The Pixii Max, a full-frame digital rangefinder, is positioned as a more affordable option in a market dominated by brands like Leica. This camera attempts to combine the traditional rangefinder experience with modern digital technology, offering a minimalist design and a commitment from its French creators to continuous improvement. However, despite these admirable intentions, the Pixii Max faces considerable hurdles in user experience and image quality, making it a challenging choice for photographers seeking a seamless and reliable tool.
Embracing the rangefinder photography style involves a deliberate and often slower process, requiring the photographer to master focusing, composition, and pre-visualization. This methodical approach can be deeply rewarding, cultivating a more intimate connection with the art of image-making. In the digital realm, Leica has long been the primary name associated with rangefinders, establishing a benchmark for performance and price. The Pixii Max emerges from this landscape as an ambitious contender, developed by a dedicated team in France over seven years, with a modular and upgradeable design philosophy.
My experience with the Pixii Max, a full-frame model priced at $4,500 that uses M-mount lenses, proved to be a mixed bag. While the camera boasts a refined aesthetic with its svelte and streamlined body, weighing in at a solid 17 ounces, its ergonomic design leaves much to be desired. The classic metal brick shape is uncomfortable to hold, suggesting the necessity of an auxiliary grip. Powering the device is a Sony FW-50 battery, which unfortunately offers poor longevity, yielding only a few hundred shots per charge and necessitating spare batteries for extended use.
The camera's top plate features a minimalist layout, including a flush shutter button with insufficient haptic feedback, often leading to camera shake. A dedicated shutter speed dial, marked only with a red 'A' for aperture priority, sits beside a sleek screen that displays settings and status. While a cold shoe is present, its lack of electronic connections limits its utility, failing to support flashes or align with optical viewfinders effectively. The rear of the camera houses a USB port for charging and data transfer, alongside a menu button that doubles as the power switch. The startup time is notably slow, a common trait in some rangefinders, but still a hindrance in spontaneous shooting scenarios.
A significant point of frustration is the menu system, navigated by a simple thumb dial. The minimalistic interface, while visually appealing, sacrifices practicality and ease of use. Adjusting settings becomes a cumbersome task, requiring multiple spins of the dial and repeated button presses, which detracts from a fluid shooting experience. This oversimplification mirrors issues found in other cameras attempting a minimalist approach, highlighting a preference for aesthetics over functional efficiency. For many photographers, including myself, the ability to customize buttons and quickly adjust settings is crucial, a feature largely absent in the Pixii Max.
Putting the Pixii Max to the test on the dynamic streets of New York, often paired with a Thypoch Simera 75mm f/1.4 lens, revealed its performance characteristics. The viewfinder offers a roughly 28mm equivalent field of view, complemented by illuminated frame lines for various focal lengths. While innovative, this requires manual adjustment in the menu for each lens change, a slow process that underscores the need for a quicker, more intuitive solution. The rangefinder patch, though accurate in aligning with lenses, is noticeably dim, making precise focus confirmation challenging compared to brighter systems like Leica's. Furthermore, the absence of a built-in diopter adjustment means additional purchases for personalized viewing.
The camera's light meter performs adequately in most conditions, and the 24-megapixel BSI sensor delivers good detail and color when shooting in DNG RAW format. Users can customize color profiles, but the standard mode offers a pleasant starting point. However, a major drawback emerges with high ISO settings: severe banding in the shadows above ISO 2500, which also appears when pushing shadows in RAW files. This issue significantly limits the camera's usability in low-light environments, making it more suited for bright conditions or faster lenses, particularly when shooting in its dedicated monochromatic mode.
The Pixii Max's monochromatic option produces true black and white 16-bit RAW files, where color cannot be recovered. This mode exhibits less, though still present, banding at higher ISOs, suggesting a potential niche as a specialized black and white camera. However, the overall image pipeline still requires refinement. The electronic shutter, capable of speeds up to 1/32,000 second, allows for wide-aperture shooting without ND filters and eliminates shutter shock, but introduces rolling shutter effects with fast movements. The camera's silent operation is compensated by a customizable shutter click sound, though this can be difficult to discern in noisy environments. Frequent "write errors," often accompanied by a "grumpy sound," indicate an inconsistent shooting performance, leading to missed shots and a frustrating user experience.
Despite its admirable vision and the dedication of its creators, the Pixii Max ultimately falls short in delivering a consistently enjoyable and reliable shooting experience. While the intent to provide a boutique, modular, and upgradeable alternative to established brands is commendable, the camera's ergonomic flaws, cumbersome interface, battery limitations, and critical image quality issues like severe shadow banding significantly detract from its value. At $4,500, it stands as a costly investment that delivers only a fraction of the performance and handling comfort found in its more expensive competitors, such as a used Leica M9 or M10. For those seeking a truly functional and enjoyable digital rangefinder, the search for a more refined alternative continues.