Sony's new cameras give your smartphone the power of a compact

Sony QX100
Where's the screen? You use your phone for that...

Sony has unveiled two lens-style cameras, which hook up to your phone instead of having a standard LCD screen.

The QX10 and QX100 are shaped like lenses, but contain all the things you'd normally find in a compact camera, including a sensor, processor, memory card slot and optical zoom functionality. The aim is to appeal to phone photographers who want better images without having to carry around a hefty dedicated camera.

Each of the cameras is based on an existing model in the Sony line-up. The QX100 is based on the excellent RX100 II and therefore features a large (in comparison to mobile phones and most compacts) 20.2 million pixel, 1 inch sensor and a 3.6x optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens.

Meanwhile, the QX100, the smaller of the two, is based on the Sony WX100. It features a 18.2 million pixel, 1/2.3 inch sensor and a 10x optical zoom lens.

Connected

The cameras connect to a smartphone or tablet using Wi-Fi or NFC and are controlled using the free Sony app. The app is available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire.

Both of the cameras feature a Bionz processor, designed to assist with low-light shooting and facilitate full HD video.

The cameras can be attached to your smartphone via the attachment case, or used up to 10 metres away from the device controlling it. They can also be used without a smartphone or tablet, but in practice this means you won't be able to see what you're composing.

The Sony QX10 and QX100 price has yet to be announced, but the cameras will be available from mid-September.

Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.