Sony NEX-5R Review

Sony currently offers four mirrorless cameras of different levels: NEX-F3 (entry level), NEX-5R (mid level), NEX-6 (advanced) and NEX-7 (professional). Aside from price, the difference between these camera models is features and exterior design. Both the NEX-F3 and the NEX-5R are available in different colors, while the higher-end NEX-6 and NEX-7 are only available in black. Unlike the NEX-6, which is a new camera segment for NEX series in 2012, the Sony NEX-5R is now in its third iteration. Once again, Sony pushed a number of great new changes and features to this line, making it even more attractive when compared to previous models. Let’s take a look at the camera specifications and see what has changed since the NEX-5N.

1) Sony NEX-5R Specifications

Main Features:

1. 16.1 MP Exmor™ APS HD CMOS image sensor
2. Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF/contrast-detection AF)
3. 99 AF points (phase-detection AF), 25 AF points (contrast-detection AF)
4. Full HD movie shooting 60p/24p
5. Object Tracking AF via Touch LCD
6. 11 Picture Effect modes
7. Regular and 3D Panorama Modes
8. HDR Capability
9. Battery life for up to 330 shots
10. Tiltable 3.0″ Touch LCD with 921K dots
11. Optional XGA OLED viewfinder with 2.395K dots
12. Intelligent Scene Recognition and Face Detection
13. “SteadyShot” Image Stabilization Technology
14. Electronic Front Curtain shutter
15. Up to 10 fps continuous shooting at full 16.1 MP resolution
16. Peaking AF display for precise manual focusing
17. Wi-Fi Capability
18. Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) technology

Detailed technical specifications for the Sony NEX-5R are available at Sony.com.

2) Sony 16.1 MP Exmor Sensor

One of the most important attributes in a digital camera is its sensor – the heart of the camera that is responsible for capturing images. The Sony NEX-5R features a slightly modified 16.1 MP Exmor sensor (see the Hybrid AF section below) from the NEX-5N, which has a great balance of resolution and noise. This particular sensor has been quite famous in the photography world today – Sony uses a variation of the same sensor on three of its NEX cameras + other SLT cameras, and it sells the sensor to other manufacturers like Nikon and Pentax as well. For example, both the Nikon D7000 and the Pentax K5 use this sensor. In fact, pretty much any 16 MP APS-C camera (except for Canon) you find on the market today most likely uses it.

The biggest advantage of the Sony NEX-series mirrorless cameras compared to other mirrorless cameras on the market such as Micro 4/3 and Nikon 1, is the physical size of the sensor. The 23.5×15.6mm APS-C sensor is currently among the largest sensors used in mirrorless cameras. Large sensor size means larger pixel size, which translates to better low-light (high ISO) performance and better dynamic range. Sony picked the same 1.5x crop factor APS-C sensor size that is used in their “SLT” camera line, which is bigger than Canon’s APS-C sensors with a 1.6x crop factor and about the same as Nikon’s DX sensors. Here is a chart that summarizes sensor size differences (courtesy of Wikipedia):

Another big advantage of a larger sensor is smaller depth of field, which translates to better opportunities to isolate subjects from the background – an important factor for many photo enthusiasts and pros out there. Coupled with fast prime lenses like the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS, one could capture creative photographs with beautiful bokeh – something that is hard to achieve on small sensor cameras.

At the same time, a larger sensor requires a bigger image circle from lenses, which negatively impacts the size requirements of both lenses and the lens mount (read more on this below).

3) Camera construction and handling

Structurally, Sony did not change anything on the NEX-5R – it has the same sturdy build as the NEX-5N with front and top magnesium alloy plates. Sony did a great job designing the NEX-series cameras and the NEX-5R is no exception – I found it ergonomically superior than Nikon and Canon mirrorless cameras. A big part of it has to do with the grip; the large, rubber-coated grip perfectly accommodated my right hand and made it easy to hand-hold the camera. The grip is designed to have your fingers wrap around it, with your finger tips in between the grip and the protruded lens mount. Here is the view from the top:

Looking at the neatly designed top view, you can see just how thin the Sony NEX-5R really is. If it was not for the lens mount and the grip, the camera is thinner than most point and shoot cameras out there, let alone other mirrorless cameras. The angled top panel has a simple, yet elegant design with four buttons in total. Sony adopted a DSLR-like power switch with a shutter release in the center, which is a great move towards better ergonomic design when compared to its predecessor.

The back of the camera also has a simplistic design with a rotary dial + center button and two extra unlabeled function buttons. Why unlabeled? Because their functionality changes depending on where you are in the menu. The multi-purpose dial is similar to the one found on the Nikon 1 V1. While rotating the dial is pretty smooth, the camera might lag a little in playback and other modes. I saw a similar lag when using the touchscreen, which did not seem to be very responsive in some cases.

Speaking of touchscreen, I liked using it for selecting focus in AF and MF modes (especially cool for selecting a particular area when using manual focus), but found it not so useful for anything else. For navigation, I mostly used the buttons on the back of the camera. Unlike the versatile swivel LCD on the Sony A77, the LCD on the NEX-5R only swivels up and down. Still better than not having it at all like on Nikon 1 cameras.

Let’s take a closer look at what has actually changed on the NEX-5R when compared to the NEX-5N. We will start from the front:

Looks like the front pretty much stayed the same, except for the slightly modified grip. Now the top of the camera:

The top, however, went through some drastic changes. First of all, as I have already pointed out above, the On/Off switch has been modified to a DSLR-like button, with the shutter release in the center. As a result, a lot of space has been recovered, which allowed Sony to squeeze in the much needed rotary control dial. This is a huge positive ergonomic change, in my opinion, because it allows quickly adjusting exposure values like shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation without having to press multiple buttons. It adds a “professional” feel to the camera, since a similar dial is used on the NEX-6 and NEX-7 cameras. In addition, Sony added another very useful and much-requested Function button right next to the shutter release button. The function button comes pre-programmed with up to 6 functions, which you can change under Setup -> Function Menu Settings.

The back of the camera stayed pretty much the same, except the right side of the dial now has “ISO” for a quick change of camera ISO. This is another positive change, because one had to either go into the camera menu (Brightness/Color) in order to change ISO before, or assign the ISO function to the right side of the dial.

Now let’s talk about the size and bulk. While the camera itself is thin and lightweight, it has a rather large mount, which translates to bulky lenses. The standard 18-55mm zoom lens that is shipped with the NEX-5R is a massive chunk of glass, as clearly shown the below image:

As I have already pointed out, a larger sensor requires larger lenses, which is a definite disadvantage for all Sony NEX-series cameras. While the 18-55mm might not seem like an ideal lens to showcase the NEX-5R with due to its size, other Sony lenses are pretty similar in bulk in size. The Sony 50mm f/1.8, 24mm f/1.8, 18-200mm and 55-210mm are all huge lenses. The only real small lenses are the 16mm f/2.8 pancake and the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 (when collapsed). If Sony is to make more zoom lenses in the future, they should seriously consider lens design similar to the 16-50mm, which is pretty small in comparison to other lenses. Otherwise, large lenses defeat the purpose of a compact mirrorless system. Unless you have the pancake or the new 16-50mm lenses mounted, forget about storing the camera in your pockets – it just won’t fit.

Another important thing to note, is that the Sony NEX-5R does not have a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF) like the Sony NEX-7. The good news is that you can buy an optional, best of class EVF on the market, the same one that is used on the Sony NEX-7 and SLT-A77 camera. The bad news is that the optional EVF costs a whopping $350, which is half the cost of the NEX-5R kit. Plus, it eats up the accessory port on the top of the camera, so you cannot use the included flash at the same time (not that it is good anyway).

Although the Sony NEX-5R is not weather-sealed and offers no dust protection like some of the advanced DSLR cameras, I used it in very cold temperatures below 32°F and dusty environments and it survived fine. The camera battery did not last very long in cold weather, but that’s expected, since any battery drains faster in cold temperatures.

4) Camera Menu System

Thanks to the updated design of the camera, there is now less reason to go into the camera menu – most of the settings can be adjusted easily through function buttons and the new rotary dial. The center button on the back of the camera now defaults to “Mode”, which allows switching between different camera modes easily. Other camera settings that are not accessible through the various buttons can be accessed from the camera menu system. The camera menu is organized by large descriptive icons and you can navigate through them by rotating the dial on the back of the camera, or by touching the screen. The “Shoot” menu allows switching between different camera modes. The “Camera” menu contains many options, including Drive Mode (single, continuous, bracket, etc), AF/MF Select, Autofocus Area and Face Registration. The “Image Size” menu is for picking Image Size and Quality, Panorama Size and Direction, Movie Format, Aspect Ratio, etc. The “Brightness/Color” menu contains White Balance, Metering Mode, HDR, ISO, etc. Not sure why Sony decided to stick “ISO” into “Brightness/Color”, because it really should be under “Camera” menu instead. “Playback” menu is for configuring image playback for viewing images on the LCD. A new addition to the menu system with the NEX-5R is “Application”, which allows adding and removing additional applications developed by Sony. Now you can add more functionality to the camera by installing more modules or “apps”. Lastly, “Setup” contains important camera setup options, such as Noise Reduction, Lens Compensation, in addition to “Peaking Level” and “Peaking Color” – two very useful functions for shooting with manual focus lenses. While using the camera menu can sometimes be slightly laggy, I found it quite easy to use overall.

5) Features and Responsiveness

The Sony NEX-5R has a rich set of in-camera features that can be quite useful for everyday photography. The “Lens Compensation” feature found in the “Setup” menu allows fixing len-specific issues like vignetting, chromatic aberration and distortion. Obviously, the amount of lens correction depends on each lens, so Sony included current lens profiles in its camera firmware. New lenses that come out in the future will also be supported via firmware upgrades.

Aside from a boatload of Photo Creativity Modes and Picture Effects, the Sony NEX-5R also has a neat “Sweep Panorama” mode, which is a mode for shooting panoramas. While I personally prefer to manually stitch my panoramas, since I can get a lot more resolution by doing that (see my panoramic photography howto), the built-in panorama feature is a great way to get a quick stitched panorama in JPEG mode. The camera also has a similar functionality to record 3D panoramas. Here are a couple of examples of how the camera can shoot and stitch panoramas:

I am not a big fan of this particular feature, because it creates a JPEG file and if the settings are not consistent, it can create ugly panoramas that look like this:

I prefer to shoot panoramas hand-held, one exposure at a time in RAW, then stitch it in Photoshop, as explained in my Panorama Tutorial.

One catch to the NEX-5R is that it does not come with a free built-in intervalometer. While you can buy one for $9.99 from the “App” store, I am disappointed that Sony is trying to make extra money off an app that should have been included with the camera. In fact, I was surprised to see commercial apps in the app store in first place. Why not give all this extra functionality for free with the camera? Sony does not allow third party developers to add and sell apps, so it has a monopoly over what can be sold at what price. Not a great way to promote apps for sure! Personally, I would not spend a dime on any commercial apps. If more people buy them, we might end up with “modular” cameras with stripped out functionality that can only be beefed up after spending hundreds of dollars on additional software. Thanks, but no thanks.

Another thing I noticed between the NEX-5R and the NEX-5N, is that the former got a little better in terms of responsiveness and lag. While it is not perfect and some menu items can get stuck for a second before responding, it has certainly gotten better. Looks like Sony is finally figuring out a way to make things work smooth and nice.

6) Sony E-mount Lenses

Sony has been making more and more E-mount lenses for the NEX cameras during the last couple of years, including some fast prime lenses. While the selection of lenses is nowhere close to what Micro Four Thirds has got to offer today, the available lenses do cover a broad range from wide angle to telephoto. Here is a list of all current lenses for the E-mount by Sony:

1. Sony 10-18mm f/4 OSS
2. Sony 16mm f/2.8
3. Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS
4. Sony 24mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E
5. Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macro
6. Sony 35mm f/1.8 OSS
7. Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS
8. Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS
9. Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS
10. Sony 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS

With the sensor crop factor of 1.5x, you have to multiply the focal length of each lens by 1.5 to get an equivalent field of view of a full-frame camera. For example, the 55-210mm lens is equivalent to a 82.5-315mm lens, while the 16mm pancake is equivalent to a 24mm lens.

In general, the above Sony E-mount lenses have solid performance characteristics with good overall sharpness and colors. One thing you might have noticed from the above list is “OSS” (Optical Steady Shot) on the last 4 lenses, which means that the lenses are stabilized. This is a disadvantage of the NEX-series cameras – they do not have in-camera image stabilization like Micro 4/3 cameras. While it is understandable that in-camera IS might have resulted in a larger body and could have increased the cost of the camera, I still think Sony should have followed the same approach as in their SLT cameras, which is to use in-camera IS instead of lens-based IS. When working with short focal length lenses, in-camera IS is the way to go, especially when using LCD/EVF for framing shots – see my article on lens stabilization vs camera stabilization to understand the differences. Those shorter focal length lenses also would have greatly benefited from in-camera image stabilization in low-light situations.

As for manual focus, unlike the Nikon 1 lenses, the Sony E-mount lenses feature a manual focus ring for smoother and more precise MF operation. Once you put the camera into manual focus mode through the “Camera” menu, you can configure the camera to automatically zoom in when the focus ring is turned. I found this feature to be quite useful, because you can combine it with the touchscreen. By selecting an area on the touchscreen to zoom into, you can quickly move the desired focus area.

The cool thing about the Sony NEX mount, is that you can use many different lenses with it, as long as you have an appropriate adapter. You can use the A-mount Lens to NEX Adapter, which will let you autofocus A-mount lenses for both stills and video, or the basic LA-EA1 adapter, which only allows MF operation. There are many other adapters available for using Nikon, Canon, Pentax and even Leica lenses on the NEX cameras.

7) Autofocus / Manual Focus Performance and Metering

As I have pointed out in the beginning of this review, the Sony NEX-5R has a brand new “hybrid” autofocus system, similar to what the Nikon 1 system has. This hybrid AF system is a combination of phase and contrast detect AF, which allows for much quicker AF acquisition than only contrast detect. Thus, the AF performance of the NEX-5R has improved dramatically when compared to its predecessor. At first, I was a little skeptical about this. But as I played with the camera more and more, I realized that AF definitely did get a noticeable boost. I then compared AF speed between the NEX-F3 and the NEX-5R to see how much faster the new AF system has gotten. In good light conditions, the NEX-5R acquires focus about twice faster, which is remarkable. It is still better in speed and accuracy in low light conditions, but not by much. While I found the NEX-5R to perform pretty close to the Nikon 1′s hybrid AF, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 still gets an upper hand with its AF in terms of AF speed and accuracy though (to be discussed in the upcoming review).

One thing that you absolutely must do after you buy the NEX-5R, is update firmware on any new or existing lens. The hybrid AF system is new and some of the older lenses like the 18-55mm, 18-200mm and 24mm f/1.8 do not know how to work with it. Sony released firmware update 1.02 for the old lenses that are affected, so connect the NEX-5R to your computer and perform the update (make sure to set your USB connection to “Mass Storage” before running the update). Once you do this, the lenses will be able to take full advantage of the hybrid AF.

You might also notice odd behavior when using the camera in low light conditions in AF-C mode (this is true for all NEX cameras and many other mirrorless cameras). The camera will continuously try to acquire focus back and forth, and this repeats in a loop and never ends. This is normal behavior, because the camera switches to contrast detect only mode in low-light conditions and the only way to ensure that the camera continuously focuses is by “probing” for focus. Applying firmware 1.02 on the 18-55mm lens certainly helped – the back and forth motion is still there, but it is not as fast and erratic as it used to be before. The AF-C mode works relatively well in daylight conditions though. If you come across this behavior, the best thing to do is switch to AF-S mode. The Nikon 1 and the Olympus OM-D E-M5 do not have the same behavior in AF-C mode in low light conditions, so hopefully Sony will come up with a way to keep AF without having to constantly re-engage it.

The advertised 10 FPS speed can only be achieved when using a special “Speed Priority Continuous” mode, where the camera’s exposure and focus are locked. The camera buffer fills up quickly after about 10 images in JPEG mode, slowing down to approximately 2 frames per second. If you want to have continuous autofocus with exposure metering from frame to frame, then you will have to use the “Continuous Advance” mode, where the camera slows down to approximately 3 FPS.

The Sony NEX-5R is a very friendly camera for manual focus operation. If you choose to use third party lenses with an adapter, you will love the focus “peaking” feature (can be found in the camera “Setup” menu). I found focus peaking to be a very useful feature, because you do not have to guess anything when shooting in MF mode. The camera will automatically detect sharpness and paint it with a chosen color, making manual focus operation a breeze. In addition, the two zoom levels (4.8x or 9.6x) let you get much closer to the focus area and really nail focus. I used the 9.6x zoom together with the touchscreen to select a desired area to focus on and got great results, both when shooting on a tripod and when hand-holding the camera. This MF implementation is the best I have seen so far on a mirrorless camera – the MF operation on the Nikon 1 cameras is much worse in comparison.

As for exposure and metering, I was rather pleased with the accuracy and of the camera exposure and metering system. In most cases it provided accurate results, minimizing the use of exposure compensation (I primarily shot in Aperture Priority mode).

8) Movie Recording

Every new camera that comes out seems to have impressive movie features and the Sony NEX-5R is no exception. It can record full 1080p HD movies at 60 fps (AVCHD 2.0) for smooth playback, which is very impressive. You can also pick lower resolution MPEG-4 format and slower rates (down to 24 fps) for smaller movie files. Another advantage of the movie mode is that you can fully control the exposure while recording movies – you can easily adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO when shooting videos in Manual mode. If the scene you are recording is too bright or too dark and you are in one of the P/A/S modes, you can also use exposure compensation to adjust the brightness level. The camera LCD will reflect these changes and you will see exactly what you are capturing. Autofocus and subject tracking both work when recording videos, and the new hybrid AF system definitely helps. As for Sony’s Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, it works pretty well when recording videos, but you have to be careful when panning the camera with SteadyShot turned on, because it will occasionally bump the camera up or down. This is normal behavior and the same thing would happen if you were to pan while taking stills.

9) WiFi

Sony was the first to release a WiFi-capable camera back in 2009, with its Sony Cybershot DSC-G3. The concept never really took off back then and Sony is now trying to bring WiFi back to its cameras. With social media, smart phones and tablet devices growing in popularity, it seems like everything will be transmitted wirelessly in the future. Thus, Sony’s idea to make WiFi attractive for the mass public is great – I really welcome their innovation. However, as good as WiFi sounds, it also depends on how well it is implemented. And that’s where Sony did not do well in my opinion. First of all, to take full advantage of the WiFi capability, you need special Applications such as “Direct Upload”, which are not included by default. To install these applications, you go inside the “Application” menu, then use the “PlayMemories Camera Apps” to download new apps. Once you choose an app you want to install, you must log into your Sony Network Entertainment Account. Why should I have to sign up for an account and log into it to download a free app? After signing up for an account online and logging into it via the NEX-5R, I was finally able to download any free app I wanted. I downloaded “Smart Remote Control” for remotely managing the camera via my iPhone and “Direct Upload” for uploading images to Facebook.

The Smart Remote Control app is a great app once you get it going on your phone. I had to download the “PlayMemories Mobile” app for my iPhone and I was able to capture images from the camera wirelessly. The app even let me save the pictures on my iPhone’s camera roll:

The only catch to this, is that the app will not download full high-resolution images to your phone – the images come in much smaller 1616×1080 resolution. Good enough to show on a high definition device, but still too small to take advantage of the camera’s native resolution. Aside from taking a picture, doing exposure compensation and setting a timer, the app provides no other options:

Looks like Sony needs to continue working on this app to make it more user friendly and customizable. But overall, it is really cool to be able to remotely control a camera. I really hope we will start seeing this on all other cameras, including DSLRs sometime in the near future.

As for other apps, as I have already pointed out above, I am annoyed by the fact that Sony is pushing features that should be available in the camera for free to commercial “Apps”. Instead of providing a built-in intervalometer, Sony wants you to buy “Time-lapse” for $9.99. Since bracketing is also not available on the NEX-5R, you can only get the feature via a “Bracket Pro” app that costs $4.99. Not sure how popular these apps will be, but I hope Sony considers moving them into regular camera firmware in the future.

10) Dynamic Range / HDR / DRO

A big advantage of a larger sensor is its ability to produce images with more dynamic range. Compared to the Nikon 1′s much smaller sensor or the Olympus OM-D E-M5′s Micro Four Thirds sensor, the Sony NEX-5R 1.5x crop factor sensor is capable of producing higher dynamic range, as can be seen from the below graph:

I have already talked about how good the Sony APS-C sensors are and you can see proof of that by looking at the above chart. Sony consistently scores the highest among different brands and it provides impressive dynamic range – something to be expected from such a superb sensor. As with all digital cameras, increasing camera ISO also decreases dynamic range, so shoot at base ISO of 100 if you want to preserve the most amount of information on your photographs.

A neat feature of the Sony NEX-5R is built-in High Dynamic Range (HDR) capability, which allows capturing multiple images and then combining them into a single JPEG image. While I personally like to shoot HDR photographs in manual mode in RAW format and then process them to my liking using specialized HDR software tools, the built-in Auto HDR mode can produce rather good results. I am not a big fan of the HDR Painting feature (especially the “HIGH” setting), because it produces ugly/unrealistic tones that many photographers seem to be obsessed with today. There is also a B&W HDR capability, but I did not spend much time experimenting with it, since I do not like in-camera B&W conversation.

Like on all recent Sony cameras, the NEX-5R also has a feature called “Dynamic Range Optimizer” (DRO), which is similar to Nikon’s “Active D-Lighting”. DRO applies a tone curve to images and does a decent job at recovering shadow details. This is only truly useful for JPEG images though, because the tone curve is not applied to RAW images.

Let’s see how the camera does in ISO performance against other cameras. Choose the next page below.

11) ISO Performance at low ISOs (ISO 100-800)

Some Technical Info:

1. White Balance: Auto, changed to “Custom”: 4500 Temp, +6 Tint in Lightroom
2. EXIF information is preserved in the images
3. Tested with Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens
4. Aperture: f/5.6
5. Manual Focus
6. DRO: Off
7. Long exposure NR: Off
8. High ISO HR: Off
9. Image Format: RAW
10. Imported images into Lightroom and cropped to 100% – no resizing was performed in Photoshop
11. No exposure adjustments were performed in Lightroom (besides White Balance)
12. Lightroom sharpening: 25, 1.0, 25, 0 (default)
13. Lightroom export: sRGB JPEG Quality 80

Let’s take a look at how the Sony NEX-5R performs at low ISOs. Here are some 100% crops at ISO 100, 200, 400 and 800:

Both ISO 100 and 200 look very clean with no visible artifacts, even in the shadows.

ISO 400 adds a tiny amount of noise. At ISO 800 we see even more noise, but the image still looks very good with no loss of details anywhere in the image, including the shadows.

12) High ISO Performance (ISO 1600-25600)

Let’s see what happens when ISO is boosted to much higher levels:

ISO 1600 increases the amount of noise and the grain size now looks bigger and more noticeable, especially in the shadows. Increasing ISO to 3200 nearly doubles noise and now we are starting to see some artifacts in the shadows. Both ISO levels are very usable though and a single pass of noise reduction software will deal with it pretty well, since most details are preserved.

Further increasing ISO to 6400 adds a lot more noise and now we are at a point, where we are starting to lose details in the shadow area. And by ISO 12800, the image looks pretty much unusable to me, although down-sampling the image might produce acceptable results for the web. The last available ISO level is 25600, which is way beyond my comfort level:

I would never use such high ISO level on the NEX-5R, because there is a heavy loss of detail and color throughout the image.

Overall, I am very impressed by the ISO performance of the Sony NEX-5R, especially its high ISO performance. Let’s see how it fares against other cameras. Select the next page below.

NOTE: In order to properly compare image sensors with different resolutions, we downsample/resize images from both sensors to 10 MP. This is the only proper way to assess noise performance. If you want to compare images at 100% crop, then you can use the images from the previous page and compare them to images from other reviews. For example, to compare pixel level performance of the Sony NEX-5R with the Canon EOS M, download images from the “ISO Performance” page from this review and then grab the ones from the same page in the Canon EOS M review. We do not provide 100% crops for all camera comparisons in individual reviews.

13) Sony NEX-5R vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Low ISO Comparison (ISO 200-800)

Let’s take a look at how the Sony NEX-5R compares to the Olympus OM-D E-M5 with a Micro Four Thirds sensor. The base ISO of the Olympus sensor starts at ISO 200 and it can go all the way to ISO 25,600. Here is a comparison of both cameras at ISO 200 (Left: Sony NEX-5R, Right: Olympus OM-D E-M5):

Both cameras look very clean at ISO 200, with no difference in noise characteristics.

The same is true for ISO 400.

As we increase ISO to 800, we start to see more noise on both cameras. But I can’t say that one is better than the other – despite a smaller sensor size, the OM-D has impressive image quality.

14) Sony NEX-5R vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 High ISO Comparison (ISO 1600-25600)

Here is ISO 1600 comparison:

At ISO 1600, there is still very little difference between the two.

Both cameras add plenty of noise at ISO 3200, but neither one has an upper hand. Again, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 shows impressive noise performance at high ISO, despite having a smaller sensor.

Pushing ISO to extreme (for APS-C) values obviously results in significant amount of noise – ISO 6400 is already above my comfort level. We again see a similar situation at ISO 6400 – both cameras perform very well, with perhaps a slight lead on behalf of NEX-5R, which seems to retain details a tad better.

At ISO 12800, there is too much noise on both cameras. Hard to tell which one looks better – you be the judge.

And ISO 25600 is there for fun. Images are too grainy and ugly, with not enough detail and colors throughout the image.

15) Sony NEX-5R vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Summary

As you can see from the above crops, the Sony NEX-5R and the Olympus OM-D E-M5 have very similar noise characteristics. Despite the smaller sensor size, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 performed about the same throughout the ISO range. At low ISOs, both cameras produce practically noise-free images. At ISO 1600 and higher, there is about the same amount of noise added to the highlights and the shadows. The NEX-5R has slightly better image quality at ISO 6400 and above, but that difference is minimal. When looking at image crops, you might have noticed that images from the Olympus OM-D E-M5 look slightly darker. This is not due to a difference in exposure – if you look at EXIF data from all images, you will see that there were shot at exactly the same aperture, shutter speed and ISO. After testing a number of mirrorless cameras, I came to the conclusion that the OM-D has a tendency to slightly underexpose by about 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop (it was the only camera that did it). This means that ISO 200 is not really ISO 200, but something like ISO 160.

16) Sony NEX-5R vs Sony NEX-7 Low ISO Comparison (ISO 100-800)

Since both Sony NEX-5R and NEX-6 have exactly the same sensors, I will not bother with providing crop comparisons. Instead, let’s take a look at how the NEX-5R compares to a higher resolution NEX-7. Here is a comparison of base ISO 100 on both cameras:

While both cameras produce impressive, noise-free images at ISO 100, the Sony NEX-7 produces slightly sharper images. This is due to downsampling – the NEX-7 has a lot more resolution to play with.

ISO 200 again looks impressive on both cameras.

We start seeing some noise at ISO 400, but there is no clear winner here – both cameras produce about the same amount of noise at the same resolution.

The same goes for ISO 800.

17) Sony NEX-5R vs Sony NEX-7 High ISO Comparison (ISO 1600-25600)

Let’s take a look at ISO 1600:

The NEX-5R shows a little bigger grain than the NEX-7 due to lower resolution.

Which we see again at ISO 3200. The NEX-7 seems to lose a little bit in the shadows.

Despite the bigger grain on the NEX-5R, it seems to retain the shadow details and colors a little better than the NEX-7 at ISO 6400.

This is even more noticeable at ISO 12800 – the shadows on the NEX-7 added quite a bit of artificial red.

Lastly, let’s take a look at both sensors at their highest ISO values. The NEX-5R maxes out at ISO 25600, while the NEX-7 maxes out at ISO 16000:

Both images look terrible, but the NEX-7 certainly has better details, despite the added red color all over the image.

18) Sony NEX-5R vs Sony NEX-7 Summary

When comparing images between sensors with different resolution, the only proper way to do it is to downsample images. Otherwise, sensors with bigger pixels (lower resolution) are always going to show better noise characteristics (assuming both are of similar generation/technology). In this case, the NEX-5R has a 16.1 MP sensor, while the NEX-7 has a very high resolution 24.3 MP sensor. An 8.2 MP difference can play a huge role when comparing sensors. The NEX-7 has the advantage of a high resolution sensor and its images retain excellent detail even at very high ISO values. It certainly does lose to the NEX-5R in the shadows at extremely high ISOs, resulting in visible artificial colors in the shadow areas, but the amount of detail is still higher. Overall, it would be wrong to say that one is better than the other, since both have their uses. For landscape photography, the NEX-7 would be the obvious choice, while for everything else, the NEX-5R also produces superb images at lower resolution (only considering the sensors). Sony chose to differentiate these camera models by features, rather than sensor resolution alone, so you get a lot more with the NEX-7 with a built-in viewfinder, better controls/layout, built-in flash and other extras.

19) Sony NEX-5R vs Canon EOS M (ISO 100-800)

The new Canon EOS M mirrorless camera has the same APS-C size sensor from the Canon EOS 650D DSLR. Physically, the sensor on the EOS M is a little smaller than the one on the NEX-5R (1.6x vs 1.5x crop factor), as shown on the first page of this review.

Here is ISO 100 on both:

As usual, there is no difference in noise characteristics at such low ISO values. The Canon EOS M looks much sharper, because its 18-55mm lens is excellent, while the Sony 18-55mm resolves much less detail in comparison (to be discussed in the upcoming Canon 18-55mm review).

The same goes for ISO 200 – both cameras show no noise, even in the shadow area.

At ISO 400 we start to see some grain on both cameras.

ISO 800 looks equally good on both.

20) Sony NEX-5R vs Canon EOS M High ISO Comparison (ISO 1600-12800)

Let’s take a look at what happens at high ISO levels:

Boosted to ISO 1600, the Canon EOS M seems to produce a little more noise in the shadows, but the difference is very small.

However, at ISO 3200, the shadow area on the EOS M certainly looks grainier in comparison.

At ISO 6400, the EOS M shows more noise, especially in the shadows. There is also a loss of detail and colors in the shadows.

And at the maximum ISO of 12800, the EOS M definitely shows worse performance, with more artificial colors throughout the image. Overall though, both are pretty close in performance, with perhaps 1/3 of a stop advantage on the NEX-5R at very high ISOs.

21) Sony NEX-5R vs Canon EOS M Summary

Despite the 2 MP resolution difference (the EOS M has an 18 MP sensor), the NEX-5R showed impressive performance, surpassing the EOS M at high ISOs. Both are very similar in performance at low ISOs, but the NEX-5R certainly performs better at ISO 3200 and above. I would not judge the performance of these cameras by just looking at images though – the NEX-5R is a more mature camera, with a much better autofocus system and other neat features like focus peaking. Where the NEX-5R loses, is lack of a standard hot shoe to use with speedlights and flash triggers. This will be discussed in detail in the upcoming Canon EOS M review.

22) Sony NEX-5R vs Nikon 1 J1/J2/V1 Low ISO Comparison (ISO 100-800)

Let’s take a look at how the NEX-5R compares to Nikon 1 cameras. Here is a comparison of base ISO 100 on both cameras:

Again, sensor size and resolution win big time here – the Nikon 1 looks noisy in comparison to the NEX-5R even at base ISO of 100.

No need to repeat the same words – the NEX-5R looks very clean and practically noise-free at ISO 200 and 400.

At ISO 800, there is a little bit of grain on the NEX-5R, but it still looks very good in comparison to the J1/J2/V1.

23) Sony NEX-5R vs Nikon 1 J1/J2/V1 High ISO Comparison (ISO 1600-6400)

And here are ISO 1600, 3200 and 6400:

Again, the much larger and higher resolution sensor of the Sony NEX-5R does make a difference here – it performs very well at high ISOs, even at ISO 6400 when downsampled.

24) Sony NEX-5R vs Nikon 1 J1/J2/V1 Summary

As I have numerously talked about before, the only proper way to look at sensor performance is by down-sampling. While the J1/J2/V1 looks great at pixel level, it certainly disappoints when its competition is down-sampled to the same resolution. The Sony NEX-5R looks exceptionally good when its images are at 10 MP – those extra 6 MP help reduce noise and bring out the sharpness of the image. At the same time, don’t forget that the sensor of the NEX-5R is also over 3 times larger than the one on the Nikon 1 system. A larger size sensor also means larger lenses – and that’s Sony’s biggest weakness. It has a very compact camera body, but much bigger camera lenses (with the exception of the 16mm pancake lens). On the other hand, a large sensor also means two things: shallower depth of field and better dynamic range – two major factors that work in NEX-5R’s favor. Sony has a few other advantages, such as excellent grip / handle, swivel / touchscreen LCD, in-camera editing, HDR, panorama and 3D modes.

25) Summary

Overall, I am very impressed by the Sony NEX-5R, just like I was impressed with the NEX-5N. It is a high-quality camera with excellent image quality characteristics and much improved autofocus performance. As you can see from the previous page of this review, the Sony NEX-5R easily beats the Nikon 1 system and does extremely well when compared to other cameras from Olympus, Canon and Sony. Its AF performance has also gotten much better when compared to the previous generation NEX cameras, thanks to its hybrid AF system. My biggest complaint for the NEX-5N was its sluggish AF performance and Sony more or less addressed the problem by integrating phase detect sensors to the camera’s image sensor. While this hybrid AF system is not as fast as on DSLRs, it is still really good when compared to other mirrorless cameras. I would say it is on par with the Nikon 1′s hybrid AF and slightly worse (in accuracy and speed) than the AF system on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 in AF-S mode. In AF-C mode, there is a problem with contrast detect going back and forth trying to probe for focus, which got much better with the 1.02 firmware (as discussed in the “Autofocus / Manual Focus Performance and Metering” section of this review). But it is still not as good in comparison, so I hope Sony will address the issue via a firmware update in the future.

The Sony NEX-5R is a great camera for those that do not want the weight and bulk of a DSLR system. While it is not comparable to a DSLR in terms of features, autofocus, speed and versatility, it certainly is comparable to some of the best APS-C DSLRs in terms of image quality. Hence, if you already own a DSLR and would like to have a smaller and lighter stills & video camera for travelling and hiking light, the Sony NEX-5R is definitely a camera I would recommend to consider.

Between the NEX-5R, NEX-6 and NEX-7, which camera would I recommend? The NEX-5R is a great value and the NEX-7 has a lot of advanced functionality, but my heart is with the NEX-6 (a review of the NEX-6 will be posted soon). It has the same hybrid AF as the NEX-5R, but most importantly, comes with a built-in viewfinder, a PASM mode dial, a standard hot shoe for on-camera flash and flash triggers (finally!), a built-in flash, WiFi and other great features.

26) Where to buy and availability

B&H is currently selling the Sony NEX-5R (body only) for $598 and the Sony NEX-5R kit with 18-55mm lens for $698.