Does Your Smartphone Camera Suck? Sony Has a Snap-on Solution

Sony calls them "smartphone attachable lens-style cameras." Just rolls right off the tongue.

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Sony has rolled out the QX10 and QX100. They’re basically like point-and-shoot cameras except that instead of being cameras, they’re lenses that snap onto your smartphone. Sony calls them “smartphone attachable lens-style cameras.” Just rolls right off the tongue.

All the fancy camera guts have been stuffed into the lenses themselves — there’s zoom control (10x optical for the QX10 and 3.6x optical for the QX100) — and a photo-snapping button on each lens. Your smartphone’s data connection is leveraged to share your photos with others online. Photos are stored to both the lens and your phone, and apps will be available for iPhone and Android.

The $250, 19-megapixel QX10 is the more point-and-shoot-like of the bunch, while the $500, 21-megapixel QX100 is bulkier and has a Carl Zeiss lens capable of taking “DSLR-quality pics,” according to Sony. Both are available now for pre-order, with an estimated ship date of September 28.

Our own Harry McCracken got some hands-on time with the lenses; check back here later today for his first impressions.

Sony Smartphone Attachable Lens-Style Camera Cameras [SonyStyle.com]