The NEX-5: the embodiment of Sony’s mirrorless philosophy
A review and Photo Examples of the NEX-5 Mirrorless Digital Camera.
Table of contents
Gallery
- Example photographs were taken with the following lenses
- CONTAX-G PLANAR 35mm, CONTAX-G BIOGON 21mm, Voigtlander SUPER WIDE HELIAR 15mm, SONY E16mm,SONY E18-55mm
Review
1．Overview
The NEX-5 is a Sony mirrorless camera that was released in June 2010 along with the NEX-3.
The detailed specifications of the camera are listed in the table below, but the main specifications include a 14-megapixel APS-C sensor (23.6mm x 15.8mm), a 3-inch 920,000-dot LCD on the back, and a size of 111 x 59 when viewed from the front, which is smaller than a small smartphone. Of course, since it is a camera, the grip has depth, and it becomes quite large when a lens is attached.
The LCD monitor can be adjusted up and down by approximately 80 degrees upward and 45 degrees downward, but it cannot be rotated 180 degrees for selfies or be adjusted as flexibly as a vari-angle LCD.
The battery is an NP-FW50.
2．Usage
When I started taking photos, I started with the MINOLTA α8700i, and even after switching to Sony, I used the α900 SLR, and bought the mirrorless camera NEX-5 soon after it was released because it had a larger sensor than Micro Four Thirds.
The specs are not a big leap from the APS-C size sensor cameras of the time, but the compactness of the body was quite shocking when it was announced.
The body I own is the only champagne gold body color in the NEX-5 series, and this color matches well with the Metabones mount adapter (gold) and Contax G lenses, so I used it as my main camera with four CONTAX G mount lenses.
The camera has a fair number of physical buttons, but there are many restrictions on assigning functions to the buttons, and it is not possible to completely match the photographer’s preferred settings, so the photographer needs to match them to the camera.
With 14 million pixels, it has enough performance for snapshots, but it has two weaknesses: it is prone to camera shake due to shutter shock, and it is difficult to see the focus on the rear LCD when using MF lenses.
To overcome these two problems, you need to check the focus with a magnified display and hold the camera firmly to prevent camera shake. Cameras with built-in image stabilization mechanisms, such as the α7II series and later or the α6500 and later, are easy to use to prevent camera shake.
The battery NP-FW50 has a voltage of 7.2V and 1020mAh, so it has a small capacity of 7.3Wh, so the battery life is not good.
Also, when I try to use it for the first time in about six months after charging it, the battery level is often 0. I have the impression that Sony lithium-ion batteries tend to naturally discharge well, regardless of the model I have used, so I am worried that it will become unusable due to over-discharge if I do not charge it occasionally.
I bought the new NP-FW50 when I bought the α7sII, so I am concerned about the natural discharge of the new model, but I have been using it at a moderate frequency so far, so I have not been able to check the natural discharge.
I use the dedicated external flash HVL-F20S with the NEX-5, which is useful for taking product photos for my blog.
The flash seems to consume a lot of battery power; even on a full charge, when using the flash, the battery will be below 40% after about 50 shots.
The flash in the photo (HVL-F20S) is one of the few options that is compatible with the Smart Accessory Terminal used in the NEX-5; the external EVF for NEX, the FDA-EV1S *2, is compatible with the Smart Accessory Terminal 2, but is for cameras from the NEX-5N onwards, and cannot be used with the NEX-5 introduced here.
The accessory port for attaching this flash and other devices is a confusing part of the NEX series, and is classified as follows:
| Name | Camera | Note |
| None | NEX-3N α5000 α5100 | A camera that doesn’t require a shoe |
| Smart Accessory Terminal | NEX-3 NEX-C3 NEX-5 | EVF FDA-EV1S cannot be attached Attachable accessories are quite limited |
| Smart Accessory Terminal 2 | NEX-5N NEX-5R NEX-5T NEX-F3 | The EVF FDA-EV1S can be attached. |
| Auto-lock accessory shoe | NEX-7 SLR α series (cameras older than the α99) | A traditional shoe that continues from the Minolta era |
| Multi-Interface Shoe | NEX-6 α99 α58 α77 II α99 II Mirrorless α6xxx series Mirrorless α7 series Mirrorless α1 series Mirrorless α9 series | The current mainstream shoe in 2024 ADP-MAA allows you to use the auto-lock accessory shoe flash |
The flagship NEX-7 was released in 2011, followed by its cheaper version, the NEX-6, in 2012, and the entry-level model, the NEX-3N, in 2013, which marked the end of the NEX brand. Sony’s compact mirrorless cameras were then replaced by the α5xxx and α6xxx brands.
The E-mount has a relatively compact mount diameter (46mm), so no one thought it would fit a 35mm full-frame sensor, but they pulled it off with the α7, which has led to its current popularity.
3．Add Info
Although it is an old camera, it is a Sony E mount, so it is compatible with various mount adapters. The top three on the list are AF-compatible mount adapters, and of course they can be attached and AF can be performed, but the AF itself is almost useless. The adapters I tried are as follows:
- SIGMA MC-11 (SA-E) (AF compatible)
- VILTROX Mount Adapter EF-NEX IV (AF compatible)
- Metabones SpeedBooster ULTARA 0.71 (AF compatible)
- Metabones CONTAX G-Sony αE
- KIPON BAVEYES Focal Reducer Mount Adapter Sony NEX/α.E Mount (Leica R Mount Lens) BAVEYES L/R-S/E 0.7x (L/R-NEX 0.7x)
Specification
| Items | NEX-5 | NEX-5N | NEX-5T | NEX-5R |
| Camera Effective Pixels | 14.2-Megapixcels | 16.1-Megapixels | ← | ← |
| Image sensor size | APS-C 23.7 x 15.6mm | ← | ← | ← |
| Back LCD Size | 3.0 921,000 dots | ← | ← | ← |
| EVF | None | FDA-EV1S | ← | ← |
| Max shutter speed | 1/4000 | ← | ← | ← |
| Battery | NP-FW50 | ← | ← | ← |
| Touch panel | × | ○ | ← | ← |
| WIFI | × | ← | ○ | ← |
| NFC | × | ← | ← | ○ |
| AF | Contrast | ← | Contrast Image phase difference | ← |
| Recorded media | MS-Pro SDXC | ← | ← | ← |
| Release date | 2010.6 | 2011.9 | 2012.11 | 2013.9 |
| Size | 111 x 59 x 38 | ← | ← | ← |
| Weight(body only) | 229 | 210 | 218 | ← |
| Body color | Black, Silver, Gold | Black, Silver, White | ← | ← |
Options
- HVL-F20S(Flash)
- LA Series Mount Adapter
- Accessory Kit
- Strap
- Cases
Reference links
Update history
- 2024.12.4
- 2024.07.25
- 2024.03.3:Update
- 2023.10.25:First draft
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