Pixii is equiped with a high precision optical device housed between the lens and the viewfinder.
A small mechanical wheel precisely senses the advance of the lens optical group. It translates the movement of the lens into a subtle displacement of the rangefinder image projected onto the viewfinder.
You can measure any distance between a nearby object at 70cm up to the moon distance, close to infinity.
The distance conversion ranges from less than 4mm at the back of the lens into a tiny millimeter change inside the rangefinder. The resolving power of your eye does the rest.
All this precision will serve, as you master the art of manually focusing the camera lens. This is the key to create a sharp image, right where you aim at.
Forget the struggles of trying to instruct an auto-focus system to think otherwise. With the rangefinder, you will be in control.
Once you realize the simplicity of it, a rangefinder becomes the most intuitive tool for your photographic eye.
Simple Principle The principle of a rangefinder is very simple: it helps you measure the distance between your camera sensor and your subject.
By programming that distance on the lens graduated ruler you define which part of your image will be in focus and which part will not.
This may sound complicated but it all happens at the speed of light, as you align 2 images in the viewfinder.
By programming that distance on the lens graduated ruler you define which part of your image will be in focus and which part will not.
This may sound complicated but it all happens at the speed of light, as you align 2 images in the viewfinder.
We have placed a series of indicators at the periphery of the viewfinder. Their position is designed to keep the view of the scene free of distractions.
But just take a quick glimpse on the left and you can verify the framelines indicator. A quick look on the right and you verify the exposure indicator.
No blinking light? No under-exposure? You are good to go.
Now you want to select which part of the scene to bring into focus, what will be tack sharp, as opposed to other parts of the scene you want to keep into a more or less pronounced bokeh.
The rangefinder let's you select that point.
Move the focus ring on the lens, and as you do, the rangefinder will move the secondary image at the center of the viewfinder. Move further until the 2 images coincide.
At that point you have programmed the focus distance, all by yourself.
Just check the distance ruler on the lens and you will get a reading of that distance. It is as simple as that.
Play with the lens aperture to adjust the sharpness or bokeh in a few clicks.
Now you are ready to verify the frame. Trigger the shutter, with a discrete confirmation of the camera as it captures the image.
The rangefinder is a precision assembly with very tight tolerances. The base plate and stainless steel cams, for example, are sculpted with a 5 micron accuracy. These constraints are necesary to deliver exceptional optical control, within the very compact format of the camera body.
Like all precision measurement tools, our rangefinder requires a thorough factory qualitification process. This comprises several calibration benches to fine tune the lens sensing wheel, the parallax compensation, or horizontal and vertical alignment within the viewfinder.
Our design shares many requirements with mechanical watch movements. We decided to base our company in Besançon, France, in the heart of the watchmaking industry. Our engineers come from the best engineering schools of the profession.
