The Sony Qx10 lens for Smartphones

The coveted Sony Cyber-shot DSC-Qx10 lens, it makes your smartphone, even smarter.  That’s what they say, and that’s what I was super excited to check out.

This is what it looks like on it’s own.  I’m going to walk you through the amazing Sony technology so you know how to use it and see if it’s a fit for your needs.

And no, you don’t have to attach it to your smartphone, you can simply place it on anything and still use it.  Like I did on Brenna’s coffee cup here when we went out for a birthday brunch:

Kinda like a selfie, but if you wanted to hold it, just attach the lens to the screen side of our camera so you can see at least part of yourself before you captured the image.

How does it work?  Well, it connects via Bluetooth to your phone.  First, turn the lens on, then grab your phone and find the wi-fi device to connect.

Then open up the Sony PlayMemories App (download for free).

You will then see what the device is looking at – pointed at yourself or the scenery.

My parents were in town for two weeks, we got to celebrate my birthday and my dad’s birthday which was awesome. I don’t think I’ve celebrated my birthday with them on the day of since I was 17 – that tells you how on the go I’ve been and how long I’ve lived away.  Dang it I want to move back to Granite Bay so bad!  Anyway – this Sony Qx10 lens, is awesome.

So then you can sit appropriately and click the shutter when you want – you can set a self-timer countdown (10 or 2 sec.) or just click it and let it shoot instantly (which is what I do because I am ninja fast and because I’m Asian).  Happy birthday to me!

Then we went on this boat cruise in Canyon Lake and I really got to test it out.  Mr. Wonderful used my Sony NEX-5R (c/o) to show me using it.

Again, you do NOT have to use the lens just on the smartphone. You can place it elsewhere like so:

To get a shot like this (on Superior Auto mode it takes about 3 shots and determines the best lighting):

Yep, Auto mode, what?  Sometimes a professional photographer doesn’t want to think.

Auto mode would also give me this in certain lighting situations:

Backlighting photographers, argh, what do we do, what do we do??!!

Well, we go to program mode, which is sort of like manual mode, only we can just adjust the exposure compensation, similar to what we would see with a light meter.  So no thinking about shutterspeeds, but just toggle it to the right and you can get more exposure.

Ta-da!

Another backlighting example of Mr. Wonderful:

So what’s the point of this thing?  

I’ll tell you what I like about the Sony Qx10 lens:

• For all the times I shoot on my phone, this ups the quality so I can print them.
• The image I snap with it INSTANTLY appears on my phone as a copy so I can share via text, or any social media.
• I got rid of my point-and-shoot, because really, it’s the same thing.
• Different white balance modes, Auto / Daylight / Shade / Cloudy / Florescent White Balance 1 / Florescent White Balance 2
• Has a tripod mount
• I can use it even if my smartphone dies, and if I upgrade my smartphone.
• Also does video!
• If in active, the lens will close and turn off – saving power.

Things to know:

• It uses a mini-SD card which is not included (when you use a mini SD card there’s a normal SD adapter so you can view the images later on your computer and print.
• If your smartphone dies, you can still use the lens (but you won’t see what you are shooting at until later when you download the images)
• If you find it’s not turning on but you swear it’s charged, remove the battery and put it back in.
• There is no flash some of you might go crazy, others of you might be able to manage just using superior auto mode, or program mode and adjusting the exposure sensitivity setting.

Your setting choices:

You can see how the battery power is doing by looking at the side here and see the little screen:

So even though the lens can attach to your smartphone, it’s not using your actual camera on your smartphone.

You can control on the side for wide or telephone (zoom in or out) and the button on that side is your shutter.  Again, this also shows up on your screen and you can control it.  These buttons are there if you need to use your camera but your phone is dead (so just spray and pray baby!) and review your shots later.

Yes, I did all these pics while I was on the boat cruise down the Canyon Lake, I think of you my blog readers, I do.

Ghost town pics…

Decent, right?  These are straight out of the camera, keep in mind.

If you want DSLR like quality, there’s the Qx100 Carl Zeiss lens, which is more, but gives you the quality you might like, at f/1.8 too!

I really do like this lens a lot, that I’m going to do a video upload later to explain more.  Hope you put this on your Christmas list, or think of someone to buy this for, it’ll upgrade your smartphone camera like no other.

Diana Elizabeth was totally representing Sony while on her little trip with her NEX camera and the Qx10, people were asking about them.

Disclaimer: I am part of the Sony Club Blogger Program by Sony Electronics where a group of selected bloggers have been given the opportunity to test and review Sony gear.