Fun with the DXO ONE in 2023

In 2015, Dxo decided to sell a tiny camera that connected to the iPhone. They used the 1inch 20MP sensor from the Sony RX100 m3 that I really love a lot, 32mm equivalent lens that is pretty bright: F/1.8 and shoots RAW.

September 24, 2023

When I saw it brand new, boxed, in a tech store getting rid of unsold stuff, I just bought it. I know I could have it for less on eBay, but I couldn't pass.

All has been said about that tiny camera. It has been commercial failure despite being actually pretty good with the latest firmware that added wifi connection and sort of a super low res black and white viewfinder in the minuscule OLED screen.

When it is connected to the iPhone, the phone is the viewfinder, and you can adjust everything: aperture, speed, isos, PASM mode, some crappy automatiques modes. It work quite well, the picture quality is that of the Sony RX100 mIII, framing is a delight especially when using it as a TLR. The 1 inch sensor beats any computational wizardry Apple puts in any iPhone. AF is super fast and accurate, the lens quality is great, the only thing that underwhelming is the battery.

But it isn't how I actually like to use it: when it is connected to the iPhone, it will remember the last settings: I set it to aperture priority, F/1.8, ISO auto, and when it is disconnected, it will keep these settings, making it a super tiny non conspicuous 32mm camera.

Using it this way, framing is at best approximative, but it isn't really an issue. It is a very interesting different way of taking photos.

It is worth noting it can also shoot super-RAW, a Dxo proprieritary format that combine a few photos to improve noise and dynamic range. It is slow, eats the battery like crazy, but it is also pretty good in extreme circumstances. it requires DXO software to process it properly (Lightroom will only process the first of the 4 images)

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