Hasta La Gadget!

While the idea sounds great on paper, Sony’s high-end clip-on smartphone camera isn’t worth the money.

It was just last year that Sony unveiled a pair of camera lenses called the QX10 and QX100. What made these lenses unique was the fact that they were essentially cameras, albeit in a rather odd design which was on purpose as it was meant to be clipped onto smartphone (and tablets apparently). It was essentially a supercharged version of those clip-on lenses we have seen in the past. Well the good news is that if you own either pair and were hoping that Sony might introduce some updates to it, you will be pleased to learn that Sony has since pushed the 2.0 firmware out for the QX10 and the QX100, bringing about some changes and improvements in the process.

For starters, both lenses will now be able to record video a Full HD at 30fps. Prior to this, it was only able to record 1440×1080, but with the new 16:9 format, it should allow it to match up with devices like smartphones, HDTVs, and 16:9 monitors. Sony also increased the ISO range of both lenses, with the QX10 reaching 3200 while the QX100 will go up to 12800. The QX100 also gets an added feature of being able to choose a shutter speed priority mode. If you own either the QX10 or QX100 (or maybe even both), just plug it to your computer, download the update and you’re good to go!

Sony QX10/QX100 Receives Firmware 2.0 Update original content from Ubergizmo.

The QX100 is a freaking bizarre camera. It looks like just a big lens barrel, but it’s actually a whole camera. No matter what you think of its odd appearance, though, on the inside, its guts are indisputably glorious. Here’s a look at what’s inside.

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At Sony’s IFA press event, reps handed out samples of the company’s $250 lens cameras to everyone in the room. We really enjoyed our time with the Cyber-shot QX10, but that model’s more powerful sibling, the QX100, promised even better performance, albeit in a substantially larger package. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit difficult to come by, and our loaner missed the deadline for a review. We’ll examine it here instead.

At $500, the QX100 is an incredibly pricey smartphone accessory, but when you consider that the cam features the same optics as Sony’s $750 RX100 Mark II, that ambitious sticker price is a bit easier to swallow. Still, for the QX’s target demographic — smartphone users looking to boost the quality of Twitpics and Instagram photos — bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.

Both the QX10 and QX100 function in much the same way, but internally, they’re entirely unique. The base model includes a 1/2.3-inch sensor and a 10x optical zoom lens, while the more expensive version, available for twice the price, features a much larger 1-inch sensor and a higher-quality 3.6x Carl Zeiss lens. It’s essentially an RX100 Mark II without the LCD, and with limited advanced control. Instead, like with the QX10, you use a connected smartphone as your viewfinder. Unlike with that flavor, however, you now have the ability to tweak the aperture (down to f/1.8). On paper, it’s a much better fit for advanced photographers, and the image quality is good indeed, but ultimately this is an accessory for your smartphone. Keeping that in mind, let’s see how it performs.%Gallery-slideshow98477%

Filed under: Cameras, Mobile, Sony

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