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 α NEX-5 is a Sony mirrorless camera that was released in June 2010 along with the α NEX-3. The actual release date of the α NEX-5 was June 10th, one week later than the α NEX3.
The detailed specifications of the camera are listed in the table below, but the main specifications are a 14MP 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 part has depth, and it becomes quite large when a lens is attached.
The LCD monitor can be adjusted up and down, and can be adjusted up to about 80 degrees and down to about 45 degrees, but it cannot be rotated 180 degrees for selfies or changed as flexibly as a vari-angle LCD.
The battery is NP-FW50.
An article on the α NEX-3, which was released at the same time, is posted here.
2．Usage
The camera specs of the α NEX-5 are not a big leap from the APS-C size sensor SLR cameras of the time, but its compact body, including the α NEX-3, embodies the idea of pursuing the minimum size of Sony mirrorless cameras, and its appearance was a shock.
I started taking photos with the MINOLTA α8700i, and even after Minolta changed to Sony, I used the SLR digital camera SONY α900, and bought the mirrorless camera α NEX-5 immediately after its release because the sensor is larger than Micro Four Thirds.
The body I own is the only champagne gold body color in the α 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 it to the camera.
I’m putting up with assigning “MF Assist,” which enlarges the LCD screen when shooting with manual focus, to the lower soft key. I would like to assign “MF Assist” to the upper soft key, which is easier to operate with my thumb, but this is fixed in the menu.
I would also like to be able to adjust exposure directly with the control wheel, but I’m not satisfied that I can’t adjust exposure until I press the lower button on the control wheel.
With 14 megapixels, it has enough performance for snapshots, but it has two weaknesses: camera shake caused by shutter shock is likely to occur, and when using a manual focus lens, it is difficult to see the focus on the rear LCD.
To overcome these two weaknesses, you need to check the focus on the enlarged display, and to prevent camera shake, you need to hold the camera firmly. When it comes to camera shake, it is easier to use cameras with built-in image stabilization mechanisms, such as the α7II series or later or the α6500 or later.
The battery NP-FW50 has a voltage of 7.2V and a capacity of 1020mAh, so it has a small capacity of 7.3Wh, so battery life is not good.
Also, when I try to use it for the first time in about six months after charging, the battery level is often 0, and I have the impression that Sony lithium-ion batteries tend to naturally discharge easily regardless of the model I used, so if I don’t charge it from time to time, I worry that it will over-discharge and become unusable.
I bought the new NP-FW50 when I bought the α7sII, so I’m curious about the natural discharge of the new model, but I’ve been using it at a moderate frequency so far, so I haven’t been able to check the natural discharge.
I use the dedicated external flash HVL-F20S with the α NEX-5 and it’s useful for taking product photos for my blog.
The flash seems to consume a lot of battery power, and even when fully charged, the battery level drops to below 40% after about 50 shots when using the flash.
The external flash HVL-F20S is one of the few options that supports the Smart Accessory Terminal used by the α NEX-5, and the external EVF FDA-EV1S for the α NEX is compatible with the Smart Accessory Terminal 2, which is for cameras from the NEX-5N onwards, and cannot be used with the α NEX-5 introduced here.
The accessory port for attaching this flash and other accessories 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．Summary
The NEX-5 is already a 15-year-old camera, but with 14 megapixels, it will still have enough pixels in 2025. There are cases where the fact that the amount of data is less than 24 megapixels can be an advantage.
Image quality is heavily dependent on the lens, and with genuine lenses, the AF speed and accuracy cannot match the latest cameras, but it is sufficient unless you are photographing sports or wild birds.
Sony E-mount cameras have always been used as a receptacle for lenses from other companies. The following adapters are actually attached and used.
The top three on the list are AF-compatible mount adapters, and of course it is possible to attach them and perform AF operation, but the focusing speed and accuracy make AF almost useless. The adapters we 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)
- VM-E Close Focus Adapter II
- SONY-E-NIKON-F Mount Adapter
- etc
If you think of it as a camera that utilizes old lenses, there won’t be much of a problem with SLR camera lenses. However, when considering it as a rangefinder camera or a camera for Leica M-mount lenses, there are some lenses whose rear element goes inside the sensor that cannot be attached, and even if they can be attached, they are difficult to use as they cause color casts, so the α series with its new 35mm full-size sensor is more suitable.
Specifications and series camera comparison
| Items | NEX-5 | NEX-5N | NEX-5R |
| Camera Effective Pixels | 14.2-Megapixcels | 16.1-Megapixels | 16.1-Megapixels |
| Image sensor size | APS-C 23.7 x 15.6mm | APS-C 23.7 x 15.6mm | APS-C 23.7 x 15.6mm |
| Back LCD Size | 3.0 921,000 dots | 3.0 921,000 dots | 3.0 921,000 dots |
| EVF | None | FDA-EV1S | FDA-EV1S |
| Max shutter speed | 1/4000 | 1/4000 | 1/4000 |
| Battery | NP-FW50 | NP-FW50 | NP-FW50 |
| Touch panel | × | ○ | ○ |
| WIFI | × | × | × |
| NFC | × | × | ○ |
| AF | Contrast | Contrast | Contrast |
| Recorded media | MS-Pro SDXC | MS-Pro SDXC | MS-Pro SDXC |
| Release date | 2010.6 | 2011.9 | 2013.9 |
| Size | 111 x 59 x 38 | 111 x 59 x 38 | 111 x 59 x 38 |
| Weight(body only) | 229 | 210 | 210 |
| Body color | Black, Silver, Gold | Black, Silver, White | Black, Silver, White |
Options
- HVL-F20S(Flash)
- LA Series Mount Adapter
- Accessory Kit
- Strap
- Cases
Reference links
Update history
- 2025.4.10
- 2024.12.4
- 2024.07.25
- 2024.03.3:Update
- 2023.10.25:First draft
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