Sony NEX-5 - The Next Generation of Digital Compact Cameras

The Sony Alpha NEX-5 Digital Camera

The dream is a simple one: to take high-quality photos similar to a DSLR camera but with a camera the size of a compact, and Panasonic, Olympus and Samsung have all raced to make it happen.

Sony is the latest entrant to the scene with the NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras, and unlike the Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus which have smaller sensors, the NEX cameras pack an APS-C sized sensor - similar to entry-level DSLRs - into a really small body.

But coming nearly one and a half years after the announcement of the first Micro Four Thirds camera, and after Samsung's APS-C sensor-sized NX cameras, are the NEX cameras enough for Sony to make up for lost time? We caught up with Toru Katsumoto, Senior GM of Sony's Digital Imaging Business Group to give us an overview and some design insights of the NEX series before we give you our full assessment of the top model, the NEX-5.

Design & Handling

The NEX-5 boasts a magnesium alloy body which gives it a solid and dense feel. The grip gives you a firm hold of the camera, although its heft feels off-kilter with such a large lens and small body, even with the 16mm pancake lens. The two kit lenses are striking in metallic silver and when clasped to the NEX-5 body, the camera definitely looks and feels like a high-quality product.

Because the camera is so small, the E-mount 18-55mm dwarfs it, taking up more than half of the camera's length. While you can shoot single-handed, the NEX-5 is really more comfortable being used with two hands. The NEX-5 and 3 don't have built-in flash, but there's a flash attachment that screws on top of the camera body. While the bundled flash unit is unobtrusive enough that you can leave it on all the time, it's easier to manipulate the lens without it in the way.

A thing about the lenses: the 18-55mm is a standard zoom lens that should cover you for pretty much most situations. The other kit lens is a pancake 16mm F2.8, which converts to a 24mm. While the pancake's slimmer profile is attractive, we'd advise you to steer clear of it unless you know what you want a wide 24mm lens for. While it covers you for shots of landscape, architecture and enclosed spaces, it doesn't play as nice as a general purpose lens, and definitely not for photographing people, unless you want distorted-looking portraits. It's a curious choice for a kit lens and we wonder why Sony didn't opt for a more general 50mm equivalent instead.

Now the fact that Sony could pack an APS-C sized sensor into such a tiny body is nothing short of an engineering marvel, especially when you look at Micro Four Thirds cameras, which led the mirror-less camera revolution but have smaller sensors and larger bodies. Just by looking at the NEX-5, you can see the little ways Sony shaved off excess space, one of which is by reducing the number of buttons on the camera. There are only three dedicated single-function buttons on the NEX-5, the last three buttons on the back change functions depending on which part of the software interface you're on.

It's a series of trade-offs for a specific result, the question is if Sony has succeed at making the bare minimal necessary to enjoy using the NEX-5, or if it's done too little. The short answer is that if you’re content with turning the NEX-5 on to iAuto mode and leaving it that way, it functions beautifully.

If you prefer to shoot in other modes, it gets a little trickier. The NEX-5's interface is at once useful and bewildering at the same time. For example, in Aperture or Shutter mode, the scroll wheel conveniently becomes the controller and the central button lets you access the mode dial. Besides aperture or shutter however, the only other thing you can change straightaway is exposure compensation – ISO control is tucked away 4 clicks deep into the menu. While the central button lets you switch modes easily, in iAuto mode it becomes a 'background defocusing control,' and to change modes now requires 2 clicks into the menu.

Imaging Performance

Shooting JPEGs, the NEX-5 pulls an impressive 14LPH vertical by 16LPH horizontal on our resolution test chart, comparable to the Olympus PEN E-P2, Panasonic G2 and Nikon D5000 cameras. ISO performance is impressive; at ISO800 noise begins to show with the G2, while the NEX-5 remains clear. Noise is apparent with the NEX-5 at ISO1600 but still usable. At ISO3200 and beyond, pictures are too noisy for comfort. All this means the NEX-5 outperforms most compact cameras on the market, which rival it in size but not performance.

The NEX-5 packs a wealth of features to help you with your photography. Take HDR Auto, it auto-brackets a shot and combines them in-camera to recover details in shadows and highlights. Sweep Panorama lets you sweep a scene and auto-generates a panoramic shot. Hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur combine multiple exposures to produce a single shot with noise and shake respectively reduced. In general, each feature works better with still subjects, as moving subjects produce ghosting effects, and Sweep Panorama will sometimes cancel out half-way while shooting if you're going too fast or too slow.

All these features unfortunately, are buried underneath the menu, which means a few clicks of the button to get to them before you can start shooting - another reason why leaving the NEX-5 on iAuto is so attractive.

If you shoot heavily, the NEX-5 is quite a battery drainer, going flat on us after only 373 shots and approximately two minutes of video. It tends to get warm after extended use although a disclaimer on the body says it's nothing to get worried about.

Sample Images

These are sample images shot with the Sony Alpha NEX-5. The images have not been post-processed and are copyright to SPH Magazines. We kindly ask that you do not reproduce them elsewhere. Click to see the original full resolution images (which are rather large).

The Next Generation of Digital Compact Cameras

As a 'bridging' camera, the NEX-5 has more in common with compact cameras than it does with DSLRs. It brings the excellent image quality of entry-level DSLR cameras into a very small body, which is no small feat. At the same time, it sacrifices the dedicated physical buttons that make DSLRs so convenient to photographers, with interface choices that favor the Auto mode photographer over Manual.

It's all about trade-offs really; what the NEX-5 gives you in photographic quality and compact size, it takes away in the form of buttons and settings that would have allowed tweaking the camera more easily. Furthemore, if you're buying a NEX camera, note that its new E-mount demands new lenses, which are at a minimum today. The NEX cameras can take Alpha lenses but only with an adapter - which takes away auto-focus functionality. DSLR users will fret about buying into a new system, but then again, based on our use and on talks with Sony, the NEX really isn't aimed towards users who're downgrading from a DSLR, but upgrading from an ultra-compact. And we find that most of these upgraders usually just stick with the kit lens they got with the camera.

Could the Sony NEX have been better served by more physical controls - like a physical scroll found on DSLRs to control shutter/aperture, built-in compatibility with A-mount lenses - and had a bigger body in return? Perhaps, but it wouldn't have appealed as much to its target audience. If you're considering whether or not the NEX-5 is for you, it's helpful to think of it as a really good compact camera rather than a basic DSLR.

Price with a single kit lens at the time of writing is S$1,199 and S$1,299 if you opt to take both the pancake and the 18-55mm kit lenses. At this price, the NEX-5 is also competitive with the existing hybrid range of cameras. One such camera in close competition in this price bracket is Samsung's NX10, the first compact-body camera to house an APS-C sized sensor. While there are performance similarities between both cameras, the difference between both are mostly physical and a matter of which is more ideal for the individual. As stressed earlier, the NEX-5 will appeal to those looking for the most compact camera body with a reasonably good interface. The slightly bulkier Samsung NX10 however is more ideal for the hardcore DSLR user wanting to get a more compact camera, but still maintaining the ease of functional usage. Overall, your preferences and needs will determine the camera of your choice, but the NEX-5 has shown that it's a capable petite camera and can only grow better with a wider range of lenses.

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