The Sony Nex-5 Camera
It's hard to believe that it has almost been a year since we finally made the decision to purchase this camera (and almost 8 months since we bought the second one) but I've never owned a camera that has seen more use.
The Nex-5 is simply incredible for taking still shots. Looking as good as any 35mm camera, the image size for the best shots run 4592 X 2576 and can range from 4 to 9 megabytes in size, depending on what mode you are shooting in. Every firmware update Sony has released for this camera only adds more options. The latest update allows for awesome spot color black and white pictures that are truly incredible.
Where we use the cameras, the most is for shooting short films. The movie mode of the Nex-5 shoots in true high-definition 1920 by 1080 using the h.264 compression format. Clear, sharp and true to life images all the way. It will also shoot in mp4 format, but the high-def quality is less at 1440 by 1080.
The bonus of this camera is its weight. Weighing only about a pound and a half with the 18-55mm lens, it is simple to haul around - whether in a camera bag or using the strap around your neck. This camera will not weigh you down.
For independent filmmakers who still like to shoot in 24p, well, this camera isn't going to do it for you. It shoots in 60i, but hey…that is one thing you can certainly 'fix in post' if you are dead-set on 24p.
Sony offers several different lenses for the Nex-5 along with an adapter that will allow for the use of Alpha (a) lenses.
For the money, you really can't beat the Nex-5. We were able to get two of them for what you would pay for one Canon 7D. This means, we can both shoot stills and we can also do two camera shots on all of our films.
