Sony NEX-5

The Sony NEX-5 is a compact mirrorless camera from 2010 that pairs an APS-C sensor with a very small body. It weighs 287 g and measures 111 x 59 x 38 mm, making it a light option for everyday shooting and travel.

You frame everything on the 3-inch LCD because there is no viewfinder. The camera records no video and has no wireless connection, so it is a stills camera at heart.

Sony's E mount sets the range of lenses that fit the camera.

The NEX-5 earns a modest optics score of 55/100, placing it around the middle of cameras in our database for optics. Its 14.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, handled by the Bionz processor, gives enough resolution for prints and sharing, though it leaves little room for heavy cropping.

Sensitivity runs from ISO 200 to 12800, a span that covers bright outdoor light through dim interiors. The 1/4000 second maximum shutter speed is workable for general daylight photography.

In-body stabilisation is the standout here. It reduces camera shake, so handheld shots stay sharp at slower shutter speeds than you could otherwise manage. It does nothing for subject movement, so a moving subject still needs a fast shutter.

Burst shooting reaches seven frames per second, enough to catch a peak moment, though that figure is a maximum rather than a sustained rate. The autofocus system lists 187 points, but a count alone says little about speed or tracking, so try it on the subjects you shoot.

The NEX-5 does not record video, so any footage has to come from a separate device such as a phone. There is no built-in timelapse mode either, so the camera cannot assemble interval sequences by itself. Motion coverage in any form sits outside its feature set.

For stills-only photographers this costs nothing in practice. The closest the camera comes to motion is its burst mode, which reaches a maximum of seven frames per second and produces still frames rather than footage. Action stays reachable as photographs, not as clips.

Anyone wanting one body for both photos and video needs a second device. The upside is that card capacity and battery serve stills alone. In practice, the NEX-5 remains a camera built around photographs.

Features score a modest 41/100, with the screen and live view providing its specification points. Composition happens on the 3-inch LCD, which has 920,000 dots for a reasonably detailed view and flips to help with overhead or waist-level shots. It is not a touchscreen, so settings change through the buttons.

There is no viewfinder, so you always shoot at arm's length or close to it. Flash is not built in, but an external flash is supported, which keeps indoor and low-light portraits possible.

Nothing connects wirelessly: no Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS. Images leave the camera through the memory card, and geotagging means manual work. With no weather sealing, it is best kept out of rain and dust.

Storage and battery is the weakest area, with a limited score of 21/100. A single slot accepts SD, SDHC and SDXC cards alongside Memory Stick Pro Duo and Pro-HG Duo, so card choice is flexible even though there is no second slot.

The NP-FW50 battery is rated at 330 shots per charge. Treat that as a rating rather than a promise of real-world endurance. A spare battery is worth owning for longer days out.

There is no USB charging, so batteries go in the dedicated charger. That means charging the night before a shoot, because you cannot top up from a laptop or power bank between locations.