Welcome to a Sony Digital Camera Battery specialist of the Sony Camcorder Battery
I can almost guarantee you've never used a camera like the Sony QX10 before. A camera attachment for your smartphone that already has a built-in camera, you say? Isn't that redundant? For the most part, yes, but using the lens-shaped camera together with a smartphone is just so weird — and different — that it makes photography feel refreshing again.
Sony has two lens-camera models up its sleeve: the QX10 and the higher-end QX100 with battery such as Sony NP-BK1 Battery , sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950 battery , sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980 Battery , Sony NP-55 Battery , Sony NP-77H Battery , sony NP-98 battery , sony NEX-5 Battery , sony NP-90 battery , Sony NP-FV50 Battery , Sony NP-FV70 Battery , sony NP-FV100 battery , sony NP-FW50 Battery . Aside from the obvious price difference ($250 for the QX10, $500 for the QX100), the QX10 has fewer megapixels (18.2 vs. 20.2), a smaller image sensor (1/2.3-inch vs. 1.0-inch), smaller maximum aperture (f/3.3 vs. f/1.8) and no manual focus.
For this review, I'll be taking a look at the QX10, the cheaper and less feature-rich of the two. Trying something new is always risky, but if there's any company that has the expertise and creativity to release such an oddball camera, it's Sony.
If the QX10 has any real shortcomings, it's wireless lag and weak battery life. From wireless pairing, which takes, on average, about 8 seconds, to waiting for an image you've just taken to buffer for image review (another 3-4 seconds), the QX10 is one slow turtle. The QX10 also has issues with maintaining a connection to an iPhone 5 running iOS 7.
(For the record, Sony has acknowledged the bug and plans to release a fix.) Interestingly, I didn't experience problems keeping a wireless connection between the QX10 and the Moto X.
As any photographer will tell you, a slow start out of the gate could mean a missed shot. By the time you fire up the QX10 and pair it to a smartphone, a shot that would benefit from the lens camera's better optics will likely have already been missed. I would know, I missed a number of great photo ops just because I was waiting for the QX10 to get its act together.
Another issue is the device's functionality with the PlayMemories mobile app. When you close the PlayMemories app, the QX10 disconnects. The device then needs to reconnect when the app is opened again. Over time, repeatedly waiting 8 seconds to pair the device adds up to quite a bit of wasted minutes and, consequently, wasted battery life.
The removable battery is rated at around 220 shots, or about 110 minutes, according to the instruction manual. However, I only ever managed to get around 125-150 shots per full charge, and only around 80 minutes of battery life during multiple days of testing. If you're considering the QX10, it might be wise to invest in a spare battery, or two.