Anyone who is looking to buy a digital rangefinder camera these days has just one alternative to the Leica M-Series, namely the Pixii from France. This camera originally hit the market with a 26MP APS-C sensor, but the manufacturer is now also selling the so-called Pixii Max, which sports a 24MP full-frame sensor.
With a price tag of €4,799, the base model with 32GB of internal storage is anything but cheap, but it's still almost €4,000 less expensive than the Leica M11 and its official list price of €8,750. However, a new DxOMark analysis now reveals that the Pixii Max can't quite keep up with the 60MP full-frame sensor of the Leica M11, which remains the best sensor of its size that DxOMark has tested thus far.
While the Leica M11 earned a DxOMark score of 100 points, the Pixii Max has to settle for 93 points. This puts the camera 3 points ahead of the Pixii Plus with its APS-C sensor, but also seven points behind the significantly more affordable Nikon Z7 II. The most relevant point of reference for rangefinder enthusiasts is probably the Leica M10, which also features a 24MP full-frame sensor and scores considerably lower than the Pixii Max's sensor with 86 points. A used Leica M10 in good condition costs about as much as a new Pixii Max.
The biggest advantage of the Pixii Max over the Pixii Plus and Leica M10 is low-light performance, as the camera has comparable image quality at an ISO that’s half a stop higher. Overall, the Pixii Max's sensor didn’t show any major weaknesses, which is why DxOMark concluded that the camera is an attractively priced alternative to the Leica M10.