Sony Cyber-shot H5 and H2 First Impressions Review

Front
From the front, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and H2 look almost identical. They have the same chunky grip on the left side of the body and a large zoom lens that protrudes from the right side. The biggest difference between the two is the little logo in the middle that states how many megapixels are included in each model. The handgrip is covered in a rubbery material that has little divots on the front for enhanced gripping action. At the top of the grip is a black jog dial with the polished silver shutter release button above it.

The right side of the camera consists of the huge lens barrel and the pop-up flash just above it. The Carl Zeiss 12x zoom lens sits within a wide barrel that is threaded to accept conversion lenses. Above the shiny rim of the barrel is the Sony logo, which sits right on the front lip of the pop-up flash. Directly to the left of the flash is a large AF illuminator LED; to its left is a small built-in microphone.

Back
As with many digital cameras, most of the controls are located on the back of the camera. The Sony H5 has a large 3-inch LCD screen that dominates the left side; the H2 has a 2.5-inch screen and a little more breathing room with the controls. Above the LCD is an electronic viewfinder with a plastic eyepiece. The controls are crammed to the right of the LCD. At the top right is the zoom toggle that switches from the ‘W’ wide end of the 12x lens to the ‘T’ telephoto end on the right. Below the toggle are a set of six bumps meant to add texture for the right thumb to grip and support the camera. 

There are two oval-shaped buttons to the right of the thumb grip; the top changes the screen display info and the bottom recalls the menu system. Below this is a multi-selector that has a central selection button and a donut around it. The ring does not have arrows on it, but opts for icons of the double features instead. When the selector isn’t navigating through menus, it can control other features. Pushing the top cycles through the flash modes, the right calls up the macro mode, the bottom activates the self-timer, and the left lets users control the exposure compensation.

Left Side
The left side of the H5 and H2 Sony Cyber-shot ultra zoom cameras looks rather chunky. This is the side with the large 12x zoom lens, so it is the widest part of the camera. The Cyber-shot logo is front and center, of course. Above it is a reminder that the cameras have 12x zoom and above that tag is a wide eyelet that should keep the neck strap from sliding around. At the rear of the cameras are port doors. The doors open to the combined A/V / USB jacks and the separate DC in jacks. The door to this has a tab at the back so it is easier to open.

Right Side
The right side of the H5 and H2 is quite boring. Users can see the rubberized material on the right-hand grip. The neck strap eyelet is also located toward the top – although it isn’t straight across from the left eyelet. This setup is similar to the now defunct Konica Minolta chunky digital cameras; their eyelets are not in line with each other. At the bottom, the battery compartment door is visible but cannot be opened from this side. 

Top
The view from the top lends users a peek at the U-shaped Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and H2. The left side of the top consists of a large viewfinder segment; the viewfinder is in the back of the camera and the pop-up flash sits at the front. The right side also protrudes where the handgrip is. At the tip of this is the shutter release button with the large mode dial directly behind it. To the left of the mode dial are two circular buttons. The power button is closest to the dial and the image stabilization button sits almost in the center of the top, next to the viewfinder barrel. Toward the back of the top are two more buttons; these are slightly tilted to the back. The Finder/LCD button sits just right of the viewfinder and the playback mode button is just right of the LCD button. 

Bottom
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and H2 cameras have wide bases. This helps users stabilize the camera. The left side has a battery compartment door for the two AA batteries and the center has a standard quarter-inch tripod mount.