Pat_Rick

I have been researching a camera for my Auguat trip to Kenya, and I really like the Sony DSC-H5. The things that I like about this camera are:
3" LCD screen
Anti-shake
12X optical zoom

The large screen is the #1 reason, I find that easy to use and easy on my eyes. I have never been on a safari, maybe there are other more important considerations? I have only ever used a point and shoot camera, so a camera that needs to change lenses and settings will not work for me.

I read the DPReview, but didn't really see any pros and cons. One reviewer (I can't remember where) complained about the locations of the buttons.

Did anyone ever use this camera? Any comments (good or bad) on it?

Should I wait to puchase a camera for next August in case new and better models will be coming out?

Thanks.

Pat

santharamhari

Hi Patrick,

My dad has this particular camera, let me talk to him over the weekend to get his views on the camera...i will revert. I borrowed it for my trip to Botswana with me as a spare camera, but didnt use it.....

Hari

Pat_Rick

Thanks Hari, looking forward to your/your dad's feedback.

Pat

atravelynn

Pat Rick,

This comment is from a strict aim, point and shooter. I have the DSC-H2 and love it. If you want simple, the Sonys will work well. No lenses, no changing settings unless you want to. The buttons are fine for my fingers.

The DSC-H2 has a smaller screen but in the bright light of the African sun, I almost never use the screen. I always use the viewfinder, like on a manual camera. Even with another square inch, I still think I'd use the viewfinder. I have seen a $20 device that tapes over your screen to prevent glare. Since it is virtually permanent I did not want to try it.

Pat_Rick

Lynn,

How about the video quality on the camera? We are not getting a camcorder for the trip, so this camera will serve as a camcorder too.

Point and shoot is all I can handle, I am glad that you loved it.

Pat

africaddict

Hi Pat Rick

Here are the pro's & con's from Dpreview of the DSC-H5


Conclusion - Pros

* Excellent resolution, good detail with only a very slight fall-off in the corners
* Great color, good exposure, clean sharp results
* Accurate and generally fast focus
* Low shutter lag
* Superb handling, comprehensive photographic controls
* Jog dial makes manual / semi-automatic exposure very easy and fast
* 12x zoom offers excellent 36-432mm range
* Packed with features
* Powerful flash
* Image stabilization
* Program shift
* 'Punchy' results straight out of the camera
* Clean images up to ISO 200
* Impressively little distortion for such a large lens
* Enjoyable and easy to use
* Large, bright, clear, contrasty screen, can be used in very bright light
* High resolution viewfinder (though see cons, below)
* Very bright AF illuminator
* Can zoom during movie mode
* Decent battery life from two AA's
* Optional wide and tele adapters

Conclusion - Cons

* Some focus hunting at long end of the zoom (especially in low light)
* Easy to hit buttons on rear with your thumb, especially when shooting 'single handed'
* Default settings produce images that need a little sharpening
* Noticeably stronger noise reduction at ISO 400+ than H2
* Image stabilization doesn't seem quite as effective as competition
* Small viewfinder
* Some chromatic aberration
* Strong purple fringing at high contrast edges
* Movies are a little over-compressed
* No RAW or TIFF mode
* Could do with a higher top shutter speed
* Limited burst mode

Overall conclusion

By far the most difficult part of this review was identifying real, meaningful differences between the output of this camera and the H2, reviewed last week, and attempting to discover if it is worth the extra $100 or so.

The good news is that everything we liked about the H1 and the H2 is still here; handling is excellent, it's very fast and responsive and the results - even shooting in full auto mode with default settings - excellent. There are few cameras I can wholeheartedly recommend to both novice 'snappers' and experienced photographers, but the H5, like the H2, is that rarest of beasts; a 'compact' camera with handling and control close to a DSLR, yet one that - even in inexperienced hands - can be left in 'idiot-proof' mode and trusted to produce the goods time and time again. Above all, the H5 is fun and easy to use, which means you will find yourself taking a lot more pictures, which has to be a good thing.

Like the H2, the H5 improves on its predecessor (the highly-praised DSC-H1) in several small but significant ways, both in terms of features and in the all-important matter of image quality. What it doesn't offer is a significant step up from the H2 in any respect (bigger, sharper screen aside). Of course there are differences in the output; the H5 has even worse purple fringing than the H2 and has slightly less impressive high ISO performance, but it seems a lot less prone to highlight clipping, so what you win on the one side, you lose on the other. At standard print sizes you'll see burnt out highlights a lot more than you'll see purple fringing, but it's still something Sony needs to address. The screen is lovely, but does come at a cost; slightly lower battery life, and the black finish is nice, but only you will know if it's worth paying extra for.

If you're attempting to decide between the H2 and H5 then it won't come down to image quality or performance; there really isn't going to be a visible difference in the printed output. It's a bit like the choice you make when buying a car; do you go for the base model or splash out on the 'Sport' with its leather seats, aircon and fancy body styling kit? The H5 appeals to those of us who feel we'd regret not paying the little bit extra every time we settled back into cloth seats...

Compared to the most obvious competitors - the Canon S3 IS and Panasonic DMC-FZ7 - the Sony H5 scores highly in handling, features, overall image quality and ease of use, and only really falls short in a couple of areas; burst mode, focus speed in low light (specifically at the long end of the zoom), and the purple fringing. The Canon S3IS wins hands-down when it coes to movies, the FZ7's lens and superior image stabilization means that at lower ISO settings it still, just, rules the roost when it comes to edge-to-edge sharpness, but the H5 offers a very attractive overall package that handles better than either, and - if that's what you like in a camera - has that nice big screen to boot.

The choice when looking at this class of camera is a difficult one, and one that more often than not comes down to handling, personal preference (in terms of the actual output) and how important certain specific features (in this case the screen, basically) are to you. The H2 represents far better value for money than the H5, which is why I still consider it to be the pick of the bunch, but the H5 still offers an awful lot of 'bang for your buck'. Whilst it would be unfair to penalise the H5 simply because it doesn't offer a lot more than the H2 in terms of real benefits, I would point out that whereas the $399 H2 was an easy choice for a Highly Recommended, the H5, like the Canon S3 IS, was a much closer call.
Detail Rating (out of 10)
Build quality 8.0
Ergonomics & handling 8.0
Features 9.0
Image quality 8.0
Optics 7.5
Performance (speed) 8.0
Value 8.0

Cheers
Marc

santharamhari

Thanks Marc.....Patrick, i think that was all the info you could possibly need for your research.

Hari

p.s: I did call my dad. He said,"Yeah, good camera"....and changed the topic

Pat_Rick

Marc,

I am speechless about the effort you put into responding to my query. I think this does it for me. I found a web seller that will sell the US packaged H5 (got to have that big screen!) for $399 (no tax) plus shipping, and will include a small tripod and a cleaning kit with the purchase.

I have a couple more questions though.

Can you elabrate on "Strong purple fringing at high contrast edges"? Am I going to get a ring of purple around the photos?

You said "Default settings produce images that need a little sharpening", is there a camera setting to get the images sharper, or is that a post-editing thing? What should I set the camera to for shooting on a Safari during the day? and at night?

What about the start up speed? Is it lagging? Will I miss a great shot while waiting for the camera to start?

I can't fully express how much I appreciate your post. I am sure I will read it over and over until I understand fully.

Thanks.

Pat

africaddict

Hi Pat Rick

No big deal for this info, it's just a simple cut/paste from the Dpreview site.
All part of the service!
I can suggest if you have further questions on this camera go to the Dpreview site (then register) then go to Forums and scroll down to Sony talk and ask all your questions here.
I'm a Nikon DSLR user.

Cheers
Marc

Pat_Rick

Thanks Marc, I am reading the DPReview's Sony forum now, it is great. I found out about the DH1758 telephoto add-on lense that I might want to get and to use Adobe Lightroom to remove the purple fringing. Great sorce of information.

Pat

Pat_Rick

I bought a H5 from Dell.com for $352.46, great price, consider that it listed for $499. Free shipping, add sales tax.

Thanks Marc for pointing me to the DPReview forum, that is where I found out about the sale at Dell's.

Now I am going to shop for memory stickes and the DH1758 telephoto lense. What fun. 9 more months before I leave...

Pat

SylviaCaras

The DSC-H5 was also my first choice. But then I started looking at the Sony DCR-HC46 and the Sony DCR-SR60. I thought maybe I'd like to aim for motion, not stills.

Least weight is most important, then anti-shake, large screen.

I don't want to have to edit the end product, would just like to upload results somewhere and be able to share. I'm not sure how I accomplish that with either of these camcorders, am just starting to look into this.

Sylvia

Pat_Rick

Sylvia,

I thought long and hard about getting a camcorder too, but since I have never used one and have never enjoyed it when people MAKE me sit though an hour of homemade videos, I opted for a camera that takes videos. I understand that you can record 20 minutes of video with sound on a 2G stick. How is that for a compromise?

Pat

dmunk2000

Just got back from safari and used the DSC-H5 for all my pics. Get ready to burn through some memory sticks. I loved it!! I am not a pro and was a bit scared off by the SLRs given how complicated they could get but wanted a quality zoom and crisp pics. This was very easy to use, is extremely user-friendly and can be easy for amateurs with auto settings, but you also have the ability to customize pretty much everything (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, you name it...). 12x zoom is perfect for safari (and at 7 MP, how can you go wrong?). This is the site I used which acted as my Sony DSC-H5 bible: http://www.aakatz.com/h1whitepaper/

Try and practice before you go out on sfarai so you get used to the settings, comfort, etc. Enjoy it!!!

Pat_Rick

Hi dmunk2000, welcome back.

Would you please post some photos that you took with the H5? Is 12X plenty? I was thinking of spending $100 to buy the Sony DH1758 telephoto lense to make it 20X.

Did you take any videos with the camera? How was it?

I printed out the last chapter of the White Paper, will practice with the setting AAK recommended.

Pat

cary999

12x is plenty, equivalent to 432mm focal length 35mm format. I have not seen his photos. Whether they are great, good, or poor will depend on dmunk, not the camera.
regards - tom

dmunk2000

Pat - Just got back yesterday (and feeling woozy still from jetlag) so I haven't had a chance to upload pictures yet. As to your questions, sure there were times where a better zoom would have helped (one thought is to use the digital zoom to get you to 14x zoom on the 7MP setting, which will give you a 5MP resolution, if that makes sense). If you are a bird guy, you will def. need greater zoom, but I got great shots with 12x zoom.

Also, a question would be where you are going. In the Mara, you could drive off-road and get REAL close to the animals thus not needing a better zoom. However, in the other parks we went to (Ngorongoro/Tarangire), you can't off-road and you're sometimes ata pretty far distance from the game, so you should keep that in mind.

Last, I did not use the video feature since I had my own videocam. For the amt. of video I wanted, it would have taken up too much memory card space, so didn't use it for that. You'l be surprised how much memory you can use on safari even with a digital (b/c you don't want to delete many, if any, pics as they can look good on compuetr and not on viewfinder OR can be fixed in post-editing). Hope that helps and I hope to post pics by week's end.

Good luck,
Doug