Sony NEX-5 is small, really really small (video)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 11th 2010 6:04AM
posted May 11th 2010 6:04AM
What started back in 2008 has become a glorious trend: stuffing DSLR-sized sensors into compact camera bodies. First it was Olympus and Panasonic with its Micro Four Thirds standard followed recently by Samsung's NX10. Now Sony is flexing its digital imaging muscle with the introduction of its own compacts sporting APS-C-sized sensors and interchangeable glass. Both CNET and LetGoDigital already have previews of the NEX-5 -- the "world's smallest and lightest interchangeable lens digital camera" according to Sony. And by the looks of that comparison shot above with Olympus' diminutive PEN E-PL1, we're guessing that's a pretty accurate assessment. CNET was particularly stoked by the "aggressively priced" pre-production NEX-5 it took for a spin. Although the camera's not without faults -- quirky UI and controls (hey, it's Sony!), inconsistent autofocus, lack of electronic viewfinder, and a general lack of manual controls -- CNET found the NEX-5 to be "fairly fast" with "really quiet" lenses for both zooming and focusing. Most importantly, it judged the photo quality and noise profile to be "really good" while producing "sharp" 1080/60i AVCHD video. Mosey on through the break for CNET's video preview of the NEX-5 and then hit up the source link for some sample photos and a good spec-by-spec comparison of the NEX-5 with its micro format competition.
Oooh, Sony and Olympus are 69!
C'mon, Engadget, enough with the crude camera sex jokes!
The video undefined is available exclusively on cnet blablabla sits in the middle of the video. Very annoying, doesn't disappear and the link in this message leads to "page not found" page on cnet.
Anyone else has the same problem?
@Shinigami Omg making a comment fixed it O.o
Hooray to comment system! xD
@ScifiSurfer
Rule 34.... lol
@ScifiSurfer
the sony is way too small for a good sex scene anyways ;)
Might this be a good alternative to the very good compacts out there like the LX3 (i think?) and the PowerShot S90?
I'm looking for a really great camera but it must be tiny so that I really care to take it with me.
@Lundmark
The LX3 and S90 are somewhat pocket-sized. They both cram a lot of quality in a small package. The S90 would be my pocket-camera of choice.
The Sony pictured above is without a lens. It's actually quite a lot bigger than you think:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/SonyNEX5/Images/inhand.jpg
@Lundmark
You gotta bear in mind, whilst the LX3 and S90 are excellent camera's, they're only point & shoots ... whilst something like this Sony will have a full sized (or close) DSLR sensor ... making even the S90 and LX3 sub par in term of image quality. You'll also get 2 or 3 shooting frames per second and of course interchangeable lenses; so to compare a camera such as this to any other point and shoot (in terms of image quality, size, cost etc) isn't an exact science.
Point in case, I have an LX3 and a Sigma DP1. The later is very slightly larger and is a bast**d in day-to-day use (speed, UI etc) but the quality of pics it produces (with its lager Fovian sensor) blows the LX3 (and S90) WAY out of the park! The any sort of still work where you don't mind a fixed wide angle lens or a slow interface, the Sigma DP1 (DP2 etc) just cant be beat ... not even by my EOS450D DSLR (although the later is of course more versatile).
As such, Im really looking forward to seeing this camera ... but hoping the lenses will be sensibly priced; because when you look at a Canon EOS, although its twice the size, the availability of cheap lenses just cant be matched (the biggest draw back to any micro four thirds based camera!)
@Michael Scrip The powershot isn't even in the same class of camera. This has a DSLR lens and sensor, which means the picture quality will be much higher than a point and shoot like the powershot.
It's very compact for a DSLR, but big for an ultra compact. However, to get this level of image quality you'll need to go to a Panny G1 which is a much more expensive and much larger camera.
@Michael Scrip I have a LX3 and love it. I would not consider this a competitor in that it's not in the same range/family. It goes something like this - Ultracompact (e.g. Elph), LX3/S90, Micro 4/3's or NEX-5, standard DSLR. I am sure someone will correct me but I think that's pretty spot on.
@jaffreywali and others
I was replying to Lundmark who was asking about the LX3 and the S90... and he was also looking for a TINY camera.
I know the S90 is a point-and-shoot... which is why I said it would be my "pocket-camera of choice."
And I posted a link to an image of this Sony camera to show that it is not a tiny camera.
Wow... very good video review!
@pk Are you talking about the video? 0.o
It's small alright! Until you put a lens on it :)
But pretty interesting, anyway!
@Paranoid Yeah, I think some people are missing the point here. Both of those cameras do not have lenses on them! Sure, they're small, but not THAT small.
@Paranoid
Exactly!
What is the point of making it smaller than the lens?
quirky UI and controls (hey, it's Sony!).................ohhh cummon engadget ...........never heard good word's for sony's product on this site...........
@XRX I think they are right. Check this preview:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/NEX5/NEX5A.HTM
It seems it isn't the same menus they have in the Alphas.
@Atkins I think he's referring to how Sony UI and controls are actually pretty damn good most of the time. On another note, thanks for the link. It looks like it'll be decent for some low-light shooting.
@Dest Yes, I got it. I have a Sony. But in the link I posted, they say the menus are completely different. Check it out and reply with your thoughts if you have time after reading it :)
@Dest
yes you are right.......
By the way look at this -
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3312/4598037623_86a8447a4d.jpg
@Dest Agree. Actually Sony DSLR's have the best and most intuitive UI on the market. Canon is copying many Sony's tricks left and right. Starting from menu structure ending with colors and font. :)
God her constant finger tapping whenever she pointed out a feature drove me crazy...
Take a look:
http://sonyalpharumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/NEX5-EPL1-GF1-GH1.jpg
Can you say ownage?
@santela. nothing new really. noise on the Panay sensors (also used by Oly) start appearing already at ISO 400. I'm pretty surprised that it holds that well at ISO3200.
From my experience very few people pay to that attention actually.
And if you are looking more at the noise in the picture than at the subject of the photo, I'd say you are doing it wrong.
@santela It seems quite good. I am worried about the lack of controls.
@santela btw in the comparison, look at the colors and the illumination of the background. It looks like the Panay/Oly really tried to pull ISO3200 while Sony had shot at ISO1600 and then simply bumped the exposure to match ISO3200.
I do not blame the Sony. That's normal practice. I'm pretty sure that Pany/Oly would have done the same had their sensor better sensitivity.
Yet again, the limitations don't really hinder me when using my ancient Oly E-520 - with even worse sensor.
@Dummy00001 What about these here:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/NEX5/NEX5A.HTM
@santela
If you look at how it renders the reflections and check out some other sample shots, you'll see that the Sony seems to be doing a lot of in-camera processing to make things look clearer. I think that's a good idea for most consumers, but if you like Photoshopping then Olympus holds its own because it lets you do the work. I have to say the Panasonic looks really bad. Noise is one thing but banding is really hard to get rid of in post processing.
@KirinIchiban Hmm. True that, just checked. So which of the 3 Olympuses would you suggest?
Not sure Kirin is ichiban.
@Atkins
For some reason I don't get e-mails about replies to comments, so sorry about the delay.
It depends on what you want to do. The E-PL1 is missing one dial and has a walk-through menu for settings. It's like a point & shoot with a guided tutorial for SLR style functions. It also has the newest sensor and some reviews say the best picture quality from Olympus so far.
The E-P2 seems to have a more traditional menu and a dial that lets you choose settings quickly. Better build quality (less plastic). The sensor is one version prior, but nothing to scoff at.
I don't think Kirin is ichiban either but that's what they say on the label. And it's pretty good (at least the real stuff made in Japan is).
CNET is highly highly biased, everyone is Apple lovers these days.
@jjrudey
Oh, shut up. The review is on video - do you have any comment on the content of the video that refutes any claims made?
@Kelmon Awww, fanboy, did I offend you?
@jjrudey
Well, yes, because you started talking nonsense for no apparent reason. Now, if you'd like to have a sensible discussion on the subject of this camera then please, be my guest. Do you consider the review flawed and, if so, why?
@Kelmon Wow are you the comment master or something? stop acting like a child and grow up, I don't have time to argue with someone about nothing so i'll be on my way.
@jjrudey Yet you have time to comment?
You can so tell she's reading a teleprompter and trying really hard to fake emotion in her lines lol..
The NEX series looks pretty sweet though!
I honestly don't understand the point of these cameras. I absolutely understand that people would like DSLR performance and options in a small body but unless you plan to always use a pancake lens with one of these cameras then they are hardly pocket-size once a longer lens is attached. Once you have to take them out of your pocket because the overall unit is too large and/or you have a variety of lens/accessories to carry with it, there surely isn't much difference between the hassle of carrying one of these cameras and a "normal" DSLR.
Even if you're only sometimes shooting with the pancake, that's still more times than you could fit a dSLR in your pocket.
@Plothole
I suppose that whether this is important or not depends on how well this camera stacks up against something more traditional like the Canon PowerShot G11. That said, given a lack of manual shooting modes it looks like the NEX-5 is aimed at a different market and, to be honest, I can see the argument that it at least can be pocket-sized sometimes.
@Kelmon Well, they are smaller. When you take off the lens from the body, both become quite pocketable. They are also lighter (the bodies and the lenses).
I have a Powershot G10 btw, and while the quality is really amazing for this tiny sensor, the Pen's, for example, beat it hands down. Especially for low-light.
This NEX looks promising, but like you, I am worried about those basic features that you need to search in the submenus. I like buttons - it's faster :)
@Kelmon The size difference with even the standard zoom is quite apparent.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/NEX5/NEX5A.HTM
look down at "Sony NEX-5 vs. Canon Rebel T2i".
Yes, it means "large pockets". but still not more than say a normal sized consumer camcorder packs in size.
@moijk
Er, no. Sorry but even with just the 18-55 lens attached that camera is too big to fit in a pocket unless your pockets are the size of sacks. Heck, that would be hard pressed to fit inside my wife's handbag and I generally reckon you lose pretty much anything in that. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration but you get the idea...
Sony needs a pancake prime to make this thing have a purpose. Otherwise, it's no more pocketable than standard SLR.
@rkd The 16mm?
@rkd
The 16mm f/2.8 lens (24mm eq.) is the only one someone with a DSLR would want. And that is only for taking pictures in places where it wouldn't be easy or practical to take a DSLR.
But still, it is a hard sell against a point & shoot camera with a zoom in terms of ease of use and portability.
Now, if I didn't have a DSLR, having a pancake lens and a zoom lens would be a much easier setup to carry around.
I tend to ignore Sony and Olympus due to the proprietary memory card. At this point I have enough SD's lying around without adding memory sticks and xD cards.
@JeanLuc Slight feeling you have missed the dual MS/SD slot. you can use your SD cards with those cameras. In fact, most Sony cameras come with dual card support.
And as for Olympus, they completely ditched their xD format earlier this year. (the EP-1 was already using standard SD cards prior to that)