I'd say it really depends on the type of photography you plan on doing with it.
The 2 primary shortcomings as it related to the iPhone (I have the 5S) are: wifi lag and Sony's PlayMemories app and I'll address both.
First the good. Even though I have the larger QX100 the size is still nice and the build quality is great. The clamp system for attaching to the iPhone works perfectly and should work even with most iPhone cases except maybe the bulkiest ruggedized cases. But a LifeProof ruggedized case should still work fine. I like how it attaches and how you can also use it unattached. It's a great design.
Next is the glass. Not much to say as far as what has already been written about Sony's RX100 which gets great reviews for its Zeiss lens and optical zoom. The QX100 has the same lens. Adding optical zoom to a lens that attaches to the iPhone is incredibly useful.
Then of course there is the sensor and photo quality. It's excellent. 20 megapixels aside, It greatly surpasses the quality of the iPhone's camera due to the fact it has a larger sensor.
It works exactly as I expected. Including th shortcomings I mentioned above and will discuss below.
Lag. It's noticeable whn moving the phone and camera quickly. It's not going to be ideal for action shots. But then again if action shots are your thing then a fast traditional DSLR is always going to be the best solution.
I can live with the lag because the vast majority of the photos that I take are not action shots. They are landscapes, still life, macro shots and photos of my family while on vacation, etc. Plus it's not my only camera so if I need something quicker, I can simply use the iPhone 5S itself in a pinch, or one of my other cameras. So the lag isn't an issue for me. Especially when attaching it to a monopod or tripod for taking landscapes, outdoor shots, etc.
Software. It's nothing fancy. But at the same time it's not horrible or unusable. I saw andnother blog post elsewhere that said it was unusable on ios7 which is a complete lie. I've had no problems with it on my iPhone 5S running iOS7. Could th software be better? Sure. It's pretty basic but it does the job. The good news is they have released an SDK so 3rd party apps can add support with Camera360 due to be one of the first to do so when they release an update sometime in October.
The biggest con for me is the lack of a feature that I've grown to absolutely love on my Fuji X-E1, Fuji X20 and the iPhone itself: motion panorama. Taking panoramas while traveling, which I do frequently, along with macros of plants/insects/sea life is one of my favorite things and Althugh the RX100 supports motion panorama the QX100 does not. But Camera360 does panos so hopefully they support it when they release support for the QX10 and QX100.
Overall I'm happy with it. I love the concept and they did a good job of executing on the concept. For a first gen product I think it turned out good. A lot of people will absolutely hate the lag... but as I mentioned it's not an issue for me.
The QX100 is not, however, my primary camera. My favorite is still my Fuji X-E1 and my Fuji X20. But the X-E1 has an array of lenses and the X20, while a point and shoot, is not a compact point and shoot which means I usually don't have these cameras with me.
I keep the QX100 in my laptop bag and my iPhone 5S in my pocket. So those are what I'd reach for on an average day should I need a camera because they are typically within arms reach and the best camera is the one you have with you.
I'll be keeping mine. I'll be going to Arizona next month and can't wait to try it out while I take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. I'll also be going to Costa Rica in January and will be bringing it with me then also. Because it's the size of a smaller lens it's easy to throw in my camera bag should I bring my X-E1 kit. So it just provides me with more flexibility and tools as a photography enthusiast.
I'd say if the concept interests you and you can work through the lag, which isn't constant and is primarily only when moving the phoned rapidly, give it a shot. Buy it on Amazon and if you hate it, return it.
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