Sony QX30

Sony QX30 is Sony's Lens-style digital camera first launched on September of 2014. It uses a 20 MegaPixel, BSI-CMOS 1/2.3" size sensor with a max resolution of 5184 x 3888.

The QX30 stands at #3 out of 4 in Lens-style cameras and over all #616 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our list. You should use our Advanced camera search to see camera ratings based on your personal requirements.

Below is a diagram of multiple factors used in the rating system.

The Sony QX30 comes with a history of related digital cameras. Below, you can look at all past and newer models along with important specs.

You can view the QX30 from various angles in the gallery below.

Here is a list of advantages and drawbacks of the Sony QX30 based on features which are oftentimes considered crucial in a digital camera.

The Sony QX30 is powered by the Bionz X processor chip. The spec of the sensor on the Sony QX30 is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor is able to capture 5184 x 3888 pixels with aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera includes Image Stabilization (Optical). Sensor stabilization is better than digital stabilization since the latter can easily cause cropping.

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The BSI-CMOS sensor boasts 20MP and supports a standard ISO range of 80 to 3200. Unfortunately, RAW format is not saved so the user has less margin for error.

The image underneath displays the QX30's sensor size compared to other popular sizes. The QX30 sensor comes with a crop factor of 5.8 and is displayed in green.

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To get an understanding of various aspect ratios, you should refer to the graphic below.

Sony QX30 has a weight of 0.43 lbs (193 gr or 6.81 ounces) and features outer measurements of 68mm x 65mm x 58mm (2.7" x 2.6" x 2.3"). The weight of typical Lens-style camera is 173 gr and the Sony QX30 is more heavy than various competitors.

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Underneath is a image of the Sony QX30 beside a soft drink so you can have a sense of its size.

The top view underneath will highlight the button layout on the QX30.

The QX30 houses a built-in lens with a focal range of 24-720mm giving it a 30.0 x zoom which is huge and will let you zoom all the way in.

At it's widest 24mm, it offers an aperture of f3.5 and that's really sluggish and not the best in low light events and you will probably find it difficult to capture good bokeh. You might also need to raise your ISO which causes noisy photos. For the long end, 720mm is exceptional zoom and comes to f6.3 which is pretty slow and you may have to apply slower shutter speeds.

The QX30 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• Wireless Yes
• NFC Yes

Digital cameras that feature NFC or Bluetooth support can be used wirelessly via smartphones. You can easily send files and at times change settings without connecting physically with the camera.

Many apps also provide a Liveview and hit the shutter when you are not near the camera. If the camera boasts a HDMI out, it can be connected to an external screen. A good number of cameras enable you to recharge the battery pack using the USB port.

The max video resolution on the Sony QX30 is 1920 x 1080 and it can save in MPEG-4 file format. 1080p resolution offers a decent balance for video quality versus file size but 1080p is not going to leave you with much room to downsample. The body does not have a mic or headphone jack so you have got zero control over your audio. It is perhaps best to look into another model if you need decent audio in your videos.

Sony QX30 does not have environment sealing so wet conditions may ruin the camera.

The Sony QX30 houses a " fixed screen with a resolution of 0k dots.

Moreover the screen is touch friendly so you can easily set focus points as well as change settings by using your fingertips.

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The View Finder specs regarding Sony QX30 are the following:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders can be quite helpful for sunny outdoor situations which may make the camera screen washed out and very difficult to view.

Sony QX30 is able to shoot continuously at 10.0 frames/s. The max shutter speed is 1/1600 sec.

Sony QX30 includes neither in-built flash nor external flash support.

Sony QX30 includes only Contrast Detect Autofocus and does not have Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot quicker and accurate than Contrast Detect focusing. The camera boasts Face detection making it useful for people photography.

Sony QX30 has touch to focus. You can use your fingers to switch focus points. Sony QX30 has not got manual focus. Manual focus can be good for low light conditions or you require more exact control on focusing.

The battery pack (NP-BN,) on the Sony QX30 is built to last for 200 photographs based on the CIPA measurements which is less than its competition. The usual Lens-style camera battery life is 265. Sony QX1 has got the maximum (440) battery life for this range of cameras.

Below is a collection of Lens-style cameras that come with the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Sony QX1
QX30 vs QX1440 yesyesno

Sony QX10
QX30 vs QX10220 noyesno

Photography Glossary

Sony QX100
QX30 vs QX100200 noyesno

Sony QX30200 noyesno

The following illustration displays a summary of the Sony QX30 for specific types of photography. To see more, check out the specific section underneath.

The Sony QX30 receives a points total of 39 which is horrible, and means the camera is not really appropriate to use for portraits. Photographing portraits favors greatly towards sensor resolution, support for RAW files and capability to utilize off-camera lighting.

Having a very good score of 63, the Sony QX30 is a good fit for street photography. A very good street photography camera has a fine balance of image quality plus portability.

A moderate sports photography points tally of 48 means the Sony QX30 is reasonably suitable for taking pictures of sports. A camera really should have great tracking and shutter speeds for sports photography.

Portability is super critical when choosing a camera for travel. Over-all, the Sony QX30 gets a very good 65 as a travel camera which is a very decent choice to take on your journeys.

For anybody looking to purchase a camera for landscape photography, the most important aspect is going to be image quality. The Sony QX30 and it's horrible rating of 40 for a landscape camera is not really appropriate compared to it's rivals.

A vlogging camera should offer a articulating display screen, microphone input and preferably image stabilization. Taking all things in to account, the Sony QX30 is not really appropriate as a vlog camera as it gets a horrible score of 35.

If you are looking for replacements to the QX30, below is a list of the top ranked cameras that fall in to the category of Lens-style.

The graph down below gives you a bird's eye view of the QX30 vs it's top rated competitors suggested earlier.

These are some more cameras you may look at as alternatives. To review a complete comparison, visit the "compare" link.