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Camera Review: The Covert Style of the SonyQX10

Sony QX10 Review

Sony recently sent me their newest camera (the lens-style SonyQX10) to trial and review. Seeing as how improving my photography is one of my 2014 goals, I was pretty happy to accept it. Normally I’m a Canon camera guy (this one’s my DSLR), but I’ve recently branched out and am now trying out different styles of cameras. This one, the Sony QX 10 has been a lot of fun to play with. And every time I take it out with friends I get some nice quizzical looks. No one seems to believe it’s a camera. In fact, it even looks a bit like a toy thanks the white plastic molding.

Overall, I like this camera. It’s small enough to carry around with me in my coat pocket. The picture quality is good and the ability to instantly share by syncing it with my iPhone just makes it even more appealing for someone who travels so frequently. I’ve stopped traveling with my digital SLR for some trips (especially if it’s just a short weekend break), so having a camera that’s better than my phone is handy.

Sony QX10 Review

Here are the top reasons why I enjoy this camera:

  1. It’s sneaky! Because it’s so small (really, it is!) you can pretty much just hold the camera to your hip and snap away without many people noticing. Perfect for street-style photography.
  2. There’s a mystery to the photos you take. If you don’t connect the camera wirelessly to your smartphone but rather just take photos saving them to the memory card, you really won’t know what photos you’ve got until you download them later. Some people might not like being able to see the photos they’re taking, but for travelers like myself, sometimes you just want to capture the moment without getting tied up in lighting & colors.
  3. Instantly download to your smartphone. Admittedly, this is probably the feature Sony is really hyping with their promotion of this lens. And rightfully so. The Sony QX10 connects wirelessly to smartphone devices so when you snap a photo it’ll download to your phone. I’ve been using this to then share my photos in real-time on Instagram and Twitter — which just makes the whole photo experience that much more fun.

Some of my issues with the camera:

  1. Syncing via wifi with my mobile phone can sometimes be slow, though I’m not 100% sure if it’s my old iPhone4 that’s slow or the camera’s wifi capabilities. In the Berlin winter, I don’t really want my hands outside of my gloves for very long while fumbling with the wifi connection, so sometimes it’s been a bother.
  2. The fact that there’s no viewfinder directly on the camera can make it challenging to take clear, sharp photos when I’m using just the memory card and not syncing up with my phone.

Would I recommend this camera?

Yes, definitely! I think it’s really good for travelers who want something easy and small to take more covert, street-style photos on their travels. Though travelers who want to be able to review their photos as they move, this wouldn’t be a good choice because you’ll need either a tablet, phone or computer to shoot photos from or review on the road.

Holiday Gift Guide - 2013

Win a Sony QX10 camera for yourself!!!

And because it’s the holidays, Sony has provided me with two extra Sony QX10 cameras to give away to Travels of Adam subscribers! Simply fill out the form below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are a few of my unedited photos I shot with the camera, to give you a sense of its raw capabilities… You’ll notice the night photos come out pretty good except for the yellow color which I’ve had to edit out…

Spandau Christmas Market

At the Spandau Christmas Market

berlin-xmas-market-sony

At the Spandau Christmas Market

hotel-concorde-sony

At a social media event in the Hotel Concorde, Berlin

Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany — Alexanderplatz at night

In Rome, Italy with Katrina At another Berlin Christmas Market with Megan View from across the street of street artist Rone’s newest work in Berlin On the 200 bus in Berlin (the “tourist bus”)
  1. Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Photography Lovers - Cameras and more! says:

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