Are lens-style cameras here to stay?

Remember Kodak's two-lens cameras (the Kodak EasyShare V705 and V570)? How about 3D cameras from Fujifilm and Panasonic? All these models, announced with much fanfare, have come and gone. That's the way it is when a tech manufacturer takes a chance and introduces a new type of product with a new form factor, technology, or both.

Now Sony and Kodak have rolled the dice and introduced several inventive lens-style cameras over the last year. These cylindrically shaped point-and-shoots look like lenses, but they are actually stand-alone digital cameras with imaging sensors, batteries, and memory card storage. But there's no viewfinder or LCD, so you're basically shooting blind. That's where things get interesting. You can pair these cameras wirelessly with a smart phone and use that to compose your photos. 

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The latest examples of this trend are two intriguing QX-series models from Sony: The first is the Cyber-shot DSC-QX30, $350, which includes a 30x optical zoom. That's significant because nearly all smart phones use digital zoom, which degrades photo and video quality.

The second model, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX1 (price not available), has two groundbreaking features: First, it will include a large APS-C-sized sensor, which is the type found on advanced mirrorless cameras. Second, it will accept Sony's E-mount interchangeable lenses. Both factors could dramatically improve image quality, compared to shots taken with a smart phone or tablet. The QX1 will also have other advanced camera features, such as the ability to capture RAW files and high ISO settings (up to 16,000 ISO).

It's hard to predict how well these models will fare in the marketplace, but our first impression is that they look promising. In our informal look at the Kodak PixPro SL10 and the Sony QX10, we found that they provide better image quality than phones when you need to zoom in because these models let you zoom optically without affecting quality.

Also, because you have to use these cameras with a mobile device, we checked out how well the mobile apps worked. On both cameras, we found the apps worked well and were pretty easy to use.

—Terry Sullivan