The Pixii M-Mount Rangefinder Has No Display or Card Slots, Costs $3,300

Almost two years ago, the French startup PIXII announced the development of a “radical” M-mount digital rangefinder that had neither a rear display nor any sort of memory card slot. Now, this strange camera is finally available for brave early-adopters to order… if you’re willing to drop 3 grand, that is.

The Pixii camera is a long time in the making, but they seem to have followed through on the launch promise. The rangefinder, which uses a 12MP APS-C CMOS sensor with a global electronic shutter, has no LCD screen or memory card slots—and you thought not having TWO card slots was a problem.

Instead, you can get it with 8GB or 4GB of built-in storage, and will need to connect the camera to your smartphone or computer if you want to review or offload images.

Photos are framed using a 0.67x magnification rangefinder with 50mm and 35mm framelines, and the only display on the camera is on the top: a small OLED that lets you check your settings before you take a shot. Essentially, you’ll need to use this camera like you would a film rangefinder (or the Leica M-D) shooting your images as you go and reviewing them later.

Photos are captured in RAW DNG format and JPEG format at 4080 x 2732, or about 11.1 effective megapixels, at a native ISO of 320 that can be only be adjusted up to 2500 as of right now.

Here’s a closer look at the camera:

And some high-res sample photos provided by Pixii (click to expand):

The Pixii camera is available in two variants: the regular 8GB version for €2,900 (approximately $3,300 USD), or the limited “launch edition” with only 4GB of internal storage for €2,900 (approximately $3,050). Both can be had in space gray or matte black. Keep in mind that these prices are before any sort of tax, so selecting the UK as your country, for example, adds a whopping €580 (approximately $660) in VAT to the price tag.

To learn more or if you want to take your chances and purchase this odd little rangefinder, head over to the Pixii website or order yours at the Pixii store. No word yet on when the camera will actually ship.

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