Sony QX100 Lens Style Camera, I so wanted to love this but it is flawed

January 21, 2020

Sony QX100 Lens Style Camera, I so wanted to love this but it is flawed

Compact camera’s have had the same rectangular shape for decades now. The qx100 arrives in a cylindrical box; and inside is a cylindrical camera (and a usb cable and tiny manual – there isn’t a usb power charger. ) out of the box the qx100 certainly gets attention; everyone who has seen it has played a guessing game with me to its identity and purpose. Its fair to say few people that played along with me guessed it was a camera those that did were helped by the carl zeiss lens square and markings on the lens front. From looking and picking it up it no one guessed it was a quality camera hiding inside the cheap plastic finish. None of the contestants were impressed about how long it took to frame and take a photo after pressing the fiddly and unresponsive power button. Those who stayed to look at the photos were more than impressed. The issue is the camera uses your phone as its screen and optionally as the shutter release. The main design feature of the lens are two feet that pop out and clip to your camera’ sadly there isn’t a standard mark on the camera to show you orientation it would be nice to have a gunsight line for landscape and portrait. Inside the fat round black body of the lens you can insert a micro sd memory card; as well as the battery that powers the camera.

The image quality of the qx100 is fantastic. Compare it to a phone or cheap point and shot and the difference is staggering. Easily 5 stars for the image quality. I spent a bit of extra money buying a back cover for my samsung galaxy note 3, and butchering a qx100/xperia mount so that the qx100 attaches nicely to the phone (you just need a 60mm hole cutter, scissors and some decent double sided tape). Accessories are few and far between, but it is very easy to make a mount to fit your phone. the software provided by sony to run the qx100 is adequate at best, and it does have some flaws. Mainly the connection between the device and the phone. The connection does drop too often, and you either have to reset the phone, and camera or both. I shot 266 images yesterday and had to reconnect 3 times. ]

Context: i am a hobbyist photographer, my main cameras are the canon 5d mark ii and the sony nex-7. I am using this product with an apple iphone 4si bought this in the hope that i would have a replacement camera for the sony nex-7 which i would be able to carry with me on a daily basis. I received a camera that i can indeed carry around on a daily basis, but not one which is a replacement at this stage. The good stuff:the camera is light and easy to use. You switch it on, you connect your phone to it (in my case via wifi), and then open up the app and you’re away. I enjoy holding the camera in one hand and controlling it via my device in the other hand, it allows for some amazingly creative viewpoints. I can place the camera in locations where my other cameras simply cannot fit, or at angles where i would never normally be able to look through a viewfinder. I can also take photos around me while it simply looks like i’m sending a text message so the potential for covert street photography is excellent. You can save an original or (as i would recommend) a thumbnail copy of the images taken to your device as well as the storage card you place into the camera. This means you are quickly able to edit and publish the images to your favourite social network sites on the go.

brief the qx100 is a very portable camera to be used in conjunction with your smartphone, it has a large 1′ sensor and a carl zeiss f1. 8 lens which delivers high quality photos to your smartphone; this allows you to share quality photos that you wouldn’t get from your smartphone to sites such as facebook or instagram on the go. box contents & optional purchases ► inside the box: qx100 camera | smartphone attachment | micro usb lead | battery | wrist strap | instructions & documents. I never expect a case with cameras, but for this particular product, for what it is i believe it should have come with a little carry pouch to help keep it that little bit safer. ► optional: microsdhc memory card* | spare battery (np-bn1) |carrying case (lcs-bbl). *you only need a memory card if you wish to save the full resolution photo to the camera, if you don’t have one inserted, it will just save the photo at a lower resolution (2mp) to the connected phone. set-up the first and most important thing you need to do is install the ‘playmemories mobile’ app which is located within the ‘play store’/’app store’, without this you wont be able to use the qx100 to it’s ‘full’ potential. Next, if you’re wanting to attach the qx100 to your smartphone, you will need to grab the smartphone attachment and equip it onto the qx100, though if you’re connecting it via nfc, follow the nfc steps before fully attaching it onto your smartphone. Alternatively, you can put the qx100 onto a tripod or you can simply hold it. Once done, follow one of these steps:► smartphones with the nfc feature:(1) turn on the qx100.

This camera was a little tricky to set up until i remembered the guy in the shop telling me i had to download a program to my smart phone , play memories downloaded and it all good its a fun toy it gives good quality rendition but on the downside you cant put a uv filter on it and most pro photographers love to protect our lenses after all they are generally the most expensive part first impressions on what i paid for it absolutely cracking if i brought it from the sony shop direct it would have cost me 100% more yup i got it at half price for that price its worth the gamble. As for the lens itself there is no chance of accidental activation the on off button is recessed so that is the best thing the t/w is easy to use and the picture take button is near. Ok i had a couple of days to play with it1. If the memory card isnt in the right way check with your smart device it will tell you or if you find it wont do anything check the memory card. Im still concerned with protecting it there can be no uv filterbut it still brings a smile to my face.

Great camera for the price – used for high level remote shutter photography.

This is a rx100 sensor in a small package, and amazingly useful one. Being able to hold you phone and lens separate makes for some seriously creative photography. You can get low to the ground or lift the lens above a crowd. The video is now 1920×1080 @30fps, and because of the high quality ziess optics is a joy. Also its in mp4 which means i can shoot and edit with the ipad in a single workflow, making it a great fun camera for a holiday trip. I am really impressed, all i want now is some creative controls in movie mode and i would give this 6 stars. Your are getting a large sensor and high quality lens, normally reserved for top end £500+ pro-compacts for much less. I love it, it has opened all kind of untapped creative doors.

Key specs for Sony QX100 Lens Style Camera for Smartphones and Tablets – Black (20.2MP, Carl Zeiss F1.8 Lens, 3.6x Optical Zoom):

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A wireless lens for your smartphone with a 20.2MP Exmor R CMOS sensor and Carl Zeiss optics
20.2MP 1.0-type Exmor R CMOS sensor
Sharp, bright F1.8 ZEISS Sonnar T* lens
Easy smartphone sharing via NFC One-touch

Comments from buyers

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Zeiss lens camera.

Nearly Superb

funky

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It connects seamlessly with my ipad and iphone, both of which are running ios 7, and produces some really beautiful shots. It’s like having my slr with me wherever i go.

Excelent quality photographes.

I bought this item because i love gadgets and this is a high end but of gadget kit. When it works its fantastic. But when it doesn’t then we’ll its useless. When it works it takes great pictures, especially indoors. Wonderful colour saturation, clean crisp and sharp. Outdoors it’s good but struggles with high contrast situations. It’s the wifi connection to the phone or tablet with kept getting dropped on my unit. It would connect and work for a random amount of time then drop the signal suddenly. The joining process takes 30 seconds or more to connect the two items, so you can imagine how frustrating it is to be mid photo session then have to reconnect your view finder (randomly).

Connection is simple, only works with the one app of course, so you’ll need to import later for things like vine or instagram. Images are comparable to a good point and shoot camera, but the controls and ergonomics aren’t. It’s too unwieldy to leave on the phone all day, but then it’s not on the phone when you could use the zoom, and then the moment’s gone. Compared to this, cheaper add-ons like the olloclip offer similar creative options, that you’re simply more likely to take with you and use. Unless you’re specifically looking for higher quality images, i would take a look at that.

As soon as this product was announced by sony i knew i had to get my hands on it. I love sharing my photos on instagram, but as a dslr owner the limits of my smartphone have always frustrated me. Why would i want to take my most precious memories and keep them in the form of a relatively low quality smartphone photo?. With the qx100, sony have allowed you to arm your phone with a very powerful little lens camera that is sure to produce impressive results. Though i was intitally alarmed by the lack of instructions, set up is very easy. You attach the lens camera to your smartphone via a clamp – with my iphone 5 i don’t even need to take the case off to do this and the lens is fixed on securely. The two devices connect via wifi. You operate the camera via sony’s playmemories app (you can take photos on it manually too, but obviously the phone provides the viewfinder). What i like about it:- image quality is absolutely fantastic, even in poor light. Though this is in no way a replacement for dslr type cameras, it can produce similar results in certain shooting situations.

Yes, it’s a very good camera. Although camera 360 have brought out a feature within their app that will work with the sony, this is not a point and shoot. Can be used to photograph in unusual spaces – leave it in a garden pot etc. But don’t think this will work quickly. It is fiddly and you’ll miss any action scene by the time you’ve got it working. It uses its own wifi which takes a while to load.

Very good quality and condition.

This camera is brilliant quality and takes high quality photos.

This lens camera has stopped me buying smart phones for photo capabilities. In fact does not work with nokia 1020 windows os phone. Conversly works perfectly with htc one or sony ultra. The photos taken are unbeatable. By seperating phone from the lens endless interesting viewing positions can be found. I have bees nesting below gutter in a hole eighteen feet up. I just have to mount the lens camera on pole and snap away. Just one chritisism is lens has to be manually turned on by pressing button before conecting to phone for viewing. I recomend this qx 100 and if rich would buy two.

There is great potential in you. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this camera that isn’t helped by the issues i had connecting it to, and running it on my iphone 5 using wifi. It comes very well presented and it is solid and very well built, as i have come to expect from sony. I have a couple of other sony products currently including my treasured rx100 compact. Inside the box you get instructions, connection lead, battery and the attachment to hook it up to your smartphone. As mentioned in another review there is an optional case for this that looks lovely. You tend not to get a case with a camera but considering the size of this thing i would have thought i case would be essential and i feel it should have been included. Once all setup there are two ways you can use this for photos.

I saw this and could not wait to get my hands on it. I could not be happier with it. This product has had some bad reviews online because there is no manual setting options. Thing is, i know nothing about photography, but can still take amazing photos.My one issue with this is the camera app you are forced to use – no flexibility for creativeness and experimentation. However, camera360 will imminently be launching support for this. I forsee many years of satisfaction with this handy springboard into photography.

A great compact camera lens that has added a more ‘professional style’ to my family snaps. Great product and delivered on time.

This is the most frustrating product i have ever reviewed. I totally loved the concept from the beginning and was ready to love this. I was even prepared to buy one myself before being offered one for review. Reviewing it was very frustrating. Let me start off by saying this is a really capable camera. Low light performance is good. Focusing is fast and accurate. The lens allows a good level of zoom and it is sharp as tack. For a compact camera it is very impressive.

I have read a lot of negative reviews about this item but have so far found it to be excellent. I use it with a iphone 5s, mainly for the zoom capability and i am very impressed with the images. The software seems to work ok, as does the wifi. The only downside so far is charging it, it’s hard work because the usb cable is so short.