Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5

Resolution (13.96)

We were also favorably impressed with the performance of the TX5 in our tests on the resolution of the images it captures. We found that the images were sharp and had only slight distortion across the 4x zoom range that this camera can manage. The only issue that we saw was a small amount of chromatic aberration in the middle of the zoom range. More on how we test resolution.

Distortion (15.0)

We found that the images that this camera captured had very low distortion at the mid and telephoto points of the zoom range, with both showing less than 0.5 per cent distortion, which is pretty much invisible. There was a bit more at the widest point of the zoom range, though; we saw about 1.5 per cent distortion, which is just enough to be visible: long thin objects like lamp posts and walls will look slightly distorted. Below are examples of the distortion from our test chart.

Distortion Examples
Wide (4.4mm): 0.64% Pincushion Distortion
Mid (8.7mm): 0.45% Pincushion Distortion
Tele (17.7mm): 0.28% Pincushion Distortion

Sharpness (16.08)

We found that the images captured by the TX5 were pretty sharp for the most part, although the sharpness did fall off somewhat at the edge of the frame in all of our test images, as you can see in the examples below. This slight drop in sharpness was present at all points on the zoom range, but was particularly pronounced at the wide and telephoto ends of the zoom range, where it became quite significant.

Chromatic Aberration (7.11)

The other thing that we noticed was that there was a significant amount of chromatic aberration (CA) at the widest end of the zoom range on the edges of the frame. The amount of CA that we saw at the mid and telephoto zoom points was low, but there was a lot at the widest zoom point, which shows in the wide crops on the charts below and our sample photos as a distinct color fringe to sharp edges.

Quality & Size Options (4.33)

The TX5 provides a range of image size options (see below), but there is no control over the amount of compression used on the image. There is also no support for saving RAW images, which contain the raw data from the image sensor.

Image Stabilization (7.84)

The TX5 has two forms of image stabilization: as well as an optical system that moves an element of the lens to compensate for movement, there is a special mode called Anti-Motion Blur. In this mode, the camera snaps 6 images with one shutter press, then processes and stacks them to create a single image. We found that this mode works very well, with images taken using it looking much sharper than those in other modes. There is a minor downside, though; the process of combining the images take several seconds, so you typically only get one attempt at a shot. But it’s worth using if you are shooting in low light and your subject can sit still for a few seconds. More on how we test image stabilization.

Stabilization Comparisons
Sony DSC-TX5	Sony DSC-TX7	Panasonic DMC-ZS3	Samsung TL225
Stabilization Off
Stabilization On