Review: Sony NEX-5

admin | July 17, 2010 | 0 Comments

The 14.2-megapixel Sony NEX-5 is cut from a different cloth to most Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens (EVIL) cameras.

That much is true as soon as you pull it out of the box – impressive-looking beasts such as the Nikon D3S aside, there may not be a better-looking camera available today. The NEX-5 essentially looks like a wide compact with a DSLR lens grafted onto the front of it – which isn’t far off what it is.

But looks aside, the NEX-5 could represent a sea-change in consumer DSLR photography. Inside the 110mm-wide body sits a comparatively huge sensor: at 23.4 x 15.6mm, it’s an APS-C format sensor.

Sony nex-5

That’s the same size and format as you’ll find in every sub-£1,000 DSLR. So, in theory, Sony has produced a gorgeous-looking camera that takes images as good as those from a proper DSLR, without the accompanying size and weight.

Sony nex-5

Those are the headlines, but the NEX-5 has plenty more to offer serious photographers.

There’s a 1080i HD video mode, as well as Sony’s sweep panorama feature, which allows you to quickly stitch together a multiple-frame image without needing to dig into the software. Naturally, there’s a fully manual mode, accompanied by shutter and aperture priority modes.

Best of all, the NEX-5 is a camera with some serious headroom for those learning the photographic ropes. It may come with a standard-spec 18-55mm, f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, but you can buy the 16mm, f/2.8 “pancake” lens (around £200), or the rather slow-sounding 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 superzoom (around £700).

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Alternatively, £149 gets you a mount adapter that enables you to use any of Sony’s A-mount lenses.

Sony nex-5

The NEX-5 is a small camera, but you’ll still need both hands to use it. It may not weigh you down too badly, but its 229g weight, as well as the fact that the chunky metal lens is mounted well to the left-hand side, means you’ll need to support it well to get a level shot.

Still, the grip on the right is well-sized, and lightly coated with textured plastic to make it harder to drop.

As the EVIL acronym suggests, there’s no optical viewfinder, which means you do everything via the beautiful 3-inch TruBlack monitor on the back.

Sony nex-5

With 921,600 pixels it’s extremely fine-grained. This makes checking focus – generally harder on non-optical viewfinders – a simpler task.

Usefully, it’s also articulated, allowing you to angle it up or down: handy if you’re shooting over a crowd, or want to get a snail’s-eye shot without lying on the ground. The screen is also extremely bright and has an excellent contrast range.

Sony nex-5

A single complaint is that, by default, it adapts automatically to ambient light, getting lighter in sunlight and darker indoors. While this is a handy usability feature, it can make checking the exposure of your images a little hit and miss unless you turn on the handy live histogram.

That the NEX-5 is a well-built, good-looking camera isn’t exactly surprising, but its performance really threw us.

Sony nex-5

Sony claims an unlikely-sounding 7fps in its fastest continuous mode, but, measured against a stopwatch, the NEX-5 went more than a full frame per second faster, at 8.4fps – in RAW mode. Admittedly, it only actually took seven frames, but that’s still a spectacular turn of speed.

Switching to JPEG got us a similar speed – just over 7fps – but the camera ran for 1.78 seconds, capturing 13 frames.

Just about the only problem with the NEX-5′s performance is its contrast-detection autofocus system – for many of our test shots, its performance was similar to that of a cheaper compact camera, as it hunted for a crisp image.

It’s a shame, because a decent phase detection system (as Sony uses in Live View mode on its A330) would match the NEX-5′s autofocus performance with its excellent continuous mode.

The lens is a well-made but mid-range, unstabilised specification. The focal length – 18mm to 55mm – is the same as you’ll find on most entry-level DSLRs, although the metal construction makes it feel a cut above.

You’re in for a shock the first time you take it off, though. Where a DSLR’s sensor is hidden behind the shutter curtain and SLR mirror, twist the NEX-5′s lens off and you’ll find yourself staring straight at the exposed, sensitive and highly fragile APS-C sensor.

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Changing lenses can be a risky business at the best of times, but with the NEX-5 you’ll have to be extremely careful not to change in even a moderately dusty environment.

We certainly found that our review sample – which may have done the rounds before reaching us – needed a few puffs of air from a blower before we were taking dust-free images. There’s no mechanical anti-dust system.

See Sony NEX-5 video test in HD

Image quality is everything Sony makes it out to be – truly DSLR-like. The kit lens is good and sharp, and kept chromatic aberration down to a bare minimum.

Sony nex-5 See full-res image

Colour reproduction is superb, and noise handling is excellent – a good thing considering the NEX-5 can work at ISO settings as high as 12,800.

Sony nex-5 See full-res image

At times, sharpness wasn’t all it could be compared to top-end DSLRs, but with NEX-5 a fair bit cheaper, the compromise is easy to swallow.

Sony nex-5 See full-res image

Either way, you’ll find the NEX-5′s shots reproduce well at larger print sizes.

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We’re big fans of the NEX-5′s low light performance – we expected it to be better than most compacts’ thanks to its larger sensor, but its performance at stratospheric ISOs is impressive.

Sony nex-5 See full-res image

It’s true that noise is noticeable at its top ISO of 12,800, but we’d still be happy to print images taken at its highest setting, albeit with a little noise reduction applied.

We tested the Sony NEX-5 at every ISO setting. Here are the results:

ISO 200:

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ISO 400:

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ISO 800:

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ISO 1600:

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ISO 3200:

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ISO 6400:

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ISO 12800:

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For the first time, we find ourselves seriously considering the possibility that an EVIL camera could have dealt a serious blow to the consumer DSLR market.

Similarly-priced DSLRs may offer an extra notch of quality, but for many consumers, the NEX-5 offers a knockout punch of advantages.

It’s better-looking, smaller and lighter, and that means it’s much easier way to get high-quality images from your next holiday. And, while the lenses available for the platform aren’t going to trouble Canon or Nikon, they’ll do everything consumers want.

Aspiring professionals should still throw in their lot with the likes of the Canon 500D or Nikon D5000, simply because there’s a lens for all occasions and either platform offers more headroom and upgradeability than the NEX-5.

We liked:

The NEX-5 is a truly good-looking camera, and apart from being satisfying to look at, the fact that it isn’t big, black and chunky means it’s a little more user-friendly than most.

We’re big fans of the superb screen and good build-quality, and we remain seriously impressed by its performance.

We disliked:

Speaking of performance, we’re not wild about the NEX-5′s dated-feeling contrast detection autofocus, which can be a little slow, particularly in poor light.

There’s also still a very good argument for buying a proper DSLR – you’ll get a slight lift in image quality, and, if you buy Canon or Nikon, a vastly superior range of high-end lenses.

Verdict:

If you simply want to take good pictures now, without turning into a DSLR bore, or turning your hobby into either a career, or something that swallows all your spare cash, we can’t help but like the NEX-5.

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