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Sony updates 'lens camera' lineup with QX30, interchangeable-lens QX1
At last year's IFA in Berlin, Sony announced its first two "lens cameras," a pair of point-and-shoot cams that clip onto your smartphone. You use your phone's display to control the camera, and while you can technically fire off shots using the integrated zoom toggle and shutter release, there's no built-in LCD. Given the limitations, they're not for everyone, but there's apparently been enough interest for Sony to keep the QX line going, with a 30x zoom version and a unique interchangeable-lens model that accepts any E-mount optic now making their debut here in Berlin.
Sony's new snap-on camera will take E-mount lenses, cost $399
Remember Sony's newly leaked smartphone-mountable camera? The one that'll let mobile photographers snap their existing E-mount lenses onto it so they can really mix up their shots? Sony's reportedly gearing up to unveil the thing -- also known as the QX1 -- at its press conference at IFA on Wednesday, but it's already made another appearance on the company's online store. That means it's time to dig into some of the juicier details, like what it packs inside the barrel (a 20.1-megapixel APS-C sensor and when you can nab one (it should start shipping on October 9). The QX1's product page mentions that the curious camera will cost $399, but the thing to remember is that the price tag only covers the camera itself -- there's still no sign of the bundle that's expected to include a 16-50mm lens. As always, you may want to take some of these tidbits with a grain of salt. After all, it's not too likely that technical particulars will change too much, but the page clearly hasn't been completely fleshed and we wouldn't be surprised if there was a little leeway with that ship date. [Thanks, tipster!]
Sony's next smartphone-mounted camera will let you change lenses
If you're looking to rule Instagram, Sony's about to give you the ultimate smartphone weapon, judging by a leak from Xperia Blog. The site posted several purported images of the Sony ILCE-QX1, a lens camera system that'd work with interchangeable E-Mount style lenses. Sony's niche-oriented lens camera lineup is currently fixed-lens only with the QX10 and QX100 models. The QX100, for instance, is based on Sony's fantastic RX100 camera and priced for serious smartphone photographers at $500. Assuming the rumor pans out, the QX1 would have an even larger APS-C (26.7mm) sensor and take compatible E-Mount lenses. There are no other specs, but as before, we'd expect that your smartphone will control the QX1 and capture images from it, with a mount that adapts to a wide variety of handsets. It'll also likely have a built-in memory card. There's no pricing yet, but as a rule, interchangeable-lens cameras are usually more expensive than fixed-lens models. Then again, Sony tends to break that rule. Update: Oh, and yes, that phone in the images appears to be the alleged Xperia Z3 that we spotted back in July.
