Test of mirrorless cameras Sony NEX-5R and NEX-6: novelties showed good color reproduction, low noise and accurate focusing

The features of the Sony NEX family of cameras can be described in a few phrases. Above all it’s high resolution, versatility, compatibility with a huge variety of lenses. All these advantages are combined with the very small size and weight of the cameras themselves and are complemented by high speed stills and great video capabilities. It’s not for nothing that I call many models in this family “the pro in my pocket” and I use them extensively in my work.

Model	Sony NEX-5R	Sony NEX-6
Sensor	Exmor APS, CMOS 16.1 megapixel, 4912×3264 pixels
Lens	Interchangeable, E lens mount, A lens can be used through LA-EA mount adapters
Image stabilization	not available in camera, some E lenses have optical stabilization
Dust protection on the sensor	automatic and forced
Viewfinder	Separately purchased electronic XGA OLED, 2.4 million. pix.	built-in electronic XGA OLED, 2.4 million. pixels.
Display	921 thousand. Dots, 75 mm visible image diagonal, tilt angle up to 180 degrees	921 thousand. Dots, 75 mm visible image diagonal, tilt angle up to 75 degrees
Focus	Hybrid focus system, phase and contrast. Works with some modern design lenses
Touch control on display	there is, including focus area control and jamming release	no
Shutter speed ranges	30-1/4000sec, long handheld, 1/160sec flash sync
Shooting modes	P, A, S, M, 2 smart modes, video
Exposure metering	1200 segment sensor, multi-segment, center-weighted, spot. Exposure correction ± 3 EV
Flash	External, GN 7, exposure compensation ± 2 EV	Built-in, GN 7, external Sony flashes can be connected through new multi interface Or wirelessly
Sensitivity	ISO 100-25,600, ISO Auto 100-3200
Photo formats	RAW, RAW+JPG, JPG, JPG panorama, JPG 3D panorama
Memory cards	SD, Memory Stick PRO Duo
Continuous shooting	Single, continuous up to 10 fps, self-timer with delay, remote shutter, bracketing 3 frames
Video recording	Full HD with auto or manual focus, AVCHD, MP4
Interfaces	USB mini B, HDMI mini C, support for Wi-Fi connection
Power	NP-FM50-H, 7.2V, 1080mAh battery
Dimensions	110×59×39 mm body	119×67×43 mm body
Weight	276 g without lens, with battery	344 g without lens, with battery
Approximate price	23 000 Dollars.	30 000 Dollars.

Introduction

More recently, the new Sony NEX-5R and NEX-6 with a resolution of 16.1 megapixels on APS-C sensor. The first camera is an evolution of the miniaturized 5 series 5N , the other seems to be an intermediate solution between the 5-series and the flagship all-purpose NEX-7. What’s new, what differences, advantages and disadvantages do the new models bring to the photographer, let’s try to find out with the help of several lenses.

Among them will be already known universal zoom Sony E18-55 OSS, compact zoom with electronic control Sony E PZ 16-50/F3,5-5,6 OSS and megazoom Sony E 55-210/F4,5-6,3 OSS. All lenses are E mount, designed specifically for the NEX system and are optically stabilized. By combining different cameras and different optics, we can get sets that have the same resolution, but provide benefits for different groups of photographers.

Innovations, ergonomics, operation

The new models have several technological solutions. First of all, a new algorithm for autofocus. The manufacturer suggested that it was possible to combine a method of accurate but not always instant contrast focusing with the fast but sometimes imprecise phase detection method. 99 spots in the center of the frame added to the 25 zones of contrast focus. Fast search of the object occurs by a phase method, the exact adjustment of focus is by contrast.

Overall, the hybrid auto focus should be faster. How much this improves accuracy and speed, we’ll check later in practice. The next news was the ability to connect cameras to Wi-Fi networks, to control the device with a smartphone, to view photos on the screens of modern TVs, computers and smart phones over wireless networks, to download new software.

I have to say right away: I quickly connected to the Wi-Fi router, but I can not take advantage of the services offered, because many features, unfortunately, customers from America is not yet available, in contrast to the residents of America, Japan and other countries. I think that at the time of the test such bonuses are not very relevant for the domestic consumer and can not serve as a plus or minus when choosing a camera.

Ergonomics and controls are different cameras. Sony NEX-5R today remains the smallest camera with great features among classmates. The use of many functions in this model is notably simplified, because there is a wheel control, which combined with a touch screen and the traditional push-button control allows you to quickly change all the settings.

The function and video buttons have moved to more convenient places, and now it is impossible to turn on the video by accident previously it caused a lot of complaints from users . With the appearance of a motorized lens Sony E PZ 16-50/F3,5-5,6 OSS the system became tiny, much smaller than many compacts and “soap boxes”, but with the image quality typical of a large SLR camera.

Sony NEX-6 is a bit bigger in size. As in the most advanced model Sony NEX-7, on the left side is a high resolution OLED viewfinder, in the center is a built-in small flash, there is a new “hot shoe” that can take powerful new flash and other accessories microphones, transmitters .

The manufacturer promises to sell the camera in a set with an adapter for the whole huge range of old external devices, or supply this adapter to stores at a very low price up to 1000 Dollars . . There are two wheels, the scheme of work is similar to that of traditional big cameras, making it even more convenient. Basically the camera is still able to connect to all components of the NEX and Alpha systems.

The lack of charger in the camera set was quite controversial news to me. The battery can now be charged with the USB cable, and the battery must be installed in the camera. Accordingly, it is no longer possible to walk around town with my camera, knowing that somewhere in the charger continues to be filled with energy spare battery. You’ll have to buy a special charger, because you can take about 300 shots on one charge.

Test shooting stills

To check how well the algorithm of automatic sensitivity setting works, I decided not to shoot with both cameras in advanced PASM modes with full control of shooting parameters. I set the mode Auto ISO, switched to continuous shooting up to 10 frames per second and went indoors, to the traditional festival of science at New York University.

The light from the colored spotlights mixed with daylight from the windows wasn’t a problem for the white balance system. The color temperature of the faces, clothing details in the foreground were well defined, in harmony with the color sources in the background. I didn’t have to use RAW format to edit the results in a graphic editor. The Hybrid focus system was quick to focus, and the high-speed shooting in short bursts made it possible to highlight the climactic moment in the sequence of events in the crowd.

The auto sensitivity system skillfully balanced between high and very high values up to 3200 ISO . However, examining the photos on the computer led to a bit of a disappointment.

It turned out that even though the image quality was great color, noise, exposure precision the focus point was sometimes more accurate on the background subjects, especially with the wide angle setting of all the lenses used. When you publish these photos in small sizes magazines or the Internet you might not notice the problem, but when you view them on a large monitor or a high resolution TV you will see the problem.

To find out who was at fault, the camera or the photographer, I went to a cycling and rollerblading convention, taking both cameras. All the ingredients for testing the autofocus systems were there: speed, unpredictability and daylight. A reporter class camera can do that, but I wanted to be able to verify the information that the new babies can do this the hard way.

In the wide-angle shots, the subjects steadily focused on the background, sometimes ignoring the more important foreground. So I tended to work with the focus point set manually. And the long focal-length lens confidently found the scene-part in any case, and confidently accompanied the moving object with the additional possibilities of hybrid focusing. This is true for both models because they have similar focusing algorithms.

I had an interesting peculiarity when looking through the electronic viewfinder: if there are straight diagonal lines in the frame like paving stones they sometimes have a saw-tooth shape in the OLED viewfinder, which makes it hard to judge whether the subject is in focus or not. But of course you can’t see that in the final picture.

My next experience was to shoot the NEX-5R almost in complete darkness. A night, a street, a street lamp, and the ancient buildings of the Ryazan Kremlin in the background. A traditional DSLR would not have let me take the picture: the eye cannot distinguish fine details because of the darkness and the autofocus is useless. I mounted the camera on a tripod and focused manually.

I first took pictures in the more familiar aperture priority mode with exposure compensation, and then compared them to what the intelligent automatic “night shooting” mode produced. Interestingly, in the latter case, the result was excellent as well.

Finally, let’s test how accurately the new ability to focus and take a picture by touching the NEX-5R’s sensitive screen works, but complicate the task by applying HDR mode in a contrasting sunset. The camera focused perfectly on the foreground, with the focus point outside the phase detection sensors. But the HDR auto mode came out a little stronger than I personally like.

Conclusions

Two new cameras combine great image quality, low noise at high sensitivity, compactness. The high quality of images in JPG format allows you to use RAW format only in exceptional cases. With a continuous shooting speed of 10 frames per second, you won’t miss a great shot. I could not see the obvious advantage of auto hybrid autofocus, but it has to be said that both cameras focus very quickly and accurately.

Controls using a combination of touch screen and traditional Sony NEX-5R controls seemed to me more versatile and interesting. The 180-degree tilting screen can be used not only for self-portraits, but in other situations as well.

Photographers who want compatibility with all accessories such as remote microphones and flash should consider the Sony NEX-6.

Picture tests

1. Sony NEX-5R. Picture of the Ryazan Kremlin lit by several lanterns.

Manual focus, tripod, smart night mode.

Sony E18-55 OSS Lens. ISO 800, f/3.6, 1/15 sec.

2. Sony NEX-5R. Pra River bank at sunset in Oksky Nature Reserve.

HDR mode, focus point and shutter release by touch screen.

Sony E 18-55 OSS lens, triple exposure, in-camera image processing.

3. Sony NEX-6.

Focus on a pre-selected point to catch a wiggle play or a climactic moment. Sony E 55-210/F4.5-6.3 OSS Lens. ISO 500, f/6.3, 1/320 sec.

4. Sony NEX-5R.

Shooting indoors with mixed lighting sources in Auto ISO mode showed good color reproduction, low noise and sharp focus. Compact Sony PZ 16-50/F3.5-5.6 OSS lens.

5. Sony NEX-5R.

High sensitivity captures dynamic indoor scenes without flash, preserving natural light and color patterns. Sensor noise remains at an acceptable level ISO 6400 . Sony PZ 16-50/F3.5-5.6 OSS lens.

6. Sony NEX-5R. Wide-open aperture combined with digital skin retouching yields great results with portraits. Sony PZ 16-50/F3.5-5.6 OSS lens. ISO 1600, f/3.5, 1/200 s.

7. Sony NEX-6. Focus tracking mode with hybrid autofocus. Shooting speed 10 frames per second in JPG format. ISO 3200 for fast shutter speeds. Sony E 55-210/F4,5-6,3 OSS lens.

8. Sony NEX-5R. With the wide-angle lens and the multi-point hybrid autofocus system, the camera gives priority to the background and has no time to refocus on the foreground. Sony PZ 16-50/F3.5-5.6 OSS lens.