Thierry Coulon Blog

Most of photographers probably knows the DXO company for their lens correcting

software (DXO Optics) and their sensor and lens rating (DXO Mark).

So when such an expert company announce that they are entering the camera market you can be surprised but you should expect a revolutionary product and it is. When Dxo noticed me that they choosed me as a tester and ambassador i was pretty impatient to receive the tiny camera and i had good reasons to.

Announced like the world smallest DSLR the DxOOne will seduce you by it’s size and image quality.

Specs:

Size: 67 x 48 x 25mm

Weight: 108 g

Material: Half Aluminium and Half High grade plastic

Sensor: 20.2-million-pixel 1” BSI CMOS

Lens: 32mm-equivalent

Aperture: f/1.8 lens to f/11 minimum

Shutter speeds 15s – 1/8000 sec

ISO Range: 100-51200

Files: JPEG, DNG and DXO (SuperRAW) formats

Modes: P A S M, Scene

Video Mode: 1080p at 30fps

Storage: MicroSD card

Unpacking the DxO-One is a bit like unpacking an iPhone, you know that you are getting a fun and high tech tool plus the simplicity of the packaging will make u remember the feeling you had unpacking your first iPhone . The box content is very simple: the DxOOne,  a charger, The quick start manual and a antistatic cloth.

The DxOOne is small and and the features are minimised.

All u need to do for your first shot is to slide down the front cover and press the shutter button on the top, the camera will automatically switch in Auto mode, swipe left on the mini touch screen on the back and you are in video mode. It’s as simple as this if you can shoot blind,  but to realise your perfect shot you need plug it to your iPhone (5 or 6 and 6s) or an iPad. The DXO’s app (available on App store) controls the camera once it has been connected to your iPhone. There is a fully automatic exposure mode (very well managed) but also some scene modes (Landscape, Sport, Portrait and Night scene). There’s also the option to shoot in Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority or Manual. You can choose to store your photos on both your iPhone and sim card, to just the sim card. The transfer to your iPhone is nearly immediate after you took the shot.

Shooting with the DxO-One is easy and simple, for street photography you need to anticipate your shots as it takes some time to first assemble the 2 part and then wait for the app to open, i would love to see the DxO One take over the IOS camera shortcut and have the possibility to shoot from the lock screen without having to log with the password. I’m sure the DxO team is already working on it.

The colours rendering is perfect and reflects what you see in real life, the autofocus is fast and precise and you can lock the focus by half pressing the camera button like any other camera. You also have the possibility to choose your focus area with a tap on the iPhone screen.

Verdict

The DxO-One delivers what it promised, high quality images with an impressive sharpness and colours, with a total control of the camera (plugged to an iPhone) so it let the door open to creativity.

DxO target photographers but i think the camera will seduce also any amateurs and enthusiasts as it’s easy to operate and the Auto mode is really well managed.

I wish DXO Labs can find a solution to trigger a remote flashlight for some more advanced portraits and i think it will come.

The DxOOne never leave my pocket except to shoot and charge the battery and it really have changed my shape of photography, i have to say that i’m more lazy to bring my big camera when i m shooting street photography plus it doesn’t scare people when they see you are shooting in their direction. Of course it can’t replace my camera but at least i have the possibility to shoot high quality images at anytime, without carrying heavy equipment. A nice tool that i’ll recommend to any photographer and amateur.

Some sample photos taken with the DxOOne: