We got our first chance to play with Sony's unusual QX100 and QX10 yesterday. Announced earlier in the month, the devices look like lenses but are fitted with an imaging sensor and are designed to be wirelessly controlled using a smartphone or tablet screen.
The lenses can be physically clipped onto a smartphone or operated remotely, connecting via Wi-Fi or NFC to a compatible iOS, Android or Windows device.
The high-end QX100 has a lot in common with Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 Mark II and shares the same 28-100mm f/1.8-4.9 lens and 20-megapixel, 1-inch CMOS sensor. The smaller (and cheaper) QX10 pairs an 18.2-megapixel CMOS sensor with a 25-200mm zoom. Both units include image stabilisation and can shoot HD (1440 x 1080 @ 30fps) video.
In the five minutes we had to play with the two units we found they were easy to set-up and use. The live view on the phone's LCD (we used an iPhone 5) showed no noticeable lag and the images offer a massive jump in quality compared to the usual small-lens, small-sensor smartphone images. Compared to a 'real' compact or DSLR camera you do lose out on a couple of useful features, with no RAW option and limited exposure modes (you're restricted to auto, exposure compensation and aperture priority).
Even so, Sony might be on a winner. Amazon, which started taking pre-orders for both lenses earlier in the month notified customers last week that its initial allocation has been snapped up.
The QX100 and QX10 will be available in Australia from October. Pricing is yet to be announced.
Sony DSC-QX100 paired to a Sony Xperia phone.
Sony DSC-QX100.
Sony DSC-QX10.