is the Sony Cybershot H5 a Digital SLR camera?

Question

I'm planning to buy this camera for my photographer fiance for Christmas. But I'm not sure if it's a Digital SLR or not. I know nothing about cameras, i need your help people! I wanna know if the H5 is a good buy or not too. Is the $470 price worth it?

Answer 1

It is called a SLR "like" camera. It is in the class of cameras known as Super Zoom. At true SLR has the option to change lenses. Typically they run from $750-$1200. This one has a very good lens, but you cannot put on different ones. This one is SLR like because you can view the picture trough the lens before you take it. The first link describes int in detail.

This is a very good camera, It would make me very happy. It is not a SLR-D. See the second link for review of true SLR-D Cameras.

Personally, I would not incur the added expense of buying the extra lenses that are available for the true SLR-D cameras.

Answer 2

H5 is a decent point & shoot (P&S) camera, but not an SLR. It is called "SLR like" because the viewfinder allows you to see through the lens as a real SLR does, plus you can screw on additional lens/filtors in front of the built-in 12x zoom lens. But fundamentally the design falls in P&S category--you cannot change the primary 12x zoom lenses, which is the most obvious difference between a P&S and an SLR. The image quality won't always be professional look either because of the extra long zoom range. But again, it is a very decent advanced camera, and will be fun for an amateur who shows interests in photography and wants to learn more (e.g. someone who wants more than snap shots and is looking to upgrade a 3-4x zoom P&S after 1-3 years of experience). However it will certainly not be satisfying for a professional photographer or even a very serious amateur like myself (someone who already develops a subject preference such as flowers, wild life, landscape etc.). Pricewise, $470 is on the higher end, you can probably find lower prices on line from pricegrabber.com etc. In general it's about the right range--more expensive than a 3-4x zoom P&S and cheaper than an entry level SLR.

Answer 3

No, it is not an SLR camera. It is still classified as a 'point-and-shoot'. However it belongs to a group of cameras called 'super-zooms'. This is because the H5 boasts a high degree of optical zoom (upto 12x). Super-zooms are often lauded as 'SLR-like' due to their high-feature set, SLR-similar body and high degree of image quality.

However SLR cameras boast the ability to change lens, which is something digital compact cameras such as the 'super-zoom' H5 cannot do. Therefore super-zooms like the Sony H5 and the Canon S3 have a decent fixed lens which is a 'jack of all trades'. That is, it can shoot many photographic situations at a generally good quality.. however it rarely really excels at any particular situation.

With digital SLR cameras, the ability to change lens allows you to choose a lens appropriate to the specific situation. So in essence, they are like 'specialist' cameras.

In general, you will find the H5 to be more than enough for most situations. It has a high-megapixel sensor, super-long zoom, Sony's Steadyshot technology which minimises camera shake effects on image quality when using slow shutter speeds, high quality movie-mode and full manual control. Unless your fiance is a serious photographer, she should be very pleased with the camera. Another model to look out for which is a competitor to the Sony H5 is the Canon S3-IS.

Hope this helped, and good luck with your purchase.

Answer 4

The Sony is an fairly good prosumer digicam. yet another kind to think about is Kodak. The P712 or P880 are large besides. they actually have hotshoes for flashes. they actually have threads for lens attachments. Nikon has pop out with a DSLR that is round $500 besides. which will run a touch better than the others, despite the indisputable fact that it really is an SLR.