Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5

.../> First impressions of the Sony H5 will impress on you the physical size of the machine compared to the small and light compacts you and I may have been used to.
The wonderful 3" lcd screen dominates the back of the camera making framing and reviewing of shots a pleasure on the eyes, the image is super clear and accurate.
It took me a while to suss out all the controls and settings as I'd been used to the Canon's control system ...
...type add-on zoom lens.
Sony even includes a lens adapter and a nice lens cover (the camera will let you know if you forget to remove it!) in the box should you wish to push the cameras limits further, but personally I'd use this for some nice filter effects, these can be bought separately and are 58mm in diameter.
The high zooming capability will of course mean camera shake, but the H5 copes well due to its built in "super steady ... more

Firstly, the camera pictured top left on this page, comes in black and silver.
I bought this camera as an upgrade to the trusty and superb Canon A75. I'd still have the old camera were it not for the fact that I popped into Jessops (superb camera shop) one Sunday afternoon a few weeks back… "Just for a look" definitely wasn't going to buy anything, but you know how the story goes!

Looking in the brightly lit display cabinets a couple of cameras caught my eye, so had to have a closer look. The friendly shop assistant grabbed Sony's H2 & H5 for me to look at and get the feel of, the H2 is basically the same camera but with a 1.8" screen & 6mp compared to the H5's 3" & 7.2mp CCD.
Sensibility and my head should have told me to buy the H2 due to a lower price, but gadget lust, my heart and the pure hugeness of that giant screen on the back of the black thrusting beast; compared to the silvery coloured lesser cool looking H2 swayed my decision.
One thing I'd like to mention and perhaps Jessops wouldn't is the fact that they will price match the best price you can find on British internet sites, this meant that I had to rush home, log on and search for the best price I could find, print off the results and get back to the shop… they accepted my price info' and matched accordingly… well done Jessops!
Now I'm quite happy to go back and shop there again, makes sense to me.
The build quality and feel of the camera is very impressive and was one of the main reasons for me buying it while handling it in the high street shop, something that is missing when you buy online, holding something in your hands can have a big effect on the decision to buy or not.
Having the H5 in your hands will make it very hard to leave the shop without it! It oozes quality.

First impressions of the Sony H5 will impress on you the physical size of the machine compared to the small and light compacts you and I may have been used to.
The wonderful 3" lcd screen dominates the back of the camera making framing and reviewing of shots a pleasure on the eyes, the image is super clear and accurate.
It took me a while to suss out all the controls and settings as I'd been used to the Canon's control system but once mastered you'll find it quick and easy to capture the perfect shot.
The jog wheel under the shutter release button (similar to SLR cameras) makes changing aperture and shutter speed settings a breeze, especially while using the EVF, means you don't need to take your eye away to look at the buttons, the same information is displayed in the EVF (electronic view finder). Once you get to know the other buttons function and position off by heart these can be used the same way too.

The pictures taken with the H5 are very impressive, clear bright and sharp images are the order of the day, I like to mainly use the manual controls because of the creative capabilities this camera excels at, from beautiful sunsets and night shots of stars (on a tripod), long exposures in the dark of cars with trailing lights etc to high shutter speed action shots of events in the bright daylight.
Landscapes have come out very nicely with beautifully defined clouds set against deep blue skies, other cameras I've had sometimes produced noisy areas in the blue of the sky, not so with this one, and think it has more to do with the superb quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens.

The impressive 12X zoom is a real bonus and saves you having to buy lens adapters and extra screw on lenses. This equates to fitting a 400mm film type add-on zoom lens.
Sony even includes a lens adapter and a nice lens cover (the camera will let you know if you forget to remove it!) in the box should you wish to push the cameras limits further, but personally I'd use this for some nice filter effects, these can be bought separately and are 58mm in diameter.
The high zooming capability will of course mean camera shake, but the H5 copes well due to its built in "super steady shot" image stabilisation, sometimes it will get caught out and a blurry shot will appear but this is a rare event, and will be reduced even more provided you set the camera up correctly.
I've noticed too that distant dark objects set against a bright sky or high contrast area of the shot will show some purple fringing or shadowing around the object, but is usually only noticeable when cropping tightly in on the picture or large blow ups of distant detail.

At the other end of the scale is the macro mode, I find it comparable if not better than some cameras super macro modes? I took some photos of insects in the back garden and every detail came out in frighteningly sharp clarity.

Battery life I've not been that impressed with, although the claimed figures would suggest otherwise, it is supplied with two 2500mAh batteries, which are good, but would recommend getting 2700mAh Ni-MH or higher rechargeable ones to keep it going strong, especially as you'll be using that huge screen, using the EVF will make the batteries last longer (but that's boring!) one of the reasons for buying the H5 was because of that BIG screen, and is great if your eyes are not as good as they used to be.
I recommend also a 1Gig memory stick pro duo card, this will give you approx 275 shots in max resolution (7.2 mp) and approx 385 on the 5mp setting. I generally use the 5mp as I find this resolution more than enough for everything, only switching to 7.2mp if I really want to crop out some fine detail, but it's your personal choice as to how you want to use it.
Remember that there is a mega pixel war on with all cameras at the moment, and this doesn't always translate into better looking shots, it has more to do with the lens, and quality of the CCD sensor.

There are all the usual preset scene modes and full auto built in if you don't know how to use the camera or for having fun with, as too a good quality video option, prefer to use a dedicated video camera for that but saves carrying round 2 cameras I suppose, again a personal preference.
All the technical specs' can be found online and would take up a lot of space here making this a boring read.

Overall I'm very happy with this camera; I love the build quality, the huge rear screen, the huge zoom range and the cracking pictures it produces. The more I use it the more Functions I find to take better pictures, I think I still have a lot more to discover about this camera yet.

I'm not so keen on the big lump that it is (I can't slip it in my pocket anymore) and have had to buy a big bag to carry round with me to house the camera, lens hood, spare batteries, memory cards, phone, fags, lighter etc! Check out P.C World for a nice well priced "Antler" real leather cool looking bag for just under £20 (at time of writing) I'm sure the official Sony one would be twice the price, but again the choice is yours.

I fully intend to keep this camera working hard for a least a couple of years yet, 7.2mp is more than enough for me to be getting on with, so go on …treat yourself, or your partner to a great camera for the coming Crimbo! (Shudder)

Forgot to mention... the retail price listed in the shop was £349.99, Internet price £280 (price matched) so chucked in a 1 gig card @ £34.99 bringing the total price up to £314.99 not too bad I think, but give it till the Jan' sales and I'll prolly be kicking myself ! such is the way of things.

(Update 22.1.07)
Have uploaded a few more examples that are different fron the first batch... many thanks for the previous comments on them, the examples shown here have been reduced in size by 50% for Ciao to accept them, so the original's quality will obviously be a lot better than these.
Like I said earlier I have discovered many more functions on this camera the more I use it... and , I just keep getting happier with the camera the more I use it ! ( I love it ) .... I order you to buy one... Now !

Thanks for reading.  

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