Sony ILCE-QX1

I had always fancied trying a QX1 and this week I won one in an auction.

Sony ILCE-QX1 | A7 III and FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS (at ISO 25600 (!) )

This is a sub-A5000 level 'lens-style camera with built-in flash'; as well as lacking an LCD screen or viewfinder it also cut back on several functional features (no Manual mode, nor flash compensation adjustment, for example). It can be controlled from a smartphone with the Sony Imaging Edge Mobile app, and the shutter can also be fired from the button on the barrel.

The following photos are all made from in-camera JPGs:

Thames boat | QX1 and E PZ 16-50mm OSS

Thistles | QX1 and Samyang 14mm F2.8

Biker trail | QX1 and E PZ 16-50mm OSS

The camera is an interesting curiosity that explored the possibility of improving mobile phone photography when camera phones were not great. I don't think that premise stands any more and the camera's control and user interface is too laggy to make real headway. This camera was a last fling of the dice for this format, and I'm not surprised we have not seen iterative upgrades.

Might be interesting worn as a head-cam.

I've thought for some time that the ultimate evolution of the camera might be a thought-operated device that simply captures whatever you're looking at. Maybe to be cropped or composed after the fact.

The QX1 is a step closer to that, but obviously lacking the bionic interface I envision.

However, there seems to be a lot of resistance to the 'lens-with-camera-attached' concept, which is the direction the MILC appears to be headed. But if we want high performance and wide aperture lenses with AF and stabilisation, along with lightweight and compact camera bodies, then what else can we expect?

Oh! Nice pictures, BTW.

Cheers, thanks.

Somewhere else the point was made that the RX0 is where Sony went with those ideas (wearable cams, etc.). Twice the price, a fifth of the weight. It abandons the idea of interchangeable lens (as did the other QX cameras it has to be said), but gives you an LCD as well as smartphone remote control. Crucially it's not marketed as a smartphone accessory ...

The QX1 is a little blind alley of camera evolution.