Build and Handling
Like the CX4, the CX5 houses a 28-300mm (equivalent), 10.7x optical zoom in a 29.4mm-deep body. Its 10-million-pixel sensor is the same as that found in the CX3 and CX4, as is the 3in, 920,000-dot LCD screen, which is crisp and bright but shows smudges quickly and needs regular wipes.
The CX5 has virtually no distinguishable exterior changes either, except for the built-in flash, which has been shifted further to the right to make space for the new hybrid AF sensor. Unfortunately, this increases the likelihood that the flash will be hidden behind the photographer’s hand. However, this also takes it further from the lens axis, which lessens the chances of redeye.
The zoom range takes just under two seconds to go from 28mm to 300mm, and the digital zoom reaches a staggering 2,880mm, though the quality of this type of zoom has always been poor and I would not advise using it. An 8-stop step zoom for the 28-300mm range is useful to achieve specific focal lengths.
DSLR users should feel at home with the CX5’s simple, sophisticated and classic design, although its fully automatic operation may frustrate them. That said, in use the CX5 is an interesting mixture of point-and-shoot simplicity and a vast number of bracketing options for white balance, colour and focus, manual tweaks such as exposure compensation and modes to control functions such as AF.
In fact, the CX5 features more AF modes than most DSLRs. Handily, the user can assign the function button to one of these controls, plus the adjust/ok button can be used to directly access ISO, white balance, exposure compensation, spot AE and AF, and image size.
Slick operation means there is virtually no shutter lag and images are processed quickly, even when bracketed over several exposures. Hybrid AF is responsive and snaps into focus in virtually any situation. It slows down in low-light but only slightly, helped by the AF assist light. In short, the CX5 handles really well.
Useful features from earlier models include a 1cm macro mode, 5fps over three seconds, and the ability to extract a still image from video footage when using the 120fps, 640×480-pixel VGA video mode.
