LCD, viewfinder and video
With 921,000 dots, the 3in widescreen LCD is on a par with the screens of Sony’s Alpha DSLRs. It also borrows the tilting action of the Alpha 380 and 550 screens, which allows it to tilt up almost 90° and down by nearly 45°.
I suspect that many enthusiast photographers will be disappointed that the camera has no built-in viewfinder. An optical viewfinder, the FDA-SV1, is available for use with the 16mm lens, although its high-quality design commands a price of £159.99. At the launch of the camera I was told there were no confirmed plans to release an EVF.
One of the strongest features of the NEX-5 is its video capability. Video is captured in 1080i (1920×1080-pixel interlaced resolution) and is saved in the full AVCHD codec. Sound is recorded in stereo via two microphones on the top of the camera. These microphones do pick up the sound of the lens zooming, but I could not hear the lens focusing. An external microphone, the Sony ECM-SST1, can be fitted to the accessory port of the NEX-5 and costs £99.99. As it sits further away from the lens, it should not pick up the sounds of the zoom.
Video quality itself is very good, with image wobble kept to an absolute minimum when panning. In fact, when panning I had to wobble the camera quite vigorously before vertical lines began to tilt.
Image: As well as the standard 3:2 image ratio, the NEX-5 can capture 16:9 ratio images, which takes full advantage of the camera’s widescreen LCD
