Sony Alpha NEX-5

Speed and Timing

In our testing, the NEX-5 delivered as promised. In our lab shooting full-resolution JPEGs in speed priority mode, we got just over 7 shots per second (7.07, to be precise), with about 20 shots before shooting slowed to clear the buffer.

In the standard continuous advance setting, we again did slightly better than advertised, with 2.6 shots per second.

There are two high-speed shooting modes. The speed-priority continuous setting autofocuses and sets exposure before the first frame, then shoots at up to 7 frames per second at that focus setting. The standard continuous advance setting, which attempts to adjust focus and exposure as needed between shots, maxes out at 2.3 images per second.

The self-timer is more flexible than most. You have standard 2-second and 10-second delay options, but there is also a custom self-timer mode that lets you shoot either 3 or 5 images automatically after a 10-second delay.

The NEX-5 will work with Sony’s optional RMT-DSLR1 Wireless Remote Commander ($30).

Focus Speed

A key concern when evaluating mirrorless cameras versus SLRs is autofocus speed. A key reason to include a mirror in an SLR is to bounce light to a dedicated autofocus sensor that uses fast phase detect technology. Without a mirror, autofocus is based on data taken directly from the image sensor itself, evaluating different lens positions to figure out which setting offers the highest contrast (which equals the sharpest focus).

We have yet to find a mirrorless model that can match the autofocus performance of even an inexpensive SLR. The Sony NEX cameras come surprisingly close, though, and that’s a key competitive advantage, particularly against the Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras, which even after a recent firmware upgrade are the slowest of the bunch.

The NEX-5 offers two focus modes: Single shot, where the camera focuses and maintains focus while shutter is half-way pressed, and continuous autofocus, where the camera continues to adjust focus as long as the shutter is pressed half-way.

The camera can be set to autofocus, manual focus or what’s called ‘direct manual focus,’ which uses autofocus and then allows manual adjustment while the shutter button is depressed halfway.

There are three focus area options:

• Multi – Camera chooses from 25 AF areas.
• Center – Only the center focus point is used.
• Flexible Spot – User selects the AF point to be used by moving the four-way controller.

When shooting in Intelligent Auto mode, apertures can be adjusted without dealing with that messy technical term. The ‘background defocus’ screen is accessed by pushing the middle control wheel button. Turning the wheel in this mode lets the user adjust background sharpness, on a scale from Crisp to Defocus. There’s no information presented to help users learn the aperture control concept, but the on-screen display does offer live depth of field preview, so you can see the effect as you turn the wheel.

The front lamp next to the hand grip functions as a self-timer indicator, and also as a bright, effective autofocus illuminator.

The face detect capability, which recognizes up to eight individuals, is based on the Sony point-and-shoot system. In addition to standard face detect, you get child-priority and adult-priority modes, which are self-explanatory. There’s also a Smile Shutter function; after pushing the shutter, the camera waits until it detects a smiling face before taking the picture (if everyone’s feeling morose that day, you can just press the shutter a second time to take a shot). And depending on the level of jolly you desire, there are three sensitivity settings for the smile shutter feature; Big Smile, Normal Smile and Slight Smile.

The manual focus assist works beautifully. When you turn the focus ring, the on-screen image is automatically magnified to allow critical focusing precision. Touching the shutter button returns the display to standard view. Of course, if you prefer, you can turn off the manual assist function. Unfortunately, the manual focus assist isn’t available for movie recording.

A quick word of praise for the manual focus control on the kit 18-55mm lens is called for here. Unlike so many kit lenses, which have loose, sloppy manual control, the ring here is silky smooth, with just the right amount of tension to allow careful movement.