Sakar shows QX-style, Vivitar-branded modular smart camera

Solution in search of a problem.

The geek in me really likes stuff like this, but the photographer in me loves cameras. A dedicated camera is sometimes an elegant work of art that represents an ideal combination of form and function. This? Not so much.

That really is astonishingly bad! Especially the comedy flashgun which looks like they have recycled a design from 1982 intended for a Kodak disc camera . Good luck to them in making the software work properly, something Sony had certainly not achieved when I tried the QX10.

no body interchangeable lens system. with an adapter you can stick a telephoto zoom to your cellphone.

LOL is all I can say. Can't stand those tiny thing invention that is not a real camera. Get a grip people if you don't like some comment here we have different opinion. If you don't like it, go somewhere to read than here. I prefer real camera than that gimmick phone camera with tiny lens that get dirty/smear and look hazy every time picture is taken.

I'd rather ducktape my phone to my DSLR then use this monstrosity.

BTW: Why is this not on connect? It's phone accessory, not a camera.

I think these so called 'smart lenses' are just ridiculous! Smartphones are ok if you don't have a camera with you, but if you're planning on carrying this kind of weight, why not buy a mirrorless camera instead? That'll give you better IQ and is often even less bulky and lighter!

Sony is already making the 1/2.3-type sensor standard across their mid-tier and flagship devices; this is a far more sensible approach then these half-phones.

A micro 3/4 mount would be very interesting to mount those pancake lenses.

I'm a bit surprised by the lack of imagination from many posters here, " not understanding the product".
For many (actually most) taking pictures is not about having them, it is about sharing them. Something 95% of current cameras suck at.
And for most, a lower quality image that gets shared is worth a helluva lot more than a great picture that noone sees.
Simple as that.

No, I don't like this concept either. Because I don't do um, 'photography' with a smartphone.

However people seem to in fact DO um, 'photography' with a smartphone and can't imagine doing it any other way. This is for those people who just want to take photos in the usual smartphone style but with some extra stuff like zoom.

In a recent interview with Sony's execs, they said their QX sell like hotcakes.

And honestly I'd rather have people using this stuff than just the smartphone itself. I'm so incredibly tired of all the 35mm shots of food, feet and whatnot. Maybe at least they'll try other motives with these addons. Probably will still run it through Instagram to get a 512*512 lomo crap but we're getting somewhere slowly.

How exactly is this thing more convenient than a camera?

At least Sony can be applauded for trying something different; and there is hope for their version, as they are the masters of miniaturisation.

It seems that some companies have a basic "what the others are doing with a few extra buttons" attitude to R&D.

Why not just get Canon or Nikon to make cameras with a built in cell phone.

In my opinion, this is not serious ... How much is this "toy"?

There is now a good chance for low end p&s cameras to survive, because they are smaller, cheaper and looking better.

btw - waiting for a 500mm lens, connected to a iPhone, called "the iBazooka"

Hard to believe someone got paid to come up with this.

Wait till you see the version of Hasselblad of this "thing".

It was a stupid idea the first time, when Sony did it. The third time around, the idea hasn't gotten any better...

LOL @ the Zeiss iPhone case.

I don't know what Sekar's game is, but I do know that they do not, can not, and will not make innovative cameras. They make innovative press releases, and then somehow try to turn that into making money. Maybe they are trying to scam potential investors.

Kludgy yes, but this is definitely where the future is headed. Eventually, the phone will snap onto the lens/sensor assembly with a pre-fit standard that will allow this.

Next up will be an unfoldable or unfurlable electronic screen (10,000p resolution of course) that will pop out of the lens/sensor assembly. And all of this will be electronically linked to whatever iphone20, or Android v 20 we are using by then.

When the networks are fast enough to allow for it, I also forsee a new web standard like JPG but that allows lockable raw files to be uploaded straight onto the web that can be dynamically resized and adjusted on one's super facebook/flickr/tumblr/blog/website.

Oh! C'mon! Buy a frig**n' camera already! One lens attached to a smartphone seemed clumsy enough. Now you're adding a flash unity?

Can it get any MORE "cludgey"????

Wanna bet a lawsuit from sony?

Do they also come in pretty?