I’ve been spotting a lot of my fellow bloggers talking about this Sony device, a camera that is the size of a lens that users can attach and pair with their smartphone and then take pictures that are much clearer than a standard phone camera.  Users would have to download the camera app for their phone in order to use it, as it does not pair with standard phone camera apps.  Bluetooth and/or NFC would also be required.

There are two versions of the camera out at the moment, the QX10 (which many bloggers have been mentioning) and the QX100, modelled after the full-frame point-and-shoot, RX100.  I did get a chance to try the QX10 at a store recently, but they did not have the QX100 for demo.  I would have loved to see the difference between the two and whether the QX100 is really worth the ~$550 Canadian price point (the QX10 is much lower at approximately $250).   Of course, the salesguy at the store recommended the higher model.  He does have a point – the camera is definitely higher grade from the specs available online.  It’s more powerful, based on a 35 mm camera, while the QX10 is a pretty standard point-and-shoot.  It’s just much, much better than what you have on your phone.  Both cameras are also quite convenient, considering how light they are.  However, I DON’T like that you have to use a specific app for it to work.  Why can’t you use the app you like the most?

Another camera I’d love to try the full-frame a7.  The camera was announced recently, and is said to be the world’s smallest full-frame interchangeable lens camera.  It is small – weighs about 474 g and is more or less a hybrid between their NEX and fuller-sized DSLR line.  This is a pricey one.  The guy at the Sony store said that it would be about $1,700+ (more if you get the 7r).  It IS a full-frame camera, after all.  Besides price, another downside is that it uses its own lenses FE (full-frame E-mount.  I assume that these are different from the NEX E-mounts), unless you want to use an adapter, standard A-mount Sony lenses won’t work. I can’t really say much more about this camera, as it is not available in stores yet (however, there are people who have tried it as reviews are now available), so I wasn’t able to try it.  It does look interesting, but at that price, I’d like to see, touch and feel the camera before even considering it for as a wish list item.

Have you had a chance to personally look/touch these cameras?  I would love to hear your thoughts, especially on the QX series.