Sony Cyber-shot H5 and H2 First Impressions Review

Manual Control Options
The models at the Photo Marketing Association trade show did not have access to the manual exposure controls because of their early prototype status. The manual mode is there and the numbers appear on the LCD screen with the arrows pointing the way to change them, but they could not be changed. This will of course be changed by April and May when the cameras hit the market. Some other manual controls were available, such as the ISO and white balance, and some of them even had handy live views.

Focus
Auto Focus
The camera can focus from about 3/4 of an inch in the macro mode and 18 inches in normal shooting mode. The close macro is great for online auction shots. The auto focus mode can be selected as Single, Continuous and Monitor. Single and Continuous are included on many models, but the Monitor is a fairly new feature on Sony models. This Monitor mode focuses despite camera movement, while the Continuous mode focuses with subject movement in mind. The auto focus frames can be selected to the default multi-point AF and the center AF. The contrast detection auto focus system does okay in low light, as it has an AF assist lamp. Overall, the auto focus worked well. It was a bit slow in the movie mode, even with the continuous auto focus mode turned on.

Manual Focus
The specs claim that there is a manual focus mode, but it was not included on the prototype models. Sony representatives said the Expanded Focus option was specifically made for the manual focus, which will be included on the production models.

Exposure
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and H2 have standard +/- 2 EV exposure compensation ranges with 1/3 steps. Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, and Program modes are available (or will be, in the full production models) along with the automatic and six scene exposure modes.

Metering
In the prototype models, there were three metering options but no live views. The three metering options include multi-pattern, center-weighted average and spot. These can be found within the recording menu.

White Balance
The Sony H5 and H2 have the same white balance modes: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Flash and Manual. The automatic mode works okay, but cast a blue hue in the shade. To its credit, the cameras have live views, making it easy for beginners to select the right modes.

The manual mode is called One Push on these models. At the top of the white balance menu is the One Push Set option. Users need only to scroll over this option for it to activate. There is no tiny window to frame white subjects, so users need to fill the whole frame with white.

ISO
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and H2 are heavily marketed for their new ISO ratings. Many manufacturers are including higher ISOs so consumers can take more naturally lit photographs in low light. The H5 and H2 use Sony Clear RAW noise reduction technology to keep pictures looking good in higher ISO sensitivities. The camera includes an automatic setting, as well as 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1000 settings. These high ISOs are welcome after the Sony H1, which had a far smaller 64-400 range. The H5 and H2’s high ISOs combine with the image stabilization mode to reduce blur; this seems to be a strategy of many manufacturers in 2006.

Shutter Speed
The Sony H5 and H2 shutter speeds were not functional on the prototype models. Of course, those will be available when the cameras come out. Until then, the shutter speed range remains a mystery. The model at the show was stuck on a 1/30th of a second speed, but there will be many more stops to come. Note that the ultra zoom H-series cameras both include image stabilization, which allows photographers to speed up the shutter in lower light and still get blur-free shots.

Aperture
The lens on the prototype model indicates a nice f/2.8 aperture opening on the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens. On the telephoto end of the long 12x zoom lens, the aperture shrinks to f/3.7 – which is really not that bad at all considering its length. The minimum apertures are unknown at this time though because of the early stage of development the cameras are in.