Eagerly anticipated ever since Sony floated itswood - block construct designsat the PMA show in February , Sony ’s Alpha NEX-5 and NEX-3 have finally arrived . Its first appearance models are the smallest entrants to date , and are sharply price given their feature .
The camera are about superposable , differing only in two way . They have slightly different dead body design , with the higher - ending NEX-5 composed of magnesium admixture , and the NEX-5 offers full HD AVCHD telecasting recording . For those perquisite you bear about $ 100 more . Both cameras come in outfit with either an 18 - 55 millimeter ( $ 299.99 standalone ) or 16 mm pancake premier electron lens ( $ 249.99 standalone ) . We have a output - degree NEX-5 just before launching , which gave us fourth dimension to test it and get some shooting done before announcement — you’ll be able to get yours in July . The full review with more testing experience and evaluation for that mannequin should follow relatively soon . ( Read about the NEX-3 . )
Sony Alpha NEX-5 photo samples :
Overall , the photo character is really good , and the tv camera has a very nice haphazardness visibility and dynamical range for its price course of study . But there are caution . For one , it has the same inauspicious military issue with Sony ’s Creative Styles that all the company ’s dSLRs do : the default renders inaccurate colors , which is n’t helped by the to a fault cool reflexive white proportion , and there ’s no natural Creative Style option . Not even in the bundled raw computer software . Also , though the 18 - 55 kit lens is pretty sharp , it has some of the sorry distortion I ’ve insure on a non - point in time - and - shoot camera of late . That includes barrel torture at the 18 millimetre end and pincushion at the 55 millimeter last . As a result , not only are logical argument curved , but there ’s some fringing around the bound of the scene .
video recording is sharp and the lenses are really subdued , both for zooming and focusing , but you have practically no controls beyond a background signal defocus scroll . For case , it would n’t get me spot meter a backlit subject ; rather , I had to crank up the pic recompense all the fashion up , guessing based on a intemperate - to - calibre display . While it has built - in stereo mics that are reasonably separated physically , the sound recording sounds a morsel tinny . And the camera really needs a fart filter .
The camera feel fairly fast , though the autofocus system tends to be inconsistent . Most of the clock time it ’s quite decisive , but occasionally hunts for no understanding that I can cipher out . Like most cameras without an optical viewfinder , for burst shooting you ’re stuck with point - and - pray . It also feels like it takes forever to begin up . That ’s borne out by our testing , which order it at about 1.7 seconds — tiresome than all but Olympus ’ mannequin . At 0.4 minute , it has the least shot lag of its category in upright luminousness , though Panasonic outdo its 0.8 - 2d time to focus and shoot in vague visible radiation by about 0.2 s . We clocked its burst rate with autofocus at 2.6 frames per second ; we do n’t test the rate without AF , which Sony specs at 7fps .
The newfangled all - atomic number 13 Sony E - mount electron lens dominate the the NEX-5 ’s body , and they finger keen , with a smooth revolution for both zoom and manual focus . The 18 - 55 feels a bit large for the compact body , and I suspect the 18 - 200 mm lens ( $ 799.99 , expected this Fall ) will really drown it . You should also keep in mind that unlike the Alpha DSLRs , which have range of a function stabilization work up into the tv camera , the NEX models utilize optical stabilization in guild to achieve the smaller dead body sizing . Sony will be offer an adapter for using non E - mount Sony lenses with the NEX models , but as with most competitors the transcriber do n’t suffer autofocus . And those Brobdingnagian , heavy Sony lenses really will overwhelm these tiny bodies .
Sony Alpha NEX-5 photos
The camera itself is pretty well design and easy to grapple and shoot . It does n’t have a build - in newsbreak , but does ship with a low add - on flash that apply a proprietary connector . Sony will also have an add - on microphone . Sony makes the same mistake as Olympus did with the E - P1 and forgoes an electronic viewfinder ; though the companionship does n’t say it endure one , I ’m hoping that accessory connection can be retrofitted for it . There is a unmediated - view optic view finder plan to solve with the 16 mm prime lens of the eye , but that ’s not a sufficient reserve . And while the large LCD is for certain overnice and high resoluteness , with a shiny backlight than that on the A550 dSLR , I still had some issues viewing it in lustrous sun .
The user interface has a few set up buttons , such as drive way and picture compensation , while the residual are contextual , depending upon television camera mode . Overall , this scheme form pretty well , but there are some irritating quirks to the carte system . For instance , you ca n’t scroll backwards to get from the first debut in a bill of fare to the last . And because the contextual user interface require you apply the menu , you ’re in there all the fourth dimension if you want to change shooting options such as metering or ISO sensitivity . Also , while I generally like the scroll wheel ’s operation , when using it for the practical mode telephone dial I kept flying past my aim .
The NEX-5 carries over a lot of the features from Sony ’s percentage point and shoots . Though it does n’t utilise the Exmor - R back - illuminated sensing element , the new 14 - megapixel sensor is fast enough to brook features like sweep panorama , which dynamically stitches together a burst of shots into a 23mp cyclorama ; hand-held twilight mode , which automatically combines 6 shots to optimize the active range in downhearted light ; and a 3 - snapshot AutoHDR mode . The Handheld Twilight does very well with low - luminosity images . It ’s not practical in every position , though , because it still has to process the cushion images , which take a while to save . And while the sweep panorama still suffers from some unavoidable artifacts , such as Picasso - like pieces of people walk through the scene , it does capture enough detail that it does n’t depend so bad when you whizz in . In July , Sony will be releasing a microcode update that can process the sweep oar panorama shots into stereoscopic 3D images for playback on a support TV .
Here ’s how the NEX-5 stacks up to its main competition :
More than any other exchangeable - lense camera I ’ve seen , the Sony NEX-5 seems optimized for the period - and - shoot upgrader ; not needs because it ’s leisurely to apply than any other or that it ’s price particularly small , but because it ’s full of constraints that will probably rile enthusiast a lot more than snapshooters . That ’s a pity , because the telecasting quality , disturbance profile and performance are really appealing . Still , Sony has hit a raft of the right note for that more mainstream crowd , a lot more than anyone else , with its summary sizing and a user interface that ’s got a relatively gamey discoverability quotient , albeit not rottenly effective to in reality use . If it had an EVF pick , an artifact - costless introductory zoom lens , better color options and white equaliser , and a well - cogitate - out menu organisation , it would probably be the no - brainer choice we ’ve been look for . As it stands , it ’s just a strong competitor .
This report originally appeared onCNET
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