Sony Alpha NEX-5

Color (10.56)

Color accuracy is a problem for the Sony NEX-5, notably when it comes to saturation. It seems the camera was preset for those who like overblown Kodachrome color, with every color mode oversaturated by at least 10%, and most at about 125%. Fortunately, if you prefer more natural results, you can go in and make adjustments to the color mode settings. More on how we test color.

Of the five available color modes, standard proved most accurate when it comes to reproducing colors, though the saturation came in at 110%. Skin tones are handled well in this mode, along with sky blue, greens and purple. Reds were considerably off-hue, though, along with cyan and other blue tones.

The chart below includes actual-size crops from our color test shots for the NEX-5 and four comparison cameras.

Camera Color Comparisons
	Ideal	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
Dark Skin
Light Skin
Blue Sky
Foliage
Blue Flower
Bluish Green
	Ideal	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
Orange
Purplish Blue
Moderate Red
Purple
Yellow Green
Orange Yellow
	Ideal	Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
Blue
Green
Red
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan

NOTE: Because of the way computer monitors reproduce colors, the images above do not exactly match the originals found on the chart or in the captured images. The chart should be used to judge the relative color shift, not the absolute captured colors.

The Sony NEX-5 scored lower than all but the Samsung NX10 Much of the difference is due to oversaturation problems rather than inaccurate color values.

Color Modes (4.00)

As with Sony SLRs, the NEX-5 comes with six preset Creative Styles, which control color reproduction along with contrast, saturation and sharpness. Contrast and sharpness can be manually adjusted in a ±3 setting range for all six modes; saturation adjustment is available in all but the black and white mode.

Vivid, landscape and sunset modes all pump up the saturation levels to around 125% for dramatic effect. Portrait comes in at a somewhat gentler 113%, but you’re still going to see some unnatural blush in your subject’s cheeks if you shoot with this mode at its default setting.

The chart below shows samples of each color mode (except black and white). You’ll also find real-world sample shots in all six modes in the Picture Effects section of this review.

White Balance (7.05)

While it’s far from the worst we’ve seen, the NEX-5 did not perform well in our white balance testing, which goes hand in hand with its poor color accuracy results. We test under three different lighting conditions (tungsten, daylight and fluorescent), using the automatic white balance system and then taking a manual white balance. There was no single test that skewed the results here. Instead, results were generally mediocre across the board.

Automatic White Balance (10.2)

The results when shooting under daylight using auto white balance weren’t bad, but the problem with overly warm incandescent shots will be readily apparent.

Custom White Balance (3.9)

Taking a custom white balance reading produced much better images than the auto setting when shooting under incandescent lights — definitely worth taking the extra few moments for a manual reading. Under daylight and fluorescent lighting, though, we didn’t find the level of accuracy we expect when using a custom white balance setting: both were slightly less accurate than the auto setting.

With the Panasonic GF1 scoring exceptionally well here and the Olympus E-PL1 particularly poorly, the Sony NEX-5 results are still south of acceptable.

White Balance Options (8.00)

The NEX-5 has six white balance presets. The presets can be manually adjusted, with three steps toward redder reproduction and three steps toward blue.

Taking a custom white balance reading is easy; choose the setting option in the menu, point at a white or gray surface and press the shutter button.

There are two more ways to enter a white balance setting; enter a color temperature value in degrees Kelvin, or choose a virtual Color Compensation filter, selecting one of nine values for either green or magenta. With a live on-screen preview as you make these adjustments, you don’t need to be a hardcore techie to find them useful.

Long Exposure (8.47)

Our long exposure testing takes into account both image noise and color accuracy results when shooting at slow shutter speeds. The Sony NEX-5 performed reasonably well in the image noise testing, but its color accuracy problems carried over when the lights were turned down low, producing a middle-of-the-road overall score for this section. Both of the Micro Four Thirds cameras in our comparison group scored lower, based on poor image noise performance. Both of the other APS-C-format cameras scored higher overall. The Samsung had higher color error than the Sony but much lower noise. The two Sony cameras were about even when it comes to color error, while the A550 noise performance falls between the NX10 and the NEX-5. More on how we test long exposure.

Color error was slightly higher when long exposure noise reduction processing was turned on. In terms of doing its appointed job, though, the long exposure noise reduction had virtually no effect. Best bet: just turn it off.

If you’re planning to shoot the creatures of the night, there are better choices than the NEX-5, but performance is acceptable in this area.