“The innovative Sony QX100 packs a 1-inch sensor and Zeiss lens into a compact lens-shaped form-factor. It delivers image quality that rivals high-end cameras, but not without some operational hurdles.”
- Excellent image quality
- Great low-light performance
- Simple to set up and use
- Flexibility allows for creative shooting
- Live-view stream lags
- Slow autofocus
- Limited shooting options
- Connecting times, shutter lags are long
[Update on 2/3/2014: Sony has released the firmware update mentioned in the review. We will be updating our QX100 unit and update the review accordingly.]
“Turn your smartphone into a DSLR-caliber camera.” That’s essentially Sony’s promise for the Cyber-shot QX100, a new category of point-and-shoot cameras it categorizes as “
The QX100 uses components from one of Sony’s best compact cameras to achieve that high image quality. But without the rest of the camera, can this
Features and design
The QX100 is roughly the same shape, size, and weight of a small interchangeable lens for a mirrorless camera. If you didn’t know it was a self-contained camera, you would have guessed it was an ordinary lens. At 3.2 ounces, it’s fairly lightweight, but the weight and dimensions don’t make the camera easy to pocket, creating a noticeable bulge (ahem) even in our winter jacket.
Inside the camera is a 1-inch, 20.9-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and Bionz image processor. For a point-and-shoot, a 1-inch sensor is huge, so the QX100 is packing a heavy arsenal that’s designed to capture impressive image quality. The lens is a 3.6x Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* optical zoom with a lens construction of seven elements in six groups. It also has Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, and an aperture range of f/1.8-4.9. Of course, there’s Wi-Fi and NFC onboard for pairing the camera with a
Despite the easy setup, the wireless connection isn’t always stable.
These imaging components are similar to those in the highly lauded Cyber-Shot RX100 II compact, one of our favorites. You could say Sony took all the imaging guts out of the RX100 II and put them inside a little canister, but performance-wise the RX100 II is still the super shooter, as the QX100 doesn’t have all the features and performance of a regular camera. We don’t think Sony’s intention was to give the QX100 the same caliber performance as the RX100 II; it’s supposed to be seen as an upgrade to a
The QX100’s minimalist design means you won’t find the usual buttons, dials, display, or built-in flash. On the top is a small power button near the stereo microphone, and the N-mark where you would tap against another device’s N-mark to enable
On the front is the Zeiss lens that extends out when turned on. There’s also a control ring around the lens that lets you operate zoom or manual focus. On the back is the battery compartment; the SSID/password for Wi-Fi pairing is listed on the inside of the battery door. The
The QX100’s attachment arms will fit most smartphones, even ones with larger screens. We clamped it onto an iPhone 5S and Sony Xperia Z1S with ease. But as phone makers continue to churn out even larger screens, there is a limit to what the QX100 can accommodate; you can forget about tablets like iPads. We just happened to have a Nokia Lumia 1520 next to us, and its 6-inch screen form-factor was too big for the QX100 to attach onto; of course, there’s no support for Windows 8 so we couldn’t use the camera with the 1520 anyway. But if you’re a “phablet” user, know that one size does not fit all. You can still use the QX100 detached, however. (Sony in Japan is releasing a new accessory that would accommodate larger devices, but so far Sony U.S. hasn’t mentioned whether it’ll bring it stateside.)
Smartphones are about convenience, but the QX100’s slow performance defeats this instant gratification.
The camera can technically be used independently without a
If you want the QX100’s full 20.9-megapixel images, you’ll need to have a memory card in it. You can choose to have images saved to the
What’s in the box
The QX100 comes in a round container that also includes the rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Micro USB cable, wrist strap,
Performance and use
For our review, we paired the QX100 with both an iPhone 5S and Sony Xperia Z1S, as well as older iPad 2. The QX100 only pairs via Wi-Fi, so the wireless performance is the same regardless of whether you attach it to a phone or use it separately. The first time you enable pairing, you’ll need to create a direct Wi-Fi connection between the two by locating the device’s SSID in your phone’s Wi-Fi settings and entering the password. Once that’s done, open the PlayMemories Mobile app (you’ll need to download it if you don’t have it installed already) and, after a few seconds (sometimes it can feel like an eternity), a live-view image should appear along with camera controls. It’s a bit of legwork at first, but subsequently the app should remember the camera, so you don’t have to reenter the information.
Setting up the Android-based Xperia, however, was painless: We tapped the N-mark of the QX100 to the N-mark on the back of the
Despite the easy setup, the wireless connection isn’t always stable. Whether it was the iPhone, iPad, or Xperia, we often encountered lag times in the live-view stream, where the image would just stall before it could catch up. It’s not an issue when panning slowly or shooting still life, but moving around quickly will cause some hiccups in the stream. This was particularly frustrating when we tried to shoot movies, as the live-view would freeze up as we were filming – sometimes for as long as five seconds, if not more.
As mentioned, the time it takes for the camera to get connected to the phone can be painfully slow. Smartphones are about convenience, and the appeal they offer casual photographers is the ability to capture the moment when it happens. The QX100, therefore, defeats this instant gratification, so don’t bother using it if you’re trying to photograph a fleeting moment. After taking a picture, the camera and app take a while to process the photo, particularly if you’re saving two images, so expect some waiting time in-between shots (action shots aren’t this camera’s forte). Also, expect some delay when you adjust settings, like changing exposure compensation. Because you’re technically sending an instruction from one device to another, there’s a short buffering time before you see a change take place, as opposed to
The Xperia Z1S is a shiny, slim
To describe it in a few words, the picture quality is absolutely stunning.
Operating the camera is a breeze. You can take a snapshot using the shutter button or zoom toggle on the camera (or the control ring around the lens), or use the same buttons on the touchscreen via the app. You can touch to focus, or touch to focus and snap the photo. The camera is essentially an automatic point-and-shoot, but you can make some adjustments in Program and Aperture Priority modes, such as the exposure compensation, white balance, and aperture, but it’s limited. Again, once Sony rolls out the firmware update, you’ll have more control over the shutter speed in a new Shutter Priority mode and ISO. If we had to complain about another thing, it would be the short zoom, which was an issue we had with the RX100 II. It’s also missing any creative modes or filters that would appeal to the intended user.
With the intricacies out of the way, let’s talk about the QX100’s biggest draw: image quality. To describe it in a few words, it’s absolutely stunning. The iPhone 5S and Xperia Z1S have excellent onboard cameras that take very good photos, but they can’t compete with what the QX100 pumps out. Its cousin, the RX100 II, is one of our favorite compact cameras that take beautiful photos – photos with extremely accurate colors and great levels of details. Being that the QX100 shares the same parts, we were pleased that the lens camera captured similar-quality photos. The QX100 did a great job with saturation and details in highlights, shadows, and midtones. In a comparison shot of a street scene on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the Xperia’s photo, while fine, didn’t show the level of detail the QX100 captured (despite having a smaller sensor, the iPhone did better than the Xperia in many of our shots). With an f/1.8 aperture, we were able to shoot close-up images with nice bokeh blurring, but that’s only available at the widest angle. Unlike the RX100 II, however, the autofocus system isn’t speedy; it’ll take a second or two for the camera to lock something into focus.
Where the QX100 really shines is in low-light: In a shot of the Empire State Building at night, the QX100 managed to capture a nice shot with good colors and details, and minimal, uniform noise. The only issue we encountered was in extremely limited light.
Just for kicks, we compared the QX100 with a Canon EOS 7D DSLR by taking a low-light photo of the Manhattan skyline. Surprisingly, the QX100 produced a more pleasing image than the 7D, although we should point out that we didn’t play with the settings on the DSLR. After some fiddling, we were able to grab a great photo with the 7D. But here’s to proving Sony’s point: The QX100 is capable of achieving high-quality DSLR-like images without trying. You can get a far better photo with a DSLR, of course, but that’s if you know what you’re doing (using the automatic setting isn’t going to do it); with the QX100, there’s no thinking involved to get great image quality.
An upcoming Sony firmware update will add shutter priority mode for selecting shutter speed, increase the ISO to 12,800 from the current max of 3,200, and push video capture up to Full HD 1080/30p (1920 x 1080). The update was not yet available during testing, but we will update this review should there be significant improvements.
Conclusion
The QX100 definitely qualifies as an innovative product. What’s amazing is that it delivers on image quality in a unique form-factor, and has lots of flexibility in how you can use it to take creative shots. It’s easy to use, and it will give
The question, though, is how much you are willing to put up to get that extra edge. At $500, the QX100 isn’t cheap, and it also suffers from a lot of issues such as slow autofocusing, limited functionality, long connection times, and streaming lag. It’s not as effortless as Sony’s promotional video suggests. Plus, it’s bulky enough to make you wonder if you should just carry a regular camera in addition to your
Consider this: For $200 more, you can get the Cyber-shot RX100 II. It’s a faster camera with more features and greater performance, and you get the same specs (and more) as the QX100. It also has Wi-Fi and
The QX100 is a cool, fun (yet frustrating) gadget that will appeal to many, but not all (although Sony said the QX100 sold like hot cakes over the holiday season in 2013). There’s a less expensive model, the QX10, which uses lesser parts, but won’t deliver the high-quality images like the QX100. If you’re willing to overlook the problem areas for a
Highs
- Excellent image quality
- Great low-light performance
- Simple to set up and use
- Flexibility allows for creative shooting
Lows
- Live-view stream lags
- Slow autofocus
- Limited shooting options
- Connecting times, shutter lags are long
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