Meet Sony's QX Series Smart Lens. Cool!

[ronfin]

This is beyond cool, and a perfect camera for Disney. It's a "lens", but in reality you can hold it away from your phone and still use it. With Wi-Fi and NFC technology, when you shoot an image it'll upload the photo directly to your phone so you can post it immediately, and store the full res image on the device itself. Quality is exceptional IMO, and the size is perfect for a purse, or cargo pocket, or even a lanyard to keep it when not in use. Check it out!

For more info on this cool lens/camera, click HERE.

 

[SkaGoat]

it needs to shoot RAW (which from what I've read it doesn't).

 

[ronfin]

it needs to shoot RAW (which from what I've read it doesn't).

That would make it totally awesome, but for a backup to a dslr, it's still a great compact P&S device. I can only see them adding to this in future releases. Personally I'm looking at an EOS-M as a backup for the 5D. The images that camera is producing are fantastic.

 

[Cafeen]

Reading through, it makes me wonder if it's more gimmick than substance. At the ~$500 price point, you can step into some strong P&S that have a sizable sensor, can shoot RAW, and offer more (and better) options.

The $250 price point replaces the larger sensor with a much smaller/weaker one and replaces the glass with lower quality stuff, turning it into something no different than a similarly priced P&S. (Edit, I stand corrected on the sensor stuff. I'm not entirely sure why I included that in the final post, since it was something I wasn't really sure on.)

I'm a bit skeptical about the WiFi transfer, both for images and for the viewfinder/phone itself. Without using the internal storage, it seems like the WiFi transfer of images should nerf the burst rate considerably. It's possible the buffer size was increased to compensate, but I wouldn't hold out much hope. Even more so, since images can stay on microSD cards within the "camera", the latency of the WiFi-based viewfinder (your phone) seems like it could hold potential issues (especially if the app isn't working right or there is lower O/S support than it needs to have).

Likewise, the build strength seems like it could be another potential pitfall. It would necessarily be quite a bit more flimsy than a standard camera, as the phone has to remain removable. The "grips" onto the phone will hopefully be very solid and not wear out, leading to potential "slide-out" of the phone and down onto the concrete. At least I did buy the insurance for my phone! (Note: normally I wouldn't but both of my past phones have had some issues that would have been covered (crazy possessed touchscreen, USB port dying), so I went for it with my new one...)

Lastly, this image:

(From the technical specs page) makes it seem a bit bulkier. Of course, it looks like that's with it zoomed in a bit, but even out to the larger cylinder doesn't appear to be saving much bulkiness from a equivalent P&S.

Now, I'm not all down on it, assuming that it's possible to hold the phone and lens apart from each other (since it seems like it's only a WiFi connection), it could lead to some interesting compositions as well as easier control in more awkward situations.

The WiFi issues I have could also be remedied with accessories (namely a wire), which that plus adapters could also add a larger margin revenue stream.

Of course, I'm also heavily biased against people using smartphone cameras for anything short of quick snapshots. And I heavily dislike instagram , so I may not be the best judge here.

 

[hakepb]

FWIW, the QX100 and RX100 have a sensor 3x larger than the typical 1/1.7" enthuiast compact like the S120, G16, P7700, XZ-2...

To get a larger sensor with zoom you either need the G1X or you have to go mirrorless.

 

[havoc315]

In terms of the price point at $500 --- it's the exact same lens and sensor as the Rx100m2 -- $750. So the price point is actually a "bargain."

 

[Cafeen]

I stand corrected on the sensors and higher model lens. The other issues still seem like bigger issues than the added convenience of turning your smartphone into a viewfinder.

 

[cobright]

This will see the most use as a palmable pervert-cam.

This is the modern day mirrors on top of your shoe.

It is a pretty neat idea though.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

This seems a bit klunky to me, and I wonder how well it really works with the phone.

I'm going to hold out and see if Verizon offers the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom anytime soon. I want to physically see one, to pick it up and see how much bulk/weight it adds to the phone. If not too bad, it would be nice to always have a 16 megapixel camera w/ 10x optical zoom in my pocket.

 

[havoc315]

I stand corrected on the sensors and higher model lens. The other issues still seem like bigger issues than the added convenience of turning your smartphone into a viewfinder.

It's not for me, as it doesn't support raw or full manual control, plus I already have the RX100.

But for a person who shoots in jpeg with limited manual controls (get exposure and aperture control), it can be a great product.
Your high end smart phone has a higher resolution screen than your typical P&S.
Your typical P&S does not have touch screen focus. Touch screen focus is a nice feature, easiest way to pick a focus point.
Most typical P&S still don't have wifi sharing, certainly not at the level of a smart phone, which can instantly send picture to facebook, twitter, text, email, youtube, etc, all with 1 click.
Your typical P&S doesn't have in-camera editing -- And iphone allows for some fairly advanced photo editing.
Your typical P&S doesn't have an articulated screen --- These phones don't have articulated screens either -- almost better -- you can separate the screen from the lens -- hold the lens up in the air, while holding the screen at eye level...

I'll be interested in seeing reviews when people start using these. But I see massive potential.

Especially as prices come down and more models are introduced... You could have a kit of sensor/lenses for different situations...

Imagine -- $200 "telephoto zoom" kit -- small sensor, with a lens that gives equivalent of up to 300mm telephoto -- in Disney terms, perfect for the Safari.
Then a $400 "RX100" type system.. 1" sensor, perfect zoom range for walk around.
Then they introduce a $500 APS-C sized sensor with a 35mm 1.8 prime lens -- good for portraits or those Disney dark rides!

So for $1100.... You essentially have an interchangeable lens system -- But no camera body. The phone that is already in your pocket is the camera body.

 

[zackiedawg]

I'm not looking for a solution like this myself, as I don't even use a smartphone, however my guess is that this would be most desirable at least to me when used in untethered form. By holding the lens camera in one hand and the smartphone in the other, it separates the screen from the camera usefully for getting at all kinds of creative or different angles. It lets one also leave the camera lens on a ledge, fence, shelf, etc and still take photos from 30-40 feet away via wifi...think everything from group self portraits to birders sticking the lens near a feeder outside and viewing/focusing/shooting from inside. And yes, even the upskirters will probably embrace it for their illegal activities. But there are some very interesting ideas I can see this being used for - essentially getting an RX100 camera in a palmable device and a separate LCD to view it with. Around corner shooting, sticking it through holes in fences, leaving it on ledges, holding it high overhead, and so on. The shutter can be triggered on the device itself or on the smartphone - also useful if one wants to use one in each hand and can't conveniently access the touch screen on the smart phone...the hand wrapped around the lens can still trigger the shutter.

 

[havoc315]

I'm not looking for a solution like this myself, as I don't even use a smartphone, however my guess is that this would be most desirable at least to me when used in untethered form. By holding the lens camera in one hand and the smartphone in the other, it separates the screen from the camera usefully for getting at all kinds of creative or different angles. It lets one also leave the camera lens on a ledge, fence, shelf, etc and still take photos from 30-40 feet away via wifi...think everything from group self portraits to birders sticking the lens near a feeder outside and viewing/focusing/shooting from inside. And yes, even the upskirters will probably embrace it for their illegal activities. But there are some very interesting ideas I can see this being used for - essentially getting an RX100 camera in a palmable device and a separate LCD to view it with. Around corner shooting, sticking it through holes in fences, leaving it on ledges, holding it high overhead, and so on. The shutter can be triggered on the device itself or on the smartphone - also useful if one wants to use one in each hand and can't conveniently access the touch screen on the smart phone...the hand wrapped around the lens can still trigger the shutter.

Excellent points. It's the ultimate camera for 'selfies'

Sitting on a ledge or shelf, it can particularly have some interesting video uses.

 

[HPS3]

With regular usage of phone/text/data my phone barely makes it through a day on a full charge. How much battery life and photos can one expect to get. I'm using a Galaxy S3 and the battery life doesn't last too long if I'm using wifi.

I also hope it's a lot better than the wifi connection if the Nex series.

 

[wiigirl]

Thats pretty cool...

 

[havoc315]

With regular usage of phone/text/data my phone barely makes it through a day on a full charge. How much battery life and photos can one expect to get. I'm using a Galaxy S3 and the battery life doesn't last too long if I'm using wifi.

I also hope it's a lot better than the wifi connection if the Nex series.

Good question. The lens/camera itself has its own battery.... so the question is how much extra drain..... At a minimum, it should be comparable to using the phone's internal camera.
Question is how much more than that.

 

[Animagic!]

I want it!!

It's definitely an expensive toy but I find it conceptually interesting. The idea of an entire camera (minus the LCD) fitting inside the "lens" could be handy. I also like the idea of moving the lens around independently of the phone so it's not "attached."

However, although I love the f/1.8 aperture and understand the necessity of the lens' size I find the Carl Zeiss lens too large to be a practical everyday carry item. I could see it being handy in a girl's purse but it's too big to keep in your jean's pocket all the time.

Cool concept though. Props to Sony.