• NEX-3
  • NEX-5

Main specifications

    NEX-5 NEX-3
System
Camera type Interchangeable lens digital camera
Lens compatibility Sony E-mount lenses
Image sensor
Type APS-C type (23.4 x 15.6 mm), Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor with RGB primary color filters
No. of pixels (approx.) 14.2 megapixels (effective), 14.6 megapixels (total)
Anti-Dust system Charge protection coating on low-pass filter and electro-magnetic vibration
Recording system (still image)
Recording format JPEG (DCF v.2.0, Exif v.2.3, MPF Baseline compliant), RAW (Sony ARW 2.2 format), RAW & JPEG
Image size (pixels) Aspect ratio 3:2 L: 4592 x 3056 (14M), M: 3344 x 2224 (7.4M), S: 2288 x 1520 (3.5M)
Aspect ratio 16:9 L: 4592 x 2576 (12M), M: 3344 x 1872 (6.3M), S: 2288 x 1280 (2.9M)
Image quality modes RAW, RAW & JPEG, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard
Other features Creative Style: Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, B/W (Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness adjustable in +/-3 steps)
Dynamic range functions: Off, D-Range Optimizer (Auto, Lv 1-5), Auto HDR (Auto exposure diff., Adjustable exposure diff.: up to 6 EV between 1.0 EV to 6 EV in 1 EV steps)
Color space sRGB, Adobe RGB
Recording system (movie)
Recording format AVCHD, MP4
Video Compression: MPEG-4 AVC (H.264),
Audio recording format: Dolby Digital (AC-3) / MPEG-4 AAC-LC 		MP4
Video Compression: MPEG-4 visual, Audio recording format: MPEG-4 AAC-LC
Image size (pixels) [1080 60i-compatible / NTSC]*
AVCHD: 1920 x 1080 (59.94i / Average bit rate 17 Mbps), MP4: 1440x1080 (29.97 fps / Average bit rate 12 Mbps), VGA: 640 x 480 (29.97 fps / Average bit rate 3 Mbps)
* NTSC / PAL compatibility depends on region. 		MP4: 1280 x 720 (29.97 fps / Average bit rate 9/6 Mbps),
VGA 640 x 480 (29.97 fps / Average bit rate 3 Mbps)
[1080 50i-compatible / PAL]*
AVCHD: 1920 x 1080 (50i / Average bit rate 17 Mbps), MP4: 1440 x1080 (25 fps / Average bit rate 12 Mbps), VGA: 640 x 480 (25 fps / Average bit rate 3 Mbps)
* NTSC / PAL compatibility depends on region.
Media
  Memory Stick PRO Duo / Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo / SD memory card / SDHC memory card / SDXC memory card
Noise reduction
  Long exposure NR: On/Off selectable, available at shutter speeds longer than 1 sec.
High ISO NR: Auto / Weak selectable, available at ISO 1600 or higher
White balance
Modes Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash, Color temp./Filter (2500 - 9900 k with 19-step Magenta / Green compensation)
Focus system
Type Contrast-detection AF
Sensitivity range EV 0 - 20 (ISO100 equivalent, with F2.8 lens attached)
Focus modes Autofocus / DMF (Direct Manual Focus) / Manual Focus selectable
Autofocus modes: AF-S (Single-shot AF) / AF-C (Continuous AF) selectable
Focus areaa Multi (25 points) / Center / Flexible spot selectable
Other features Predictive control, Focus lock, Built-in AF illuminator (Distance: approx. 0.3 - 4.0 m with E 16 F2.8 lens, approx. 0.5 - 3.0 m with E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens)
Exposure control
Metering system Type 49-zone metering
Sensitivity range EV 0 - 20 (ISO100 equivalent, with F2.8 lens attached)
Metering modes Multi / Center / Spot selectable
Exposure Control Exposure modes Programmed AE (Auto, iAUTO, P), Aperture priority (A), Shutter-speed priority (S), Manual (M)
Scene selection Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports Action, Sunset, Night portrait, Night View, Hand-held Twilight
Exposure compensation +/-2.0 EV in 1/3 EV steps
Exposure bracketing 3 continuous exposures, in 0.3 or 0.7 EV steps
AE lock AE is locked with focus lock
ISO sensitivity AUTO (ISO200 - 1600), ISO200 to 12800 selectable (in 1 EV steps, Recommended Exposure Index)
LCD monitor
Type 7.5 cm (3.0-type) wide type TFT, Xtra Fine LCD with TruBlack technology
Total no. of dots 921,600 dots
Brightness control Auto / Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2) / Sunny Weather
Field coverage 100%
Adjustable angle Up by approx. 80 degrees, down by approx. 45 degrees (from the camera back)
Display
  Histogram display, real-time image adjustment display (reflects exposure compensation, white balance, creative style)
Other features
  Face detection (up to 8 faces detectable automatically), Smile shutter (selectable from 3 steps), Precision digital zoom (1.1x - 10x)*, Grid line, MF assist, Shooting tips, Help guide
* Compatible only with single focal length lenses
Shutter
Type Electronically controlled, vertical traverse, focal-plane type
Shutter speeds 1/4000 to 30 sec, Bulb
Flash sync. speed 1/160 sec.
Drive modes
Drive modes Single-shot, Continuous shooting, Speed-priority continuous shooting, Self-timer (10 / 2 sec delay selectable), Self-timer (Cont.) (with 10 sec delay, 3 / 5 exposures selectable), Remote control (separately sold remote commander RMT-DSLR1 required) Single-shot, Continuous shooting, Speed-priority continuous shooting, Self-timer (10 / 2 sec delay selectable), Self-timer (Cont.) (with 10 sec delay, 3 / 5 exposures selectable)
Continuous shooting (approx.) Continuous mode: max. 2.3 fps, Speed-priority continuous mode: max 7 fps
* Varies according to shooting conditions and memory card used
No. of frame recordable (approx.) Fine: 14, Standard: 16, RAW: 7, RAW & JPEG: 7
* Varies according to shooting conditions and memory card used
Playback
  Single (with or without shooting information, RGB histogram & highlight/shadow warning), 6/12-frame index view, Enlarged display mode (L: 13x, M: 10x, S: 6.7x, Panorama standard: 24x, Panorama wide: 34x), Image orientation, Slideshow
Interface
PC interface USB2.0 Hi-speed (Mass-storage, PTP)
HD output HDMI mini connector (Type-C), BRAVIA Sync (link menu), PhotoTV HD
Compatible OS (USB connection)
  Windows? XP* SP3, Windows Vista? SP2, Windows 7
* 64-bit editions and Starter Edition not supported. Windows Image Mastering API (IMAPI) v. 2.0 or greater required to create disks
Mac OS X (v 10.3 - v 10.6)
Audio
Microphone Built-in stereo microphone or ECM-SST1 (sold separately) attachable to Smart Accessory Terminal
Speaker Built-in, monaural, volume settings in 8 steps between 0 and 7
Flash
Type External flash (supplied) attachable to Smart Accessory Terminal
Guide No. 7 (in meters at ISO100*)   * Equivalent
Flash coverage 16mm (focal length printed on lens body)
Control P-TTL metering
Flash compensation +/- 2EV in 1/3 EV steps
Flash modes Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction on / off selectable for Autoflash and Fill-flash modes
Recycling time (approx.) 4 sec.
Print
Compatible standards Exif Print, Print Image Matching III, DPOF setting
Power
Battery One rechargeable battery pack NP-FW50
Battery performance (approx.) 330 images (CIPA standard)
External power Battery charger BC-VW1 (supplied), AC Adaptor AC-PW20AM (sold separately)
Weight (approx.)
  287 g (10.1 oz) (with battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo)
229 g (8.1 oz) (body, standalone) 		297g (10.5 oz) (with battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo)
239 g (8.4 oz) (body, standalone)
Dimensions (W x H x D)
  110.8 x 58.8 x 38.2 mm (4-3/8 x 2-3/8 x 1-9/16 in.) (without protrusions) 117.2 x 62.6 x 33.4 mm (4-5/8 x 2-1/2 x 1-3/8 in. ) (without protrusions)
Operating temperature
  0 - 40°C

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Recordable time of movies for single media

(Memory Stick Pro Duo, in hour:min.:sec., approx.)

File format (image size)
  AVCHD
(1920 x 1080)*		 MP4
(1440 x 1080)*		 MP4
(1280 x 720)**		 VGA
(640 x 480)
2GB 0:14:00 0:20:40 0:27:00 1:15:10
4GB 0:28:30 0:41:40 0:54:30 2:31:10
8GB 0:58:10 1:24:40 1:50:30 5:06:20
16GB 1:58:50 2:52:30 3:45:10 10:23:50
32GB 3:55:20 5:41:00 7:25:10 20:33:00

* NEX-5 only  ** NEX-3 only

  • Max, continuous recording time: approx. 29 min.
  • Max. file size of a single movie: approx. 2GB

Number of recordable still images for single media

(Memory Stick Pro Duo)

Image quality mode (image size L 14M, aspect ratio 3:2)
  Standard Fine RAW + JPEG RAW
1GB 204 143 37 55
2GB 433 305 84 122
4GB 875 618 176 251
8GB 1778 1258 362 514
16GB 3626 2569 745 1054
32GB 7172 5083 1478 2089

When aspect ratio is set to [16:9], you can record more images than the numbers shown in the table above. However, if it is set to [RAW], the number is the same as that of the [3:2] aspect ratio.

System requirements of bundled software

  Image Data Converter SR / Image Data Lightbox SR PMB
OS* Microsoft Windows® Macintosh Microsoft Windows®
Windows® XP** SP3 /
Windows Vista® SP2 /
Windows 7 		Mac OS X (v 10.3 － v 10.6) Windows® XP** SP3 /
Windows Vista® SP2 /
Windows 7
CPU Pentium III 800 MHz or faster Power PC G4 / G5 series
(1.0 GHz or faster recommended)
Intel Core Solo / Core Duo /
Core 2 Duo, or faster recommended 		Pentium III 800 MHz or faster
(For playing/editing HD movies:
Intel Core Duo 1.66 GHz or faster / Intel Core 2 Duo 1.66 GHz or faster)
Memory 512 MB, or more 1 GB, or more 512 MB, or more /
For HD movies: 1 GB, or more

Computer environment must also satisfy the operating requirements of the OS.

*
Compatible operating system: factory preinstalled only
**
64-bit editions and Starter edition not supported. Windows Image Mastering API (IMAPI) v 2.0 or later required to burn images to discs.
eco The eco-friendly α NEX-5 is 49% more compact than the α330 SLR, and weighs just 249g (body with flash attached).

Trademarks & Remarks

*
α is a trademark of Sony Corporation.
*
BIONZ, Bravia, SteadyShot INSIDE, S-Frame, Picture Station, VAIO, DVDirect, InfoLITHIUM, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO Duo, and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Corporation.
*
PLAYSTATION is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
*
Blu-ray Disc and Blu-ray Discare trademarks.
*
All other company and product names mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
*
InfoLITHIUM is a lithium battery pack which can exchange data with compatible electronic equipment about its energy consumption. Sony recommends that you use the battery pack with electronic equipment bearing the InfoLITHIUM mark.
  • Screen displays are simulated.
  • Photos shown in this website were taken with NEX-5.

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