Leica cameras are pretty expensive and so are its lenses. However if you’re hoping to potentially save some money on the body of a Leica camera, then you might be interested in a new camera launched by French startup called the Pixii camera. This is a digital rangefinder camera that will come with a Leica M-mount.
What this means is that the camera will be able to support Leica’s M-mount lenses if you have some lying around, or if you plan to start investing in them. However the Pixii is not your typical camera in the sense that it will not feature a display on the back. Instead its creators have designed the Pixii to be used with a smartphone, where your smartphone’s display also acts as a display for your camera.
In a way it is a throwback to the good old days of film cameras which do not have displays on the back, but whether or not this is a good idea remains to be seen. Details of the Pixii are a bit scarce at the moment, but it is expected to use a CMOS sensor, a global electronic shutter, native ISO gain of 200, with a range of 100 to 6,400.
There is also no autofocusing and will require users to manually focus their lenses. A lot of the camera’s functions does seem pretty old school and traditional, so if you wanted a camera that supports the newer technology, then perhaps the Pixii might not be for you. The company is expected to release additional details about the Pixii in the coming weeks, so perhaps we’ll learn more about pricing and availability then.
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