Review: Sony Cyber-shot QX10

Despite touting larger megapixel lenses, smartphones tend to use smaller sensors due to space limitations. As the size of the camera sensor plays a part in crafting that final image, photos taken with smartphones tend to be less sharp compared with those taken using cameras.

However, there is no denying the convenience of a smartphone camera, which is why Sony has merged the best of compact cameras and smartphones in its QX series.

The QX10 comes with a 1/2.3 Exmor R CMOS 18-megapixel sensor with Sony G optics (f/3.3-5.9), has a focal length of 25 to 250mm and a 10x optical zoom. There is also the larger QX100 which has a 20-megapixel sensor.

In essence, the QX10 is a compact camera with its own lens, sensor, memory storage slot, battery, and shutter and zoom buttons, but it lacks a viewfinder and touchscreen controls.

It can be used on its own, but it is designed to work best with a smartphone. The QX10 can be mounted on most Android and iOS smartphones. An app links the device, via Wi-Fi, to your phone, which acts as its touchscreen.

While Sony has done its best to ensure that its QX modules work with non-Sony smartphones, the series' spring-loaded clips, which attach the lens modules to the phones, stretch only to a certain width, so there is a physical limitation.

The QX series will not fit on the oversized Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or Sony's own Xperia Z Ultra phablet for now.

When the QX10 is attached to a smartphone, photos taken are stored on the lens module and a copy can also be saved on the phone, allowing you to share a higher resolution image with friends or upload it to social media networks via your smartphone.

So instead of bringing another camera, this accessory, which is roughly the size of a tennis ball, turns your phone into one.

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