Sony HX5v first impressions

[mf15]

Jan: You can fix the redish flash pictures by doing a manual WB, it seems to have worked for me.

But can someone fix this. Here is a 100% crop if I did it right, of a Robin at full zoom in auto mode, I also get this same effect in bright sun. Notice the lack of detail,looks like a water color, not really happy with the picture. The Robin was only about 30 feet away. I am a novice, have tried a few different things with the camera but nothing seems to help. Have also tried post process to make this better, seems that there is nothing to sharpen,still trying to get deconvolution to work,if it is a NR problem. This is a 5Mp
picture since I have read on here that 5Mp is sharper, I started at 10Mp when I first got the camera about 3 weeks ago.

Thanks
Old Mike

[mtclimber]

Old Mike-

Here is the best I could do with your image. It was very soft to begin with, which made recovery difficult. Needless to say, the HX5 is not a perfect camera.

Sarah Joyce

[mf15]

Hi Sara: Thanks. I have been following this thread and your comments on the camera for about 3 weeks since I got the camera. As a novice it seems to me that is main problem with the camera, poor resolutiion/detail from the chip,at least at distance. Unless perhaps is it some sort of focus/exposure problem at distance. I will try some other focus/exposure settings if I can find a bird.
Thanks Old Mike

[FiveO]

Originally Posted by mf15

Hi Sara: Thanks. I have been following this thread and your comments on the camera for about 3 weeks since I got the camera. As a novice it seems to me that is main problem with the camera, poor resolutiion/detail from the chip,at least at distance. Unless perhaps is it some sort of focus/exposure problem at distance. I will try some other focus/exposure settings if I can find a bird.
Thanks Old Mike

I have had the cam for a few weeks also and have had the same issue. I have a couple great 10fps shots of birds, a chopper, etc. done at full or near full zoom and they suffer from terrible IQ. I actually think the problem is simply fine detail though due to the NR. I have full or near full wide angle shots with trees in the background. If I do a 100% crop, I can see that the trees look like watercolors. I rarely print anything other than 5x7 prints though so that isn't a major concern. The problems at telephoto are a concern though.

[Birger]

Originally Posted by mf15

This is a 5Mp
picture since I have read on here that 5Mp is sharper, I started at 10Mp when I first got the camera about 3 weeks ago.

Thanks
Old Mike

Now I haven't got the HX5v since Sony can't deliver it in Europe, but out of the resolution I get from my TX5 with the same sensor and a smaller lens I have to ask/wonder:
- what with the 5 MP? Seems silly to me not to use the full resolution of the sensor. I think it's a false statement that you would get better resolution since the pixels are the same. There's no Fuji tricks in this one as far as I know.
- what's the ISO of the pictures? The NR is terribly visible with higher ISO, but even my small TX5 shows great resolution up to ISO 200, then it gets worse at 100% pixelpeeping. Could be that the camera chooses a higher ISO due to the full zoom, small aperture and the interpretation of the subject
- a 10X zoom lens is always weak at its tele end

Don't wait for another bird, take some shots with ISO 200 max and full resolution of something else and check the result. But don't expect miracles..

[FiveO]

Originally Posted by Birger

- what with the 5 MP? Seems silly to me not to use the full resolution of the sensor. I think it's a false statement that you would get better resolution since the pixels are the same. There's no Fuji tricks in this one as far as I know.

He didn't state that he would get better resolution. He stated that he read he would get better sharpness and this should indeed be true based on the EXIF data. The Compressed BPP field has a value of 5 for the 5MP pics whereas it has a value of 4 for the 10MP shots.

[CyberTron]

yesterday it was sunny then came the rain..today it was just a cloudy day. but quite warm and nice.

[mf15]

The Robin photo is at ISO 400,F3.5,1/100 sec,FL 42.5 mm.
bits/pixel 5.

Here is a 100% crop in bright sun,ISO 125,Fl 6.47 1/500
10Mp,still not all that much detail.

Mike

[mf15]

Now this is interesting 100% crop 5Mp at ISO 125,FL42.5 full zoom, but I was only 10 feet away, as you can see there is a lot of detail. So what is going on, it seems that the lens/chip combination looses detail/sharpness/focus at distance, perhaps it is not just NR as many believe. Perhaps resolution of the lens at distance. Novice here so any expert opinions welcome.
Mike

[mtclimber]

mf15-

The softness seems to appear at long zoom settings, while the squirrel is in what I have come to refer to as the "sweet area" for the HX5, plus there was plenty of light.

At least that is my experience with the HX5.

Sarah Joyce