The H5 comes with version 1.0 of the Sony Cyber-shot Viewer software, as well as a USB driver for the camera and a link to the product registration web site. The program itself is disappointingly extremely primitive: this camera is designed for enthusiasts, but the software won’t even satisfy point-and-shooters.

 

When the software is first uploaded from the CD-ROM, it automatically loads Sony pictures into the program. Other images must be manually loaded individually or by folder. Pictures can be viewed as thumbnails or as thumbnails with file information. A sliding bar in the top right corner of the browser controls thumbnail size.

Once a single picture is selected, it occupies its own window with the following functions: next and back for scrolling through images, a button for slide shows, in and out zooming functions, right and left rotation buttons, an option to view the picture fit to the screen or as close as the eyes can handle, and editing and printing functions. A  question mark also signifies the help menu, which is available from any point in the program.

 

To edit a picture, users must click on the editing button, which presents a dropdown menu of options: automatic correction, brightness correction, saturation, sharpness, red-eye reduction, and trimming. There is a Restore button if users don’t like the automatic correction or any of the other options, and a Save button to keep the changes. The automatic correction feature works quickly and doesn’t provide any options. The brightness correction feature lets users adjust dark or light areas, tweak the contrast, and adjust saturation and sharpness on scales of 1-100. The red-eye reduction function is quite awful, as it involves a dropper that makes everything it touches gray. The trimming function can resize or crop images to almost any format ratio.

 

Overall, the included software is extremely disappointing. True enthusiasts who purchase the Sony H5 will want to look into getting another  program. The Sony Cyber-shot Viewer version 1.0 software just doesn’t cut it.

 

The Sony H5 has a rubber cover on the left side of the camera, at the rear of the lens barrel. This opens to reveal the separate USB and AV-out jacks. The USB jack supports 2.0 high-speed image transfers and  connects the camera to computers and printers. USB options in the setup menu include PictBridge, PTP, Mass Storage, and Auto. Users who don’t want to fuss with this setting every time they connect the camera to a device should just select the Auto option. The same setup menu lets users select the AV-out jack to NTSC or PAL  and connect the H5 to televisions for slide shows on an even bigger screen. There is no jack for a power adaptor, which could be a problem when uploading pictures on low batteries.

 

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 can create and send print orders within the playback menu. From here, users can choose whether to print all of the pictures in a folder or  only those selected. Users can scroll through index frames and create a DPOF print order, but cannot select the quantity of each image. Once the order is finalized, users must set the camera to the PictBridge USB mode option in the setup menu, connect it  to a PictBridge compatible printer with the USB cable then send pictures from the playback menu. There is no one-touch print button, so first-time users may have to keep the user manual on hand for the initial printing party. A Function Guide that tells users how large they can print when selecting the image size, and thus keeps users from printing poor quality shots. The Sony H5 does have direct print capability, but it isn’t as streamlined as it is on models from other manufacturers. I

 

One of the biggest complaints about the Sony H1 was the batteries’ inefficiency. The problem has not been fixed. In fact, it may be worse, as the H5 uses the same two AA batteries but has way more functions to suck the battery dry faster. The 3-inch screen eats up battery life, as do the screen backlight, the image stabilization system, and the smooth zoom lens. The camera comes with Sony brand nickel-metal hydride batteries that the specs claim hold  340 shots per charge. While these batteries did last longer than generic AAs, they still didn’t come close to the 340 shot life.

 

Users  will frequently turn to the supplied BC-CS2 battery charger, but may still want to invest another $9 in a spare set of Sony brand batteries. It seems wrong to support Sony’s awful habit of trapping users into buying their branded equipment, but the alternative is to carry four pocketfuls of generic batteries and risk missing a photo opportunity.

 

In 2005, Sony declared that all of its Cyber-shot digital cameras would come with a bit of internal memory. A year later, that is still their mantra. The H5 comes with 32 MB built in and a slot for a Memory Stick Duo or Pro Duo card. The camera supports up to 2 GB capacity cards, but does not support the access control security function. Sony recommends that users opt for the more expensive Pro card and even urges them to do so by offering a decent 30 fps movie mode only with that particular form of memory. A 1 GB Pro card retails for $70 on the Sony web site, while a 2 GB card goes for $120. In the setup menu, the card has its own dedicated submenu. Users can create and change folders on the card, set the image file numbers to assign in a series or to restart, format the card, and copy images  from the internal memory to the card.

 

Smart Zoom Feature – This feature utilizes the entire imaging sensor to digitally zoom in on a subject. Pictures have to be recorded at a smaller image size for this to work, but staying within the camera’s limits keeps them from looking pixilated. The H5 magnifies up to a total of 14x at the 5-megapixel size, 18x at 3 megapixels, 22x at 2 megapixels, and a whopping 57x at the tiny VGA size.