Last Updated on January 13, 2019
Video credit: MW News
Most smartphones today are equipped with high-resolution front and rear cameras, especially those made by big name brands. So why would you bother with a standalone camera designed to be used as an accessory with your mobile phone?
The PIXII A1112 camera could provide a good answer or an argument, depending on who you’re asking.
French company PIXII SAS has unveiled the first camera they created that can boost a mobile phone camera’s extensibility. Retro in style but radical in design concept, the rangefinder camera has its pros and cons.
The startup company was created by David Barth who has 20 years of experience in the software industry under his belt. He works alongside a team of specialists in electronics, micro mechanics, and optics.
PIXII A1112 has no screen, no memory card slot
It’s hard to imagine how anyone can operate a camera without an LCD screen. How can you check the photos taken?
According to creator David Barth, “The new generation is learning photography with a smartphone, who understands why a camera still needs to bother with the screen or an SD card.”
What happens when you use the PIXII A1112 camera is that the images are displayed on your smartphone screen. Since there are editing apps designed for mobile phones, photos taken can be edited or shared in real time. This also means an operator has full manual control over the camera settings.
Make sense.
The French company also said that virtualizing the camera software and screen eliminates the problem of both features getting outdated. This is especially true with the high performance of most smartphones today.
But the camera would have been better if it has a memory card slot instead of just a 32GB built-in memory. With the way people take snaps of just about everything these days, the built-in memory is just not enough.
PIXII A1112 offers smartphone camera extensibility
Despite the high resolutions, mobile phone cameras don’t have the sensors, lens, and viewfinder of traditional cameras. There are some pictures it cannot capture but would easily be immortalized on a standalone camera.
Using the PIXII A1112, you can transform and extend the capabilities of your smartphone camera. At any given time, you can switch up your choice of device, depending on what the situation calls for.
PIXII A1112 brings compatibility to the mix
The PIXII A1112 is an M-mount lens camera that provides photographers and smartphone users access to high-quality lenses from renowned manufacturers. With this device, your smartphone can be paired with manual-focus lenses from Leica, Voigtlander, and Zeiss.
The interchangeable lens system is also integrated into the camera’s optical viewfinder. To focus, two shifted images of the photographed subject is matched.
The body of the camera is machined aluminum and equipped with different controls—automatic speed mode, manual shutter speed selector, OLED control screen, two-stage shutter button, quick selection for ISO, white balance, and supplementary settings.
PIXII A1112 camera availability and pricing?
To date, the PIXII A1112 camera is being tested by photographers with diverse backgrounds. There is no definite date yet as to when it will be commercially available and how much it will cost.