-
Pros
- Sharp photos.
- Vibrant Color.
- Nicely designed body.
- Decent video clips.
-
Cons
- Shutter lag.
- Mediocre menus.
- Flash is too powerful.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 Specs
| 35mm Equivalent (Telephoto) | 432 mm |
| 35mm Equivalent (Wide) | 36 |
| Battery Type | AA |
| Memory Card Format | Memory Stick Duo |
| Sensor Resolution | 7.2 |
| Type | Superzoom |
On the surface, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 has plenty of the allure that makes Sony cameras and camcorders popular: provocative design and a bunch of features that everybody seems to want. For example, the Sony H5 has a bright three-inch LCD and a whopping 12X optical zoom that gives you the feeling you've got all the photo control you'll ever need. Plus, the camera is equipped with image stabilization, a feature that lets you zoom into a scene without needing a tripod to keep your hand steady, at least in some situations. Still, it's not the stellar superzoom I had hoped for from Sony.
In my view, the H5 doesn't quite live up to its compelling design. Namely, I found some significant shutter lag as well as some fringing which keeps this shooter from getting a higher rating. Also, like most Sony models, it's pricey, at $499.95 list. Plus, the H5 is a little on the bulky side, which given Sony's love of making super tiny cameras, like the
In looking at the specs, the H5 doesn't stand out all that much from the pack: it's a 7.2-megapixel camera with a 6mm-to-72mm range (which is equivalent to a 35mm lens with a 36mm-432mm zoom) and corresponding maximum f-stops of f/2.8 to f/3.7. Sadly the lens doesn't have a wide-angle end of the zoom. Nor can the camera shoot in the RAW image format, although only a few high-end superzooms can. And although I liked the H5's ISO range–ISO 80 to ISO 1000, the shots I took at the top of that range had too much colored noise for my tastes.
But I did find a few things to like about this camera. I was definitely impressed with the H5's image quality. I've rarely been disappointed by the vibrant color I usually see in Sony digital cameras. I found video quality to be quite good, too. Even better, the 3-inch LCD doesn't solarize much when you look at it at an angle.
That said, Sony should have done more to update this camera from last year's
In terms of performance, it would have been nice to have a more robust burst mode. For example, using the
As I said, I was impressed with the video clips, which can be captured at VGA (640 by 480) quality at 30 fps to the capacity of the card. I also noticed that the H5 worked well in both bright and low light situations.
In my test shots, I didn't see much noise in any of the shots, even those taken at low ISOs. I really liked the color saturation in these images. There was a bit of purple fringing, but nothing too noticeable. And the flash shot produced a pretty good exposure, but it did blow out some highlights.
The H5's resolution averaged 1725 lines, which is excellent for a 7.2 MP camera. But performance could be better: Although the 3.4-second recycle time and 3.4-second bootup time are respectable, the noticeable shutter lag was disappointing.
Overall, the lens was quite good, displaying just a bit of barrel distortion and no pin cushion distortion. I also found that the optical image stabilization worked in both bright light and low light situations.
I think that for the same $499.95 list price, the
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