The newest entry into the mirrorless interchangeable lens small camera club that until now has been dominated by the Micro 4/3 cameras from Olympus and Panasonic. The NEX bodies up the ante by giving you a 1.5x (APS) size sensor rather than the 2x sensor of the micro 4/3 cameras. Sony states this is 58% more surface area than a Four Thirds imaging sensor and provides 14 Megapixel resolution with ISO settings up to 12800 (notice we use the word setting, not usable ISO). Despite the larger sensor, the NEX is physically smaller by a noticeable margin than the others.

There are several other welcome features including a 3", 920,000 pixel TruBlack LCD that can be tilted downward 45 degrees and upwards of 80 degrees for composing still or video images from extreme angles and/or in tighter shooting quarters. The camera is capable of shooting 7 frames per second (again, we said capable of shooting, not capable of focusing), but Sony does claim the contrast-detection autofocus is reasonably quick, focusing in about 1/3 of a second using 25 autofocus points. There is also Manual Focus Assist mode that magnifies the viewfinder for clear focusing. It has a host of other cool features including HD (1080i) movie recording, Sweep Panorama mode (hold down the shutter and sweep across the landscape, the camera takes several images and stitches them together), automatic HDR, and others. The NEX-5 differs from the NEX-3 in its magnesium body and higher video resolution and capabilities.

The camera ships with the available 16mm f/2.8 lens. The camera requires SD cards which are not included. And, of course, copyright laws prevent us from sending software with the camera.

Item Includes;
Camera
Accessory Flash
Battery
Charger
16mm f/2.8 lens