Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V – Transjet for Wi-Fi file transfer
Thumbs Up:
Very good low-light picture quality; various fun features; lightweight and compact design; fast shooting performance than its competitors
Thumbs Down:
Limited manual controls; soft videos and still pictures
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V is a 10.2-megapixel digital camera. It has 10,200,000 pixels Exmor R CMOS optical sensor. It features BIONZ image processor, 2x digital zoom, frame movie shooting mode, Unsharp masking special effect, Steady Shot Optical image stabilizer, and face detection. It has 45MB internal memory and its memory expansion slot accepts SD/SDHC Memory Cards, Memory Stick Duo, and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards.
The light sensitivity levels are ISO Auto, ISO 3200, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, and ISO 125. The shooting programs are Panorama, Handheld twilight, Pet, Gourmet, Sports, Fireworks, Beach, Landscape, Soft snap, Twilight portrait, Twilight, High sensitivity, Program and easy. The maximum shutter speed is 1/1600 second and minimum is 30sec.
The exposure compensation is ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps. The exposure modes are Program and Automatic, while the exposure metering is of three types: Multi-segment, Spot, and Center-weighted. The DSC-HX5V has three types of white-balance: Presets, Automatic, and Custom. Its presets are Fluorescent light (warm white), Fluorescent light (cool white), Fluorescent light (daylight), Incandescent, Daylight, Cloudy, and Flash.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V supports JPEG still image format and video formats of MPEG4 and AVCHD. The video capture resolutions are AVCHD 1920×1080, AVCHD 1440×1080, MPEG-4 1440×1080, MPEG-4 1280×720, and MPEG-4 640×480. While, the image storage resolution options are JPEG 3648×2736, JPEG 2592×1944, JPEG 2048×1536, JPEG 640×480, JPEG 1920×1080, and JPEG 3648×2056.
The inbuilt flash features 10-inch to 25ft. flash range and AF illuminator. The flash modes are Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode, and Auto mode. The aspherical lens has 4.25-42.5mm focal length with F/3.5-5.5 that features 10x optical zoom. The digital camera has inbuilt lens shield and stereo microphone.
The 3-inches LCD display has a format of 230,400 pixels. The connector set includes 1×USB, 1×Composite video/audio output, 1×Component video output, and 1×HDMI output. The supported operating systems are Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 and Apple Mac OS X 10.4-10.6.
Accessories supplied inside the box are an A/V cable, one USB cable, HDMI adapter, wrist strap, user manual, battery, power charger, and drivers & software disc. Sony provides one year limited warranty with the Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V camera.
Razzle Dazzle:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V has black box shape with a bit cylindrical grip on the right side. You can rest the thumb and fingertips on the back. The digital camera is 4.1 inches wide, 2.3 inches tall and 1.1 inches deep. It weighs 7.1 ounces with media and battery.
Inside Dope:
Again, Sony has used its G-lens, Bionz image processor, and backside illuminated Exmor R sensor in the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V for trying to find a solution for low-light quality and shooting performance. As a result, the Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V has fast shooting performance and nice picture quality with various fun features. It costs $349.99 and looks like larger version of the Sony WX1. It has a lightweight and compact design as compared to its competitors. Its advanced highlights are wide-angle lens, inbuilt GPS receiver, and compass. On the downside, the videos and still pictures appeared soft. The digital camera has limited number of manual controls. Still, the Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V remains an excellent mega-zoom compact camera.
The controls of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V are straightforward and remain easy to use even for a first time user. The turn on/off burst shooting switch, power button, zoom ring, shutter release, and the mode dial are located on the top. The power and burst buttons are flush inside the surface, which makes it a bit difficult to find the correct button. The stereo microphone openings are located at the left side on the top. We are disappointed that the silver highlights around the flash can be easily blocked by finger while shooting.
The 3-inch LCD display is located on the back and other controls are located on its right side. You will find the Playback button, directional pad with center select button, Delete and Menu buttons below the movie record button. The directional pad can be used for menu navigation; adjusting display information and brightness; changing flash settings; and turning on time-activated & smile shutter options.
The Menu displays mode specific shooting options on the left with a toolbox icon for general settings at the end of each list. The onscreen explanations provide the related information of each option like disabling of face detection while turning on spot meter light. The option for turning on/off the GPS receiver is buried inside the menu options. We are disappointed that the geo-tagging capability is not full featured like that in the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7. However, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V provides more accurate longitude and latitude information than others. It seamlessly adds the GPS information at EXIF data of a picture so that you can use the Picasa or Google Earth on transferring the pictures to your computer.
One of the main highlights of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V is the Transjet. It allows the Wi-Fi file transfer for pictures and videos between the camera and other compatible device. We like that there is no need to make any kind of pairing, but both devices are placed within one inch range. It will also require at least 8GB Memory Stick card that costs $100 per piece. You can buy the Sony USB TransferJet receiver for your laptop by paying additional $150. However, some Sony laptops and desktops are coming with the inbuilt TransferJet receiver.
The battery compartment is located on the bottom and it does not have a locking mechanism. Next to it, you will find the multifunction port for included HDMI dongle, and connecting USB/AV cables. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V has both optical image stabilization and Active option to suppress the shake while moving the camera.
You will get numerous shooting options in the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V. It includes Manual mode to adjust aperture, shutter speed and other for still capture. The Movie mode can record 1080i high-definition video in MPEG4 or AVCHD formats with optical zoom. The Program Auto provides access to metering, focus, white balance, and ISO levels. On the mode dial, you will also find the Intelligent Auto, Easy Mode that turns off all options except basic one, and SCN mode that lets you to select from 11 scenes.
The Intelligent Sweep Panorama mode allows shooting vertical or horizontal panoramas with one-press at the shutter release. It automatically detects the moving objects and faces for avoiding the distortion. The Twilight and Anti Motion Blur modes capture six images continuously and combine them in one picture with better details, lower noise and less blur. The overall results are good until watching the images closely at full size. However, they remain excellent for 8×10 inches or smaller size. The Backlight Compensation HDR mode captures two shots at different exposure for improving the highlight and shadow details.
The Sony Intelligent Auto mode provides better results because it picks one from nine branded scenes as well as turns on image stabilization, dynamic range optimization, and face detection. You can set the iSCN mode to Advanced or Auto, which are separated with different settings. The full-resolution high-speed shooting option has three levels. The Manual mode has two aperture settings each at telephoto and wide ends: f5.5 & f13 for telephoto, f3.5 and f8 for wide end.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V has excellent shooting performance. The time from power on to first shot is 1.8 seconds that is better than 2.1sec for the Fujilim FinePix F70EXR, 2.3sec for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7, 3.2sec for Kodak EasyShare Z950 and 2sec for the Canon PowerShot SX210 IS. For the Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V, the shot-to-shot time is 1.5 seconds without flash. The shutter lag is 0.8 second in dim lighting and 0.4 second in bright condition. The continuous shooting performance for the high-speed burst mode is 10fps, which is better than 2.5sec for the Fujifilm, 2.2sec for Kodak, 1.7sec with the Panasonic and 0.5sec for the Canon model.
The overall photo quality is good for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V. The pictures looked soft, but not sharp at the lowest ISO 125. The details become a bit mushy due to noise reduction at ISO 400. The noise became more visible up to ISO 3200. The still captures were good for small print and Web usage only. It means that you cannot print the pictures larger than the 13×19 inches even with enough lighting.
It is quite annoying that the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V does not produce the most accurate colors. However, the colors are vibrant and pleasing. The exposure is good, but the highlights tend to blow out. The high-dynamic range can be used for balancing the light and dark areas of the scene while capturing images. The barrel distortion at the widest position of the lens and the pincushion distortion at its longest setting remain in check. The below-average amount of purple fringe is visible in the high-contrast objects. The sharpness remains consistent from edge to edge.
The recorded video looked soft like the still captures. The 60i frame rate provides smooth movement. Overall, the DSC-HX5V cannot replace the high-definition camcorder.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V uses Sony NP-BG lithium ion rechargeable battery that has a life of 310 shots. We do not like that the battery cannot be charged inside the camera. It is quite annoying to remove the battery for charging and plug it again.
Nitty Gritty:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V remains a worth-considering digital camera if you need excellent shooting performance, and good low-light picture quality. However, its competitors provide more accurate colors and sharper picture quality.
