Sony Alpha NEX-5

Noise Reduction (6.95)

Like the Sony A550, the NEX-5 doesn’t offer the same level of control we find on most manufacturers’ SLRs, which let you turn off high ISO noise reduction processing altogether. The NEX-5 has two settings: weak (the lower level of processing) and auto (the higher level). In our lab testing, there really isn’t a lot of difference between the two, even at the highest ISO settings. The potential problem with high ISO noise reduction processing is the loss of fine image detail. In our test photos, though, we found little evidence of this. More on how we test noise.

Under bright studio lighting the NEX-5 did very well in our image noise testing. As expected, the Micro Four Thirds cameras had problems here when compared to the APS-C models, which hold up well even compared to many pricier SLRs.

If we compare the NEX-5 with other cameras with the noise reduction turned off, we see that it has lower noise than most. However, you should remember that this isn’t really comparing like with like: other cameras allow you to really turn the noise reduction off, but the NEX-5 does not; there is always some noise reduction going on.

A more useful comparison here is to look at the noise level with the noise reduction cranked all the way up on all of the cameras. Here, the NEX-5 is more in line with the other comparison cameras, with the Olympus E-PL1 and Samsung NX10 having lower noise at all of the ISO levels up to 800.

ISO Options

The NEX-5 offers ISO settings from 200 to 12800. When using Auto ISO, the setting tops out at ISO 1600.

The chart below shows same-size crops taken from our still life photos, which are shot in program mode with automatic white balance, with noise reduction turned off. These images are not used in our actual scoring, which is based on photographing a standardized test chart.

ISO Comparisons
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO Low
	ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100
	ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO 200
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO 400
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO 800
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO 1600
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO 3200
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO 6400
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550
ISO 12800
Sony Alpha NEX-5	Olympus PEN E-PL1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1	Samsung NX10	Sony Alpha A550

NOTE: The images above are not used in our testing or scoring, but are included here to show real-world examples of the differences between cameras at the various ISO settings.