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New Sony QX 'Lens-Style' Cameras Revealed in Leaked Press Release, Will Retail for $250-$500
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It's a very smart move, Sony have heard the death knell of the 'point and click' camera at the hands of the smartphone and realised that a connected camera which will go with you as you upgrade your phone would be a very disruptive product.
Excellent!
Excellent!
This is the future and I want it now! What a great idea and if it takes HD clear usable video they will mop up in the journalism sphere! Apple take a look at the future!
This is a pretty confusing article. What is the purpose of the bracket? Is it just to hold the lens on the phone when you don't want to hold it in your other hand? Both cameras seem to include a LCD display, so what's the purpose of the "connection" to the phone, especially since the camera has its own SD slot? Also, where the article says the more-expensive model "supports manual use" it seems to be referring to focus and aperture, but this isn't clear.
Focal length has nothing to do with low light. Aperture determines the amount of light reaching the sensor. The iPhone 5 has f/2.4 aperture lens which will be better at low light then a f/3.3.
The longer focal length will however help with more bokeh.
I don't see either camera having an LCD display? That's a Sony smartphone they're connecting it to in the video. The purpose of the connection to the phone is to give you a viewfinder, and yeah, so that you don't have to hold two things.
The spec sheet in the linked article says both cameras feature LCD displays. You're apparently supposed to be able to use the cameras apart from a phone, so it needs its own display. I don't see where it goes, considering the form factor, but it's supposed to be there. Must be very small.
As nearly as I can tell, this is a gimmick product. In the end it seems to be nothing more than a camera shaped like a lens that connects to an external display. It isn't even clear if you can save photos to the phone.
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Yeah, that was just a mistake.
That's what you could have said about iPod.
What's to say they won't get cheaper and better every year?
Err, ah, mostly true... except that the focal length differences may imply a larger sensor in the QX100, and that of course would imply improved low light capability.
From elsewhere: The QX100 has a 1-inch 20.2-megapixel Exmor R sensor and a f/1.8-4.9 Carl Zeiss lens.
The QX10 has a a 1/2.3-inch 18-megapixel sensor paired with an f/3.3-5.9 lens.
People keep expecting full size camera performance from the pinky nail sized camera on their phone. I've long joked about the fact that Apple should just put a big detachable lens on the phone. I didn't think someone would actually do it. Kind of.
For this to have widespread acceptance, you have to come up with a common "problem" that this form factor solves. What does this solve? Picky photographers will not accept the compromise in PQ just for slightly increased portability. Non-picky photographers would rather just use the smartphone camera because it's "good enough" without carrying around a second item that doesn't appear pocketable.
The iPod was entirely practical. It wasn't just the first form factor of its kind. It solved a problem - how you can carry around your entire music collection instead of having to plan ahead and downloading the limited number of songs you could listen to. All in a very pocketable form factor approximately the size of a cigarette pack. Every aspect of the iPod was designed to make your life simpler.
The max f-openings for the two lens were specified in the MR article and in the linked article, so nothing needed to be inferred about that particular aspect of the cameras.
Well, to be fair it's just a wireless camera lens. They have existed for years,
but this is a nice implementation.
You wouldn't even need a live HD video stream. You could have a low res stream as a viewfinder and Copy the HD across as you need it ( in the background )
Given it has a mounting point you could do some great Pole shots etc. Guess we'll find out more tomorrow.
Sony will be releasing a case for iPhone 5 (which I presume will work with 5S also), negating the need for bracket attachment.
Lack of RAW and 1080p60 video recording would probably upset prosumers, the very market that would embrace these products the most. At the very least, Sony should announce and add RAW support via firmware upgrade.
Sony should offer API for 3rd party developers, to usher in better iOS and OS X apps. Their PlayMemories app, which is presumably the app that would be updated to work with QX lenses, look awful.
I would like to see fixed focal length (prime) lens version, ideally at f/1.4 35mm.
Lack of RAW and 1080p60 video recording would probably upset prosumers, the very market that would embrace these products the most. At the very least, Sony should announce and add RAW support via firmware upgrade.
Sony should offer API for 3rd party developers, to usher in better iOS and OS X apps. Their PlayMemories app, which is presumably the app that would be updated to work with QX lenses, look awful.
I would like to see fixed focal length (prime) lens version, ideally at f/1.4 35mm.
Only if the image sensors are identical or similarly. I assume QX100's 1" image sensor is much more sensitive and therefore show far less noise and artifacts under low light than iPhone 5's 1/3.2" (0.3125") image sensor, even with slower lens. That is of course, assuming accompanying iOS app lets you specify ISO speed and what not.
I wonder if any of you guys have deeper config details on this thing?
My question is... the wifi source is coming from the lens/smartphone, or is it from an actual access point (third device)?
Reason I asked is that lots of times you shoot photos outdoors. Wifi won't be available there...
My question is... the wifi source is coming from the lens/smartphone, or is it from an actual access point (third device)?
Reason I asked is that lots of times you shoot photos outdoors. Wifi won't be available there...
I've certainly been wrong before but this seems like the most retarded idea of all-time to me. Spend 500 bucks on a lens/sensor assembly that's only one phone generation away from sitting in your junk drawer when you could probably buy a 100 buck point and shoot that will take better pics without pounding away on the iPhone screen for day and half to change a friggin' shooting setting.
Sure. Sign me up!
Sure. Sign me up!
Reality check
Wifi isn't an issue. The lens and the phone communicate via bluetooth.
No, the lens does not have a display of it's own. That would be pointless. It is meant to attach to the back of the phone - the phone acting as display and as controller. As it stands now, even good quality camera bodies are little more than a sensor, a computer, display, and controls. It makes some sense to let a smartphone be the computer, display, and controls if the sensor can be embedded on the back of the lens.
people have a point about this product potentially having trouble finding an audience. As you say, enthusiasts won't accept it and non-enthusiasts will live with the phone's built-in camera.
On the other hand, lots of people are buying Sony's RX100 for $700 and loving it. This has the same sensor and very similar lens - and as all photographers in the digital age know, it's all about the sensor and the lens. So if I were someone interested in an RX100, it makes perfect sense to use this instead, with the phone already in your pocket. The lens can just stay in your jacket pocket or whatever when you are not using it.
By the way, phone cameras may seem amazing, but the 1" sensor here is approximately 20 TIMES the surface area. The image quality (to anyone savvy enough to notice) would be a huge improvement, especially when viewing them via some other format than Facebook...
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I don't know any details, but it seems obvious to me that the lens attaches via a phone case that is low-tech and simple to manufacture in any number of sizes and styles. You change phones, and IF you need a different size case for that new phone, you simply buy another from Sony in the size/brand you need. Probably no more than $29. The lens is still fully functional after you change phones, assuming your new phone supports the app and sony makes the case that fits.
Wifi isn't an issue. The lens and the phone communicate via bluetooth.
No, the lens does not have a display of it's own. That would be pointless. It is meant to attach to the back of the phone - the phone acting as display and as controller. As it stands now, even good quality camera bodies are little more than a sensor, a computer, display, and controls. It makes some sense to let a smartphone be the computer, display, and controls if the sensor can be embedded on the back of the lens.
people have a point about this product potentially having trouble finding an audience. As you say, enthusiasts won't accept it and non-enthusiasts will live with the phone's built-in camera.
On the other hand, lots of people are buying Sony's RX100 for $700 and loving it. This has the same sensor and very similar lens - and as all photographers in the digital age know, it's all about the sensor and the lens. So if I were someone interested in an RX100, it makes perfect sense to use this instead, with the phone already in your pocket. The lens can just stay in your jacket pocket or whatever when you are not using it.
By the way, phone cameras may seem amazing, but the 1" sensor here is approximately 20 TIMES the surface area. The image quality (to anyone savvy enough to notice) would be a huge improvement, especially when viewing them via some other format than Facebook...
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I don't know any details, but it seems obvious to me that the lens attaches via a phone case that is low-tech and simple to manufacture in any number of sizes and styles. You change phones, and IF you need a different size case for that new phone, you simply buy another from Sony in the size/brand you need. Probably no more than $29. The lens is still fully functional after you change phones, assuming your new phone supports the app and sony makes the case that fits.
A shorter zoom range permits a greater maximum aperture therefore better low light performance.
You can choose a large zoom range or a fast lens, you can't have both. Not unless you're prepared for it to be very large, very heavy and very expensive e.g. 70-200 2.8 zooms.