company, manufacturer camera. I never buy mark one cameras until they are out for at least one year. M8 SNAFU happened not only with Leica. Sticky lens at X100 and so on.

Quality vND filter should be no problem with M240 and f1.2 lens w/o on sunny day with ISO 200. I used x4 green-yellow filter for Jupiter-3 WO under sun light. With FED's-2 1/500 maximum shutter speed. And ISO 400 film :)

 
I had an Epson RD1, it was one of the poorest performers of all the digital cameras I've owned and used. I returned it within a week to the vendor I bought it from.

I would not consider any Leica M digital older than the M typ 240 at this point in time as worth the money. My M9 was okay, but only just okay. The M-P 240 I had was a fine camera; the M-D typ 262 was excellent. If I were buying another M, I'd want an M10-D or M10-Monochrom.

The Pixii is a complete unknown at this point; it's not a particularly good deal based on specs and feature set. But who knows? It might be a pretty cool camera.

I think if I were to buy another camera at this point (no real motivation or reason to at the present time) and was looking for something in this compact class, I'd be looking at the Sigma fp. Yes, it's not a rangefinder camera. It's more of a box with imaging and capture system that all my current lenses works on, somewhat like the Hasselblad 907x that I bought recently. That's what's appealing to me in a camera of late: Something sophisticated, but raw and simple, versatile. The Sigma fp fits that description and is reasonably priced for its spec and potential capabilities.

G

The soon to be released Pixii has a 12MP sensor APSC sensor, more pixels than the much loved and praised (in this forum) Epson RD1 and Leica M8 / 8.2

Will the Pixii turn out images as good, or better, than these older machines?

I look forward to finding out.

Stephen
 
I'm pretty confident we are not the market. This is a device for easy, stylish, cool photography with an instant load to a social media site I'm not cool enough to know about.

Why the cameras listed in the thread title? Bacuse they are the sub-FF rangefinder options. This is a sub-FF rangefinder. You can't really consider it in the same class as a more modern Leica.

My personal opinon is that for the target demographic (hipsterish people in their 20s with cash to splash and previously using their phones to take pictures) it will do fine.

In my mind it is a modern version of the Epson RD-1. And I think it will have the equivalent young, cool clientele, only European rather than Japanese.
 
I checked with my 19 year old. He says RD-1s are retro and cool and desirable. He tells me a person using the Pixii would be a "Tourist" or a "Local" and that both of these (which apparently are very similar?) are negative descriptions. He says it would be only of interest to Youtubers of no insight, who would take photos of themselves carrying the camera.

But I guess it might still make good photos?
 
hipsterish people in their 20s with cash to splash and previously using their phones to take pictures
It seems we are moving in different circles. The 20-year-olds I know are struggling with student debt and the obliteration of the economy by Covid-19. Most live with their parents and certainly can't afford to buy a house.

This said, I am a bit shocked by the Pixii price tag, but I am happy that a company is willing to invest in a niche rangefinder camera, and I am looking forward to seeing the pictures.

I have all three of the Epson rangefinders and, unlike Godfrey, I think they are fantastic.

Cheers, OtL
 
The only thing this offers me really is an M mount. It's ugly - that shouldn't matter, but I'm not going to pay over £3000 for a camera I don't even want to look at. It has an APS-C sensor, which puts it in X-Pro territory - but Fuji understands how to design useful manual controls and the importance of manual dials with the settings clearly marked. It has a global shutter, but with £2000 in my pocket I'm sure I can find a good ND filter for the one time I'll need that. It has an honest-to-God triangulating rangefinder, which realistically is the only thing that sets it apart from the prosumer digicam market, but with the small sensor that's not enough of a draw for me to choose it over a used M10 (or even M9) or over sticking with Fuji's manual-focus aids.

And it's not even as if I could use it as a conspicuous show of wealth since nobody will know what it is and the looks won't prompt anyone to ask.
 
Going back to the threads title - I'm sure the PIXII will be a better performer than an RD-whatever or an M8.2, but that's not exactly setting the bar high.
 
It seems we are moving in different circles. The 20-year-olds I know are struggling with student debt and the obliteration of the economy by Covid-19. Most live with their parents and certainly can't afford to buy a house.

SNIP

Cheers, OtL

OtL, same kind of circles. Note my 19yo child, home with us for COVID, and currently a student.

But I was seeing people in their later 20s (20s being 20-29) as possibly buying one. In place of a second hand sports car or with the money they had saved for a round-the-world trip they now won't take.

Still, my very limited market research (n=1) says I might well be wrong even then.
 
I'm pretty confident we are not the market. This is a device for easy, stylish, cool photography with an instant load to a social media site I'm not cool enough to know about.

Why the cameras listed in the thread title? Bacuse they are the sub-FF rangefinder options. This is a sub-FF rangefinder. You can't really consider it in the same class as a more modern Leica.

My personal opinon is that for the target demographic (hipsterish people in their 20s with cash to splash and previously using their phones to take pictures) it will do fine.

In my mind it is a modern version of the Epson RD-1. And I think it will have the equivalent young, cool clientele, only European rather than Japanese.

This is what I really can't figure out. Who actually is the market?

It's like they're starting off by targeting a vanishingly small niche between...

a) The Old School willing to pay thousands for a manual focus rangefinder.
b) Millennials interested in having an app-dependant camera.

But then they're hamstringing their appeal to both groups because...

c) Group A are probably invested in M-mount lenses and won't have much interest in APS.
d) Group B are interested in 'bokeh' and won't have much interest in APS.
 
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