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Sony Alpha NEX-5

Based on 65 reviews

Excellent:

23
Good:

31
Average:

9
Bad:

2

Pros

Good image quality, Solid build quality, Easy operation, Effortless panorama shooting
Very good low light and High ISO performance, Snappy performance, Good build quality and design, Effective HDR and DRO mode, Fast autofocus, Good image video with continuous focus, High resolution tilting LCD screen.
User Interface, High speed shooting, performance, 3D panorama, HDR, Tilt LCD
Fantastic photos from a tiny camera, great build quality.
Best in class in the “EVIL” camera category with excellent image quality and fast focusing; top-notch HD video with crisp stereo sound; relatively low noise at high ISOs; fine 16mm f/2.8 kit lens.
Flipout & adjustable LCD screen, Excellent image & video quality in good conditions, 1080p video shooting, RAW image output
Takes great HD videos; has additional modes like sweep panorama; fast continuous shooting speed.
Speedy autofocus. Sturdy magnesium alloy body steady in the hand. Built-in photo guides. Lens fits snuggly
Excellent image quality, especially at high sensitivities, Ultracompact body with interchangeable lenses (though see below), Beautiful, high resolution, articulating 3" LCD; very good outdoor visibility, Wellimplemented live view with fast 25point AF syst
Excellent image quality, Very compact camera body, Wide photographic features.
Image Quality, small system
Good image and color quality, Dedicated video capture button, Autofocus and exposure during video capture, Tilting monitor.
Truly compact and lightweight, Rich, accurate colors, Very good 1080i videos, Superior 3-inch adjustable screen.
Compact design, Magnesium alloy body looks sharp, feels great, Good grip, Comfortable to hold despite small size, Power switch is placed just right, Lens barrels have an excellent feel, look great, Still has good heft despite light weight, Camera strap...
Excellent high-ISO-sensitivity photo quality; quiet, fast lenses good for shooting video and comfortable for manual focus; compact, with a nice physical design and control layout; large, tilting LCD.

Cons

Expensive, Few lens options
Limited shortcut controls, iAuto mode not reliable for correct exposure, No EVF and standard flash hotshoe, Average battery life
No viewfinder, Battery backup, Doesn't feel like an SLR, Removable flash feels awkward
We want more lenses to choose from, some features not available in auto mode.
Menu-based interface is designed for consumers not professionals; 18-55mm kit lens adds significant size to camera while offering only so-so image quality; no optical viewfinder even as an accessory.
No builtin flash, Body design can be awkward to hold
Oddly placed playback button, cumbersome menu system.
Sluggish startup. Only three E lenses currently available. Mounting the flash is fiddly
Poorly designed, menucentric user interface makes using the camera way more difficult than it should be, Ultracompact body means no mode dial, few buttons, and lots of things to block with your fingers, No builtin flash; included external flash not powerf
Hard to change settings manually, Large lens makes heft feel unbalanced, Low battery life.
Slow start up time, options tucked away in menus, accessory port fiddly to use
Settings via menus can be time consuming, Accessory port limits viewfinder/flash/stereo recording options.
Very noisy at highest ISOs, Limited lens selection, Would like color-coordinated attachments, Even more of a slam-dunk if it were cheaper.
Extreme corners are soft from the 18-55mm at 18mm, and from the 16mm lens, Moderately high levels of chromatic aberration at wide-angle from both lenses, Macro images are soft from the 18-55mm and 16mm lens has no macro capability, Only two noise-reduc...
No EVF option; frequently annoying user interface; unusual amount of distortion on 18-55mm kit lens; no neutral image color settings.

By ePHOTOzine on August 15, 2011

The Sony NEX-5 seems to have an over-reliance on the menus, and it can be a little time consuming trying to find some of the more advanced options. As the smallest mirrorless camera, it is very appealing, although the current lenses don't make the...

90
By The Luminous Landscape on June 01, 2011

Sony's NEX cameras are (as of June, 2011) the smallest interchangeable lens cameras available, and therefore the smallest that can take a Leica M lens via an...

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By Digital Photography School on June 01, 2011

A Guest Post by Chris Folsom from Studio Tempura.Here was my dilemma: I love photography and want to have a camera with me as often as possible, but carrying a DSLR at all times is less than practical. But I want better image quality than most...

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By Cameras UK on April 01, 2011

The Sony Nex-5 is a very impressive camera. Picture quality is eye catching and is a clear step up from a standard digital camera. Build quality is also top drawer. It has a set of features that is a step up from the most basic Digital SLRs. All of...

86
By Tech2 on January 31, 2011

Point and shoot cameras are preferred by most of us because they are cheap and easy to use. Every one of us would like to own a DSLR camera but the learning curve is a deterrent. Companies such as Olympus and Panasonic tried to bring the best of both...

80
By ThinkDigit on January 18, 2011

At Rs. 34,990, the Sony NEX-5 is expensive, but it also delivers near-dSLR quality with a much smaller body. A stylish camera, although, the removable lens system makes it nearly as inconvenient as a dSLR. The lack of variety in E-mount lenses will...

70
By Techworld on January 13, 2011

The Sony’s answer to Micro Four Third cameras impressed us with its smaller than usual body, good build quality and most importantly, very good DSLR-image quality. There were few minor issues like inaccurate exposure, lack of standard flash...

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By PCWorld India on January 04, 2011

Sony’s answer to Micro Four Third cameras impressed us with its smaller than usual body, good build quality and most importantly, very good DSLR-image quality. For its price and size, the NEX-5 is a very good buy as it scores high on features and...

83
By EISA on January 01, 2011

Although the Sony α NEX-5 is the smallest system camera in the world, by using a large APS-C CMOS image sensor it is still able to deliver excellent image quality. The camera is aimed at compact camera users and beginners who want to improve their...

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By CIOL on December 21, 2010

Ever since micro four-thirds came into the digicam scenario in late 2008, manufacturers have been slowly shifting to adopt the technology. After Panasonic, Olympus introduced their micro four-third camera Olympus PEN EP-1 and Samsung followed suit...

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