Hasta La Gadget!

Yep, the rumors were spot-on. At the 2013 IFA trade show, Sony revealed two of the most unusual cameras you’ll ever see. The Cyber-shot QX10 and QX100 Lens Cameras pack all of the necessary hardware inside a tiny cylinder, save for a viewfinder. Why? Because the two point-and-shoot cameras are meant as an upgrade for people who use their smartphone as their main camera. Now their phones can just be viewfinders, or even ditched altogether.

Remember the WVIL camera concept that appeared in 2011? The QX cameras are a lot like that. As Sony Alpha Rumors leaked a couple of weeks ago, the QX100 (seen above) has the same lens and 20.2mp CMOS sensor as the beloved RX100 Mark II camera while the QX10 (below) shares the lens and 18.2mp sensor of the WX150 point-and-shoot. Both cameras have their own battery and a slot for a microSD, microSDHC or a Memory Stick Micro card.

As you’ll see in the pictures and videos below, Sony is pushing these cameras together with the newly introduced Xperia Z Android smartphone. In fact, Sony is selling a plastic case that makes it easier to attach the QX cameras to the Xperia Z. Makes you wonder about the other Sony device in the images eh? It’s safe to assume that both the Xperia Z and the mystery device support NFC, which is the easiest way to pair the cameras to a phone. But the QX cameras can also be used with other Android phones and even iOS devices via the Sony PlayMemories app and a Wi-Fi connection.

To be clear, both QX cameras can be used on their own, but if you can afford either camera chances are you also have an Android or iOS device. If so, you can use the cameras’ clamp to attach them to your mobile device. Then get the PlayMemories app so you can use your device as a viewfinder, like so:

But as was imagined with the WVIL, you can keep a QX camera detached from your mobile device to make it easier to shoot from odd heights or angles…

…or to include yourself in the shot:

Then you can view, save or upload the photo or video on your mobile device using Sony’s app. The cameras will stay connected to your mobile device up to about 30ft., but the connection will likely be cut off if there are walls or other thick objects between the two devices.

Here’s Sony with more about the QX100 and QX10:

The cameras seem like great ideas for casual users, but they do have a couple of tradeoffs, most notably the way they connect to a smartphone. If you’re fortunate enough to have an NFC enabled phone, connecting to the lens cam is as easy as touching the two devices together, which automatically authenticates and connects them via Wi-Fi. However, if you don’t, you’ll have to manually connect them via Wi-Fi. It’s not clear if this creates an AdHoc Wi-Fi network between the phone and the lens, or if it requires a Wi-Fi infrastructure connection to be available. I’d assume it’s the former, which would mean your smartphone will be temporarily disconnected from any live Wi-Fi connections while connected to the camera. Then there’s the process of taking pictures with the camera. I have not tested either of the cameras, but David Pierce of The Verge did. Skip to about 0:40 in The Verge’s hands-on video below and you’ll see what I’m talking about:

Not exactly smooth, eh? Then again, unless you have the Nokia 1020 the QX cameras are significantly better than your phone’s cameras. Ultimately that should be their main selling point. You can pre-order both the QX100 and QX10 from Sony’s online store or from Amazon. The QX100 costs $500 (USD) (its big brother, the RX100 costs $750) while the QX10 costs $250 (the WX150 costs $400).

Nikon has rolled out a new digital camera that slots into its Coolpix range. The new camera is called the Nikon Coolpix P7800 and it offers manual settings among other things. The camera promises a number of advanced shooting functions in a fixed lens camera. One of the biggest features of the camera is its […]

Say hello to the Coolpix P7800. It’s an incremental bump, so we wouldn’t necessarily recommend ditching last year’s P7700 to upgrade, but if you’ve been holding out, there’s a bit more value here. Cosmetically, the most significant addition is a 921k-dot EVF, which Nikon reps feel justifies a jump in price, from $500 to $550. You’ll also find a 1/1.7-inch 12.2MP BSI CMOS sensor, 7.1x 28-200mm f/2-4 lens and a 3-inch 921k-dot RGBW articulating LCD, which, like on the D7100, yields better clarity and contrast. There’s 1080/30p video capture, an 8 fps continuous shooting mode (but only for six consecutive JPG frames) and an ISO range of 80-3200. Surprisingly, there’s no built-in WiFi, but you can add on the $60 WU-1a for wireless connectivity. There’s also a full-size hot shoe, for attaching an external strobe and the like.

One of this flagship point-and-shoot’s most attractive features for advanced shooters is the manual control. There’s a mode dial up top near the shutter release, with access to manual and aperture-priority modes, for example, along with a dedicated exposure-compensation dial, giving you direct access to three stops over and under the metered values. There’s also a built-in three-stop neutral-density filter, netting a bit more flexibility for video shooters. Absent this time around, however, is the quick access dial. It’s been replaced with a dedicated button and a corresponding on-screen menu, which some photographers might even find more efficient. Nikon’s planning to ship the Coolpix P7800 later this month, with an MSRP of $550.

Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

Comments

A couple of years ago we looked at a couple of film cameras that you had to assemble before you could use them. The Bigshot camera is just like those cameras, except it’s digital and has a companion website that includes a lot of related information. The idea is to introduce people of all ages not just to photography but to technology in general.

The Bigshot digital camera kit comes with all of the parts and tools you need to build and process your photos, including a screwdriver, a micro-USB to USB cable and a pair of 3D glasses. That’s right, once you’ve put it together you can use the camera to take 3D images as well as panoramic shots to go with the normal mode. The camera has an internal battery that you recharge using the cable, but it also has a dynamo and a hand crank so you can power it yourself. It also has a free software for processing and sharing images.

But as I said earlier, the kit is only half of the Bigshot’s appeal. Its website has dozens of pages of helpful and easy to understand articles related to the camera. There are pages explaining the science behind the parts, an assembly guide and more. The articles make it a lot easier and fun to learn while you assemble and use the camera.

You can order the Bigshot camera from its official website for $89 (USD). I wish Ben Heck or some other modder would release a similar kit for a gaming device.

[via NOTCOT]

This week the team at Sony have revealed two new “Lens-Type Cameras”, the larger of these being the Cyber-shot QX100. This device comes with a 1-inch 20.2-megapixel Exmor RCMOS sensor identical to that of the sensor found in the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II, delivering “exceptionally detailed” shots in all manner of lighting conditions – day […]