Sony NEX-5TL Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens

UPDATE: Still really enjoy the camera but felt the need to comment on the current pricing. I believe the camera has been discontinued which has driven the price of this camera up. My review used the purchase of $350 and while I can still recommend this up to $450, anything beyond that and I would recommend waiting until the new cameras come out. At around $500, if you really like the Sony mirrorless cameras, the A6000 base model starts here and would be a much better buy in general although you lose the 180 degree LCD screen and the touchscreen. UPDATE: I've been using the camera for about two months now and I'm still finding out just how great and versatile it is. I upgraded the lens to the Sony 35mm 1.8 lens and it was a big improvement over the kit lens I think it's important that if you're going to invest in a camera like this coming from point and shoots, it's important to really learn about and understand all the features to make the most of your investment. This camera is just fantastic for everything and you'll notice huge improvements over point and shoot compacts. I know someone that uses this camera and they really like it so I did my research on it. It had very positive reviews everywhere I looked and seemed to fall in an appropriate budget for what I was looking for. I wanted something for a recent international trip. I like taking pictures with my smartphone as they're more than good enough but I didn't want to waste my battery on my phone taking hundreds of pictures a day so I wanted a good option. I wanted something compact that offered excellent quality photos and a lot of versatility. I'm no expert so this review will be based off of my current experience as someone who is new to anything beyond the standard point and shoot. This camera fit the bill perfectly. The NEX-5TL comes with an adjustable strap, a battery, a charging cable, and a wall wart for charging. In this package a 16-50mm lens is included with a flash that can be attached to the top port which can be used for other things such as I believe a microphone or a digital view finder(DVF). It features wifi and nfc for easy wireless connection and transfer of pictures to smartphones and tablets. It also has a fairly large display that flips up for selfies and makes it easier to see what your taking pictures of if you have to hold the camera lower then your head. The camera has all the familiar camera modes; program, aperture, shutter priority, intelligent auto, superior auto. I don't want to go too much into these because I honestly don't know enough about photography to elaborate to a degree worthy of what this camera is capable of. Basically they are generally auto modes and some will automatically control certain things like shutter speed or aperture or will generally automatically control all adjustments including exposure. The one main exception is the program mode which will leave all of the settings to the photographer and this is where I left it for the majority of the time to learn on. Occasionally I would try some of the auto modes to see if I could get a better shot than the settings I was using on program mode. The more I learned the easier it was to use program mode and apply the proper settings easily before taking my shots. Again I won't get into the specifics because while you don't need to be a pro photographer to use this camera, reading up on the subject a bit will increase the chances of the pictures you take being closer in line with what you want. I recommend reading up on photography whether you're using a $60 point and shoot or something much more expensive. I had no issues with battery life although I did buy an extra battery(Sony) as well as the Sony charger. I was able to take hundreds and hundreds of pictures between battery changes and rarely did I get close to using up a full charge in one day although mileage will vary depending on usage of course. I found the flip screen perfect for taking nice selfies and if you're using a tripod it is able to set a timer or connect to a wireless remote including I believe your phone to snap the picture although I didn't use these features. Connecting the camera to my iPhone 6 was simple with the app on my phone and didn't take very long to transfer pictures but totaling maybe 5-10 minutes when I transferred over large quantities of pictures. I felt the lens was basic but versatile enough for every kind of picture and offered a good zoom for further shots. You can use a variety of different lenses from Sony and other brands which makes this much closer to a DSLR than to a point and shoot. I'm already looking to improve my shots even further with a low aperture prime lens although this is where you're going to start spending money. The variety of lenses range anywhere from $200 to well over $1000. While this seems like a lot to a novice photographer, it's still really nice to know you can really grow with the camera. It's bigger than most if not all point and shoots but much smaller and easier to travel with than even the smallest of DSLR cameras while still offering DLSR quality pictures or near their quality. This was perfect for my travels and is very easy to recommend to novices up to the very experienced photographers. I tried to cover a lot but there's too much for me to cover here right now so I'll update the the review with any new things I discover and try to answer any questions people have. I paid $350 for this which I think is a fantastic price and would have been willing to pay more but look for sales and bundles on amazon as I know they've had great ones for this camera. UPDATE: after about a month of use I'm still really liking this camera. I did however run into issues charging the battery through the camera. I kept getting a blinking charging lamp which turns out to mean there is a charging error and the battery has stopped charging. It was happening quite a bit until I finally kind of pushed the plug in as snug as I could and it seemed to resolve. I have a spare battery and a charger so I didn't really run into this problem before. Since I seemed to have remedied the problem I won't deduct a star unless this problem persist despite having other charging problems but I just thought I should update my review with this finding. Still a great camera and updated with a SEL35F18 lens which is a great upgrade from the 16-50mm kit lens.

I've been using the Nex-5t for about 5 months now. Previously I used a Sony SLT-A37 DSLR, but with a growing family I found I left that camera at home more often. The Nex-5t is just as capable but small enough I can put it in the pocket of my cargo shorts or a jacket. The image quality is very good, I can print a 20x30" poster that is quite acceptable. The WiFi and NFC capabilities of this camera are much more useful to me than I anticipated. I can take a photo, and while playing back touch my phone to the camera and it automatically connects and transfers the photo, which is very useful for sending a quick photo to the grandparents and other family. I can also touch my phone to the camera and initiate the remote control app on my phone, which is nice for setting the camera up somewhere and taking a photo without needing to be at the camera to operate it. I do this sometimes to get more candid pictures of my kids, they ham it up a lot when they know I'm taking pictures, but if they aren't aware of it I can get much more natural photos of them. The touch screen is nice for selecting another focus point quickly, the tracking focus is a mixed bag, it works well sometimes and other times it gets confused and locks onto something other than the initial target. When it comes to interchangeable lens cameras it is important to talk about the other half of the equation which is the lens selection. This is where I get frustrated with this particular system. Sony does not offer a lot of affordable lenses. Affordable is a relative term of course, but I prefer to shoot with a fixed focal length prime lens with a large aperture so I can achieve better subject isolation. My options for a "Normal" range lens are the Sony 35mm f1.8 at $400, or the Sigma 30mm f2.8 at $180. Sony has a couple wide angle lenses and a 30mm macro (an odd focal length for a macro) that doesn't open up much further than the kit lens. Overall the camera is good, the lens selection leaves a bit to be desired. This is a good camera for a family, it has enough capability for an enthusiast, and if you like to use old lenses with adapters it really shines. If size is not your primary concern, you may be better served with a Nex-6 or one of the Sony DSLR's for which there are more lenses available and for much more affordable prices.

I love this camera. Compact enough not to be obnoxious or make you look like some try-hard yuppie with their $3000 dslr they can barely use, all heavy and unweildy. This is sleek, light, attractive, and most importantly useable. It just takes nice pictures. If youre lazy it'll take nice pics automatically, if you wanna get more involved you can. If it had a viewfinder it would be perfect. You can buy one for it, but it costs a fortune and isnt really necessary but it just seems more natural to me to take a picture with the camera held up to the eye. I've gotten over that though. The wireless stuff works great, but if you have android 4.3+ you have to go into WiFi settings and disable something I can't remember "auto switch between WiFi and mobile" or some damn thing in order for it to properly work. Just Google it. My phone still switches automatically or whatever but now it seamlessly connects to the camera. Great buy, worth the money and the touchscreen isnt as unresponsive as ppl say. Mine seems like a typical capacitive touchscreen.

Bought this in December before Christmas. It was my first compact interchangeable lens camera and also my first Sony camera. Was a decent camera that can take low-light images even without the flash. The flash comes in the box but makes the camera more bulky to bring around. Found that I didn't have to use it much and pictures still came out in good quality. However, camera crapped out in just 5 months, as I get the error message "Cannot recognize lens". Terrible customer service as well. Can't believe a camera like this can break like that in less than 6 months rendering it completely unusable. Avoid!

So I got this camera exactly two months ago and it worked great. Nice pictures and I particularly like the remote control app. The two missing stars are for the horrible Amazon customer service. The battery died yesterday and the charging light keeps flashing with the power cord plugged, which according to the user manual indicates a battery failure. The manual didn't say what would cause this problem or what users should do when the problem occurs. So I thought I'd contact Amazon CS and find out. Someone named Rhio at Amazon chatted with me. He sure knew how to copy and paste standard answers and was polite in the beginning. But when I explained my issue to him, he replied (from the standard answers) "Because 30 days have passed since the order was received, Amazon cannot accept a return on this item. I recommend you consult your user manual" (not the exact words but something like this). Come on! I already told you that I checked the manual and knew it was a battery failure. Why would you tell me something I've already known? And what kind of solution is that? Maybe because it was 9 am in the morning and Rhio didn't feel like making an effort yet, but to me, he was basically saying "This is none of my business. Stop bugging me and go deal with it yourself!" Great job Amazon having these people treating your customers like dirt!

This tiny camera has a APS-C sensor that that takes just as good or better pictures than the entry level DSLRs from Nikon and Canon, but it blows away those entry level cameras when it comes to features. Not only that, it will fit in a coat pocket or purse. No more lugging around a huge camera to get DSLR quality photos. I don't necessarily rate this camera as better than the Nikon 3300 or the Canon strictly on image quality. This is an older Sony Nex and the newer C/N DSLRs do have more pixels. That being said, the 5T will probably outperform them low light, though maybe not the newest Nikon. 16 pixels is plenty and produces more manageable file sizes. You will need to pixel peep to find any noticeable differences in image quality. Here is were the 5T shines: It will focus faster. It has both phase detection and contrast detection auto-focus. It will snap off a blazing 10 frames per second. Granted the buffer fills up fast, but I generally want to catch that perfect action shot within a one second time frame. The Canon will only shoot 3 frames per second and the Nikon 5 fps. It has all the features that a mid-range DSLR has and then some. The Nikon 3300, for example, won't even exposure bracket. I teach a college level Into to Photography course. One thing I cover is HDR photography. Students that use any of the Nikon 3000 series cameras need to use a tripod to exposure bracket for HDR work. All of the Nikon 3000 series cameras lack an auto Exposure bracketing feature. Heck, I haven't even come across an advanced bridge camera that didn't have this feature. It has useful scene modes like "Hand Held Twilight" and Auto HDR. Once you learn to use your camera, you don't need most scene modes but the 5T has a couple of scene modes that don't just adjust your settings for you. They use the cameras fast shutter speed to take multiple pictures and combine those multiple pictures in camera. The Hand Held Twilight mode lets you get low noise pictures at night without a tripod. Auto HDR lets you combine pictures to give your photo more dynamic range (detail in highlights and shadows). It has a touch screen. Some may like the ergonomics of the larger DSLR with more buttons. I have several cameras including a Sony A55 (the 5T actually takes better pictures) and a full frame Sony A99. I will say that the A99 is a dream to use ergonomically. I'm not necessarily sold on the the touch screen but I do really like it for selecting focus points. It is wireless - you can send pictures to your phone or computer. This will be important to many though not so much to me as I do usually want to use at least Lightroom to edit my pictures before I post. The wireless feature also lets you use your smart phone as a remote, something that I probably will use in the future. The latest Nikon has an optional device that you can connect for wireless. It has a tilting screen that lets you see it at just about any angle. This is great when you need to do over your head (for crowds) shots, lower shots, or macro shots. It also lets you take selfies, though the removable flash gets in the way. You can add apps that perform specialized functions. Some say they shouldn't have to pay for additional features, but since the 5T already comes with more features than other entry level cameras and many mid-range cameras, I think it's nice to be able to add apps such as an automated time lapse photography function and multi-frame noise reduction. You don't get that opportunity with the other cameras. It takes better videos. It particular, it will focus much more seamlessly, if you do not use manual focusing. It currently (12/15) costs less than the other entry level cameras. This is an older model and it is being sold at a heavy discount. Sony has replaced it with an A5000 (the 5T is better) and an A5100. I picked it up because I couldn't resist the Amazon pre-Christmas flash deal. It fits in my pocketbook easily and is replacing a Panasonic LX-7 that I never really like all that much. All that performance is packed into a package that will fit in a coat pocket or purse. There are a couple of negatives. In my opinion, the biggest negative is a lack of lens choices. The Sony E lens offerings are pretty sparse, particularly when it comes to less expensive lens options from Sigma and Tamron. On the other hand, you can buy cheap adapters that will let you use old legacy lenses that you can find quite inexpensively on Ebay. Using these lenses requires manual focus. To help you with the manual focusing, the 5T has a feature called "Focus Peaking". Focus peaking outlines your in focus areas and makes manual focusing much easier. You can buy an adapter that will let you auto focus with Sony Alpha and older Minolta lenses but the adapter costs as much or more than the cost of the 5T. It doesn't have a viewfinder. You may buy a viewfinder but is costs almost as much as the camera. For those that have previously used point and shoot camera, you might find that the multi tilt screen is more of a plus than the lack of viewfinder is a minus. The flash is screw on and not internal. This doesn't bother me, I just leave the flash on the camera. Adding it doesn't change the small form factor much. The flash is included with the camera. A larger DSLR can be more ergonomically friendly. You need to decide if the small form factor is more important than better ergonomics. I have both this camera and a full frame DLSR/SLT Sony A99. I love my A99 but I don't want to carry it with me all the time. The 5T now lives in my purse and will be with me most of the time.

Not as expected - very similar to a point and shoot in both use and photo quality. In particular the power zoom is awkward and slow to adjust (manual would be better). The touchscreen has below average resolution and is cumbersome to use even for simple tasks (e.g., change shooting modes)

I am a dedicated Canon user and bought this on a Lightning Deal, to see how it stacks up to my Canon bodies (7D and t3i). I will probably update this later, but here are the salient points if you're thinking about jumping ship. PROS: -Video quality. Despite a lower bitrate and smaller files, the Sony delivers better footage using identical lenses and settings. Less noise, better exposure at a given ISO. -1080 @ 60p. It's an embarrassment that Canon is so far behind on this. This was the number one factor in my not getting a Canon M body for a compact option. -Easy lens conversion. A $60 adapter lets you use your full range of EF lenses, including autofocus and aperture control. Stick the Canon 40mm pancake on there for a very compact package. CONS: -Strange exposure problems in full sun. Even in manual mode, the camera badly overexposes once you hit Record. You can set the exposure perfectly, and then it auto-adjusts for no apparent reason to a badly blown out image. [UPDATE: This seems to be unique to the lens adapter I'm using, and I figured out a work-around. Not Sony's fault.] -Buggy PC interface. I can't get files off the camera with either the "Import" dialog or via Windows Explorer. Error message says "Resource in Use." So I have to physically remove the SD card for each file transfer. -Buggy charging and battery drain. It's nice that you can charge the battery via USB, less nice that you don't have another option. External charger and extra battery I'd say is a necessary additional purchase. Also using the camera while plugged in? Nope. Error message that says "check USB device." All in all I'd say this thing crushes Canon for the price.