Sony NEX-5 preview
By Vlad Savov 
posted June 16th 2010 7:04PM
posted June 16th 2010 7:04PM
Alright, let's get our uncensored gushing out of the way first. The NEX-5's body is beautifully built. That magnesium alloy construction really makes the camera feel like it can withstand a high velocity encounter with a brick wall. Not that Sony's reps would let us verify that hypothesis, the spoilsports. Seriously, if all you're after is one of the slickest and seemingly hardest wearing compact shooters around, just buy the NEX-5 and move on to figuring out what smartphone camp you wanna belong to.
But should you care for how this little camera actually handles and performs, read on. Although the back of the NEX-5 is mostly devoid of buttonry, the large and vibrant 3-inch LCD doesn't offer any touch functionality, which might surprise and disappoint users. The screen does ameliorate the situation by offering some degree of articulation. You can't swivel it left or right, but you can turn it vertically in order to use it to compose shots directly above or below your point of view . We didn't find it anywhere near as fluid or easy to maneuver as the screen on our D5000, but it'll do the job well enough for the more patient among you.
We shouldn't, however, overstate the UI critique -- we had only a limited time with the NEX-5, and we can say from experience that most cameras that offer such an advanced range of controls and adjustments tend to take some time to adapt to. These are complex pieces of equipment with a learning curve that's higher than the one you'd expect from things like phones, pocket camcorders, or mainstream point-and-shoot cams.
And now to the all-important image quality. We have to first reiterate our proviso that our time with the NEX-5 was limited, and add to it the fact that we were in a poorly lit environment which will hardly represent the best possible results with this camera. On the other hand, it should certainly provide a representative real world usage scenario for you to judge from. Looking at our results in the gallery below, you'll see some pretty lucid, well exposed, and richly saturated images. And if 800 pixels was a sufficient width for all photos ever taken, this camera would walk away with our golden unicorn prize and never have another worry in the world.
But they're not, and we have to report with a heavy heart that full-sized 14 megapixel pictures suffered from heavy noise-reducing blurring and a little sprinkling of extra noise that post-processing couldn't overcome. That's not to say that it's a terrible algorithm -- we were in fact happily surprised by how well the noise reduction avoids blotchiness and the complete obliteration of fine detail (it obliterates, but not entirely, you see), but the fact remains that when pushed to its maximum resolution in challenging conditions, the NEX-5 doesn't produce attractive pics. Anyhow, see what you think for yourself in the gallery below -- we've tried to include a few comparison shots to show the effect of using the flash as well.
In summary then, Sony has put together a stunning camera body, stuffed it with impressive hardware, allied it to a set of equally alluring lenses, and then handicapped the whole thing with a UI that wants to do DSLR duties with a pocket cam's control scheme. That's our biggest bone to pick with the NEX-5, though its rather steep price and apparent failure to perform to true pro shooter standards are also pretty high up there. All the same, we do like the NEX-5 and we're enjoying where this whole trend of "hybridizing" the DSLR and pocket camera market is going. Now bring on more lenses, lower prices, and a saner control scheme, and you'll have yourself a winner, Sony. Get 'er done.
@sod
lets start a flamewar to justify our purchase....
@kazanski nope just dont like half assed reviews of a product done at a press review. oh wait its engadget....
@sod
Then don't read the reviews....
@kazanski
dont you mean dont read engadget?
im only really here for the apple flame wars it gets amusing at times
@sod
dpreview also says it sucks. It had a worse result than any m43 they tested.
@Stormstrike
as far as im aware almost all the reviews or the camera were done on prerealse cameras plus i think that some reviews are unfairly trying to compaire it to a DSLR when its obviously not. ill be interested to see what people think in 3 months time.
@sod DPreview has a review on a non-prerelease unit now.
I think you are missing a few points. It is supposed to give you DSLR-like quality and flexibility, so of course people will compare it at least to some extent to a DSLR.
While I do agree that the controls may not seem that horrible to you, and in fact to many other people, they are still bad. If you shoot Auto, controls don't matter. If you shoot PASM though, this thing is very badly done. Imagine someone starting with NEX - he must go through some really weird learning curve, just to find out how good DLSRs are in the end. If you make something between a P&S and a DSLR, then just simplify controls, make them more intuitive. Sony made them really not intuitive. Why? They have great interfaces on the A700/850/900 etc.
@Atkins
as its says
"The NEX-5 is a dramatic and original approach to camera design - the downside being that it can't fall back on years of evolutionary improvement.'"
and
"The images are up with the best in its class but the user experience is disappointing."
im not looking to make a living or a name with a camera just take decent (ish) pictures and videos with some control and a small size. this camera does this and its what sony were aiming for. i just aint waiting a possible 3 to 4 years before the next release thats all. as for user experience my sony is the japanese edition which doesnt have a language choice other than japanese so at the moment its making things a little slower. but i still like the camera.
i had read the review before i got the camera.
@sod The only thing 'horrendus' here is your failure to read the 'p' in 'preview'.
@sod Ah, so you are in Japan? Me too. Still can't figure out why they don't put all languages.
Look, I am not saying it is not a good camera. The camera is in fact great. And while the menu/buttons are usable, they could've >easily< been better. And I am basing this on my A700, the interface is great. Forget pro or not, they could've made it better with minimal resources and that is what I am bitching about. Otherwise I like it. Especially the build quality of those new lenses, all chrome, awesome. And there will be plenty of adapters for the NEX coming soon!
@Vlad Savov
or my spelling but im dyslexic so sue me.
i dont count this as a Preview as its out and in the wild and has been for the last 2 weeks.
@Atkins
yep here in 愛知.
dont you find japanese kit does make you read the manual tho?
@Atkins
I've heard that the duty-free shops in Akihabara or Den-den in Osaka are now selling the international versions, albeit at a 20,000円 premium over the domestic Japanese-only version. Just FYI.
@pretol
have you ever actually used an LX3 and/or a DSLR, or do you just like to quote numbers and make assumptions? Many professionals will gladly use an LX3 in situations where a quick shot are needed (kind of like where you would use am nex-5) plus you don't have to worry about a 4" lens protruding which kind of defeats the purpose of a "pocket" DSLR..... just a thought....
Yea so ah.. whats this? Is this what are all the cool kids are doing? No.... what? its Sony? Oh ok, forget it.
This is far to small for my giant hands. Give me a chunky DSLR any day, then throw in a battery grip too.
@ijyt I hope you could use a cell phone with your GIANT hand.
@tome0124 There's a difference between using a phone and using a DSLR.
And for your information I have to use a DynaTAC 8000X.
@ijyt May I suggest XP Phone? It would go nice with your DSLR!
I'd like to see you guys review the SP 800UZ.
@Nitesh
Why? The Olympus 800UZ is terribly noisy, lacks an EVF, has dubious battery autonomy, and suffers from some serious distortion at the lens extremes.
If you must have an Ultra-Ultra Zoom pro-sumer camera, the Fujifilm is far superior.
Do we know how much one of these are going to cost?
Excuse me fellas, but no one has any comments on the Sony t-shirt talent going on here??
Vladislav seems fixated on things professional. The NEX-5, like it's micro four-thirds and Samsung NX cameras are neither pro nor prosumer. Tossing about the terms indiscriminately doesn't do much good for us, the readers. And castigating Sony for it's failure to design a mirrorless APS-C shooter that "[fails] to perform to true pro shooter standards" is severely missing the point of these cameras. I'd say that if the NEX-5 takes clearer images than current super-zooms, and approaches what can be done with the consumer level DSLRs, it'll be a success. These aren't cameras with pro or even prosumer aspirations, and it doesn't make any sense to judge them that way.
@Living Brain Donor This is a bad excuse. Let's say that it targets those people wanting entry-level DLSR,but who want something smaller - the interface still sucks. That is what people don't get. It doesn't even come close to entry-level DSLRs in terms of usability. It doesn't matter who this thing is aimed to - many controls are plain illogical, difficult to access and intuitive. Why? There is no reason for that.
If someone is giving those money for an interchangeable lens system, I think it's a good guess to say they are at least a bit serious about their photography. So how will those people evolve?
Engadget you quality results are pretty screwy. EVERY other review i've seen has absolutely praised the image quality. Some like dpreview have slammed the UI, but *everyone* has raved about the image quality.
either the engadget guys dont know that one have to post-sharpen images after downsizing, or this cam is just bad...
Not a single one of the sample images is crisp, sharp and vibrant...all of 'em are blurried and furthermore have a lot of iso noise...even a Canon 1000D or a Nikon 3000D (I for myself ohn a D90) will produce way better images on high-iso after and w/o downsizing (downsizing removes a lot of iso noise)...
Every of these pics reminds me on my canon A590 is compact cam which produced outstanding images for its class but clearly non-comparable to any DSLR in terms of sharpness and noise (for myself sharpness iss important, I can live with some noise) so is the Sony
@brachland
the images from this camera are great its just the downsizeing has f##ked the image. i managed to get mine delivered last saturday and i really happy with it.
@sod Downsizing has done no such thing. And neither did I run these through a noise filter to make the camera look bad. The results are what they are.
@ me..."produce better high iso pics"...
I think the engadget guys did something wrong...i saw samples at dpreview that met the canon 550D's...so why are the sample pics that blurry and noisy (but still there was a lack of sharpness in the sample images od dpreview, especially when exceeding iso 1000)
I've already pre-ordered, and feel confident that my NEX-5 will be a perfect compliment to my awesome Lumix G1.
With these two (and a couple of lenses), I'll have little need to even bother with my D-SLRs much any more.
@kazanski He just said that this thing would be better. I have a Powershot G10 I use when I don't want to lug my A700, but this NEX will kill it hands down when it comes to IQ and range. Although the interface sucks :)
That girl is pretty hot.
Question:t why no one ever mentioned that the NEX is a 3D capable camera?
@yeantern
aparently we have to wait for the update at the start of july for that .
How sad....i was looking to getting this too, because of the form factor.... but just looking at the pictures in the gallery (they are bad for a DSLR) make me think otherwise.
To Vladislav:
Your post did not specify which shooting mode you were in when you shot those photos for the gallery. From reading other reviews, if you stayed in the iAuto mode, it caps the ISO sensitivity to 1600 (which is stupid IMO). That might be one of the sources of your problems. If you can clarify camera mode, and also describe the photos with the ISO and shutter speed, it would really help.
OH MAN!
I got my hands on the NEX-5 yesterday, and what a downturn.
have read reviews from page to page on this camera, all looking good.
BUT,
Not a singel word on hos much "shutter" noise this camera make.
I thought a mirrorless camera would be silent, but this one make a loud "klick-ka-chunk" sound when fired!
TO BAD SONY!
Dec