Sony A5000 : Tests and Reviews

The Sony FE 85mm F1.8 is a high-speed standard prime for Sony full-frame E-mount cameras such as the A9 and A7 cameras, but will also fit smaller “cropped” sensor APS-C models such as the A5000, on which it offers an equivalent field of view of a 130mm focal length.

We continue our optical analysis of Sony’s latest FE-mount lenses, this time examining the performance of the $1598 Sony Carl Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm F1.4 ZA. A professional-grade “fast” aperture wide-angle prime, the new lens is specifically designed for use on Sony A7 hybrid cameras. Including three aspherical lens elements and Zeiss T* coatings for enhanced image quality, let's hope for great results as we run though our industry standard tests.

Last month’s launch of six new FE mount lenses is great news for Sony enthusiasts shooting with A7 cameras. With only a modest number of FE lenses available until now, the new lenses — including two wide-angle primes, two ultra-wide angle converters, a close-focus macro and versatile superzoom — open up more possibilities on Sony full-frame hybrids. They’ve kept us busy in the lab, too, and the scores are in and verified for the FE 28mm F2.

Sitting directly above the current entry-level A5000 this new model boasts a similar 24-Mpix Exmor APS-C CMOS sensor with on-chip phase detection pixels covering over 90% of the image frame and Bionz X image processor as the high-end A6000 model. It also has a tilting 3-in touchscreen LCD and WiFi with NFC. Read on to find out how this new model performs.

Sony have launched the a5100 hybrid compact system camera featuring a 24.3Mp APS-C sensor, touch screen LCD and Bionz X image processor. Billed as the world’s smallest interchangeable lens camera there’s big expectations for this petite device. We pour through the specs to see what Sony have in store.

We’ve analyzed the image quality of the 20-Mpix Sony A5000 with over 20 zooms and primes. Read on to find out which of those models you should be using with Sony’s smallest and lightest mirrorless model.

With a 20.3-Mpix APS-C CMOS sensor, touch screen NFC Samsung’s Galaxy NX2000 is a new intermediate entry-level model sitting between the NX1100 and NX300. Read on to find out if it has enough to compete with mirrorless models from Sony.

We’ve analyzed the image quality of the 20-Mpix Sony A5000 with over 22 zooms and primes. Read on to find out which of those models you should be using with Sony’s smallest and lightest mirrorless model.

Following on from the firm’s hugely popular E-M5 and E-M1 models Olympus has introduced a new ‘entry-level’ model, the E-M10, sharing most of the features of both siblings. Read on to find out how the new model performs.

With Sony dropping the NEX branding from their mirrorless models, adopting a 20-Mpix APS-C CMOS sensor in a small form factor the new Alpha a5000 appears to continue the NEX lineage. Read on to find out how well it performs.