Build and handling
Perhaps the standout feature of the Sony NEX-5 is its size. With the body weighing the same as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 and measuring 110.8×58.8×38.2mm, it is the smallest and lightest interchangeable-lens digital camera currently available.
The impressively light weight has been made possible by manufacturing the body of the NEX-5 from magnesium alloy. The number of buttons and controls has also been kept to a minimum, helped by the introduction of a new control wheel. This works in a similar way to the control wheel on the rear of Canon’s professional EOS DSLRs. It can be moved in a circular fashion to quickly scroll through a range of settings or images, but it can also be pressed up, down, left and right like a standard cursor control found on most digital cameras.
The only other buttons on the rear of the camera are the so-called Soft Keys. There are three of these keys: one in the centre of the control wheel, and two others at the top and bottom on the back, next to the screen.
Without a lens mounted, the NEX-5 looks just like a compact camera. With the 16mm pancake lens attached, it begins to feel like a large compact model. Its grip is large enough to be comfortable, without adding too much to the camera’s size and weight, and it is well balanced.
As the 18-55mm kit lens is around the same size as a standard DSLR kit lens it does slightly unbalance the NEX-5, although it doesn’t really make that much difference to the handling. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test the 18-200mm lens with the NEX-5, as it isn’t currently available. Given the size of the kit lens, I would predict that the 18-200mm lens won’t be far from the size of a regular 18-200mm DSLR lens, which will make the camera and lens combination even more lens-heavy.
With the kit lens mounted, the NEX-5 feels more like a lens with a compact camera attached than the other way around. It also handles like a compact camera, which can prove frustrating at times. With no shortcut buttons for changing basic settings such as white balance, ISO sensitivity or the metering mode, all the features must be altered using the camera’s menu system.
For someone used to compact cameras, the graphical user interface will seem very slick, straightforward and easy to use. But those more used to a DSLR, or even a camera such as the Canon PowerShot G11, will more than likely be a little frustrated with how many button presses it takes to change a simple setting. That said, Sony has made it very clear that the target market is compact camera users rather than DSLR owners.
With the camera aimed at photographers who aren’t necessarily au fait with photographic terms and technicalities, Sony has come up with a number ways to help guide users in setting up and using the camera. To begin with, it does this through the camera’s Help Guide. When scrolling through menu items, the guide displays on-screen messages explaining what each function does, such as what lighting conditions are best for the currently selected ISO sensitivity. If you find the pop-up Help Guide annoying, though, you can always turn it off via the camera’s menu system.
A Shooting Tips feature is also available. This is a basic guide covering various aspects of photography from how to hold the camera to how to prevent motion blur. While the tips are fairly basic, they are ideal for those wanting to learn how to do more than point and shoot. However, those who already have experience using DSLRs will probably never use the function. At present, the bottom Soft Key is used to activate Shooting Tips, but given the lack of buttons on the camera I would suggest it would be better suited to being a function button. This would give inexperienced photographers the option to use this button to activate the Shooting Tips, while the more confident can use it to access a regularly used setting, or better still, a ‘My Menu’ feature.
Photographic terminology has also been kept to a minimum. Instead of an aperture adjustment, the NEX-5 has a Background Defocus control. Again, this is probably far easier for point-and-shoot photographers to understand than having to explain how a camera’s aperture works, but it also fails to explain its relationship with shutter speed and ISO sensitivity.
I understand why Sony has kept the controls to a minimum in an attempt to avoid intimidating compact camera users. However, in doing so the company may have alienated those who would have considered the NEX-5 as a secondary camera. Thankfully, the two Soft Keys aren’t labelled on the camera’s body; they are instead labelled on-screen. This means that it may be possible for Sony to change the function of at least one of the buttons via a firmware upgrade, which could make it far easier for enthusiast photographers to change settings quickly.
