Not in my camera bag. In my pocket: the DxO One
by Robert Rosenkranz
October 13, 2015
When you see an opportunity to make an interesting photograph, the best camera to use is the one you have with you. For the past couple of weeks, I have nearly always had the DxO One in my pocket.
This is a sleekly designed package, about as long and as thick as your thumb, that plugs into the iPhone 6 Lightning port. It contains a 20 megapixel sensor, the same as the one used in the Sony RX100 which is widely considered the highest quality compact on the market. The iPhone screen serves as the viewfinder, making it very easy to frame and compose images precisely.
It also incorporates the full range of artistic controls available on professional quality DSLR cameras. That is, you can prioritize the shutter speed, the aperture, or set both manually in which case the camera picks the ISO rating (sensitivity); in addition to the usual Auto point and shoot setting. The lens is a fixed focal length, roughly equivalent to a 35mm wide angle lens in a 35mm camera; very fast at f/1.8. I generally prefer prime lenses because of their sharpness, and this one is surprisingly sharp for something so compact.
Shot with DxO ONE
(c) 2015 Robert Rosenkranz
Lasting at least a few hours, I find the battery lets me take about 200 shots. (I do wish the batter could be swappable though.) The DxO captures these images in DNG RAW and JPEG formats, as well is shooting video in up to 1080p and audio. Saving these images on a miro-SD card makes it easy to later transfer your work onto a computer for software intense editing. It is notable that the DxO can immediately toss a JPEG to your phone so you can post on the spot to Instagram or Twitter.
The images included in the post were made to show the camera’s performance under challenging conditions. This library image was hand held in a dimly lit interior. Zoom in on the books: the resolution is amazing.
Urs Fischer sculpture shot with DxO ONE
(c) 2015 Robert Rosenkranz
The night time image of the Urs Fischer sculpture in the plaza of the Seagram’s building included an exceptionally wide range of very bright and very dark areas—all of which include a compelling amount of detail and texture.
Bodhisattva statue shot with DxO ONE at an amazing 25,800 ISO.
(c) 2015 Robert Rosenkranz
The gilt bronze bodhisattva is only decent as an image—but it was shot at an amazing 25,800 ISO rating. This ultra-sensitive setting is used for capturing images in exceptionally dim lighting, usually at the cost of considerable noise. Generally only top of the line DSLR cameras have this degree of sensitivity and the images that result are often very noisy indeed.
Picasso. Shot with DxO ONE.
(c) 2015 Robert Rosenkranz
The Picasso bronze presented the challenge of recording detail in the dark recesses of a dark and not very well lit sculpture. DxO met the challenge very nicely.
