Yesterday, French software company DxO released their first ever hardware – a unique looking camera that can be attached to an iPhone and has a larger sensor and superior image quality. The buzz surrounding this DxO One camera was all over the internet – but is it justified?
First, what is the DxO One? well, it is a sort of an accessory camera for the iPhone (with lightning connector – i.e. iPhone 5/6), it uses a much larger sensor with a bright lens and is controlled by an app on the iPhone with the aim of taking better images without the need for a larger stand alone camera.
The DxO One – an (expensive) companion camera
Here are the known specs:
- Sensor – 1″ 20.2MP (similar to the one on the Sony RX100 series).
- Lens – Fixed lens with equivalent focal length of 32mm (in 35mm) and a maximum aperture of f/1.8.
- Sensitivity – ISO 100-12,800 with expansion to ISO 51,200.
- Connection – lightning connector allowing for fast image display and live view on the iPhone.
- Phone support – iPhone 5/6 (no Android version).
- Video: 1080P up to @120p (for slow motion videos).
- Extra features – SuperRaw feature (4 combined images in RAW taken at 22fps for better noise and dynamic range).
- Price – $600.
So with these specs why do we think that this camera is still a Gimmick? well, the way we see it, despite its size it still is another thing to carry with you. People forced to take another accessory for shooting will probably just take a proper stand alone camera, especially when this one doesn’t have any zoom at all. The current version is also limited to new iPhones – and while Apple is big in the phone market – Android still has almost %80 of the market. But maybe the biggest issue is the price. If this accessory would have cost $200 than it might be have a much bigger appeal, however for $600 you can buy a very decent entry level DSLR or mirrorless (or even one of the older RX100 series cameras which are still pretty good).
Pricing aside, we do think that this concept is innovative and we would especially like to see the SuperRaw performance in action.
You can read a quick first hands on with the DXO One on techradar and get more details on the camera on the DxO website.
If you don’t want to miss any new photography product be sure to check out our product photography section on our photo gear channel.
Iddo Genuth 
You can support LensVid by shopping with our affiliate partners
Affiliates: Amazon, B&H, Adorama and E-bay.
Why should you trust us?