Sony DSC-H5 Optics

Zoom
A generous 12x optical zoom range, with excellent performance. Digital zoom is also well done.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 optical zoom covers the equivalent of a 36-432mm range, outstanding among consumer digital cameras. Results were quite good at wide angle, though some corner softness and coma distortion was present. Sony's Precision Digital Zoom did much better than average at holding onto detail, which is often greatly compromised with digital enlargement. Though fine details were soft with digital zoom, overall results were better than we'd normally expect.

Macro
A tiny macro area with excellent detail and high resolution. Flash exposure was very uneven up close.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5's macro setting performed well, capturing a very small minimum area of 1.45 x 1.09 inches (37 x 28 millimeters). Detail and resolution were both very good, though there's a fair amount of softening in the corners from the lens. (Most cameras have some softening in the corners in macro mode.) The flash produced a very uneven exposure here, partially blocked by the lens with a strong overexposure in the top of the frame. (Plan on using external lighting for your closest macro shots with the DSC-H5.)

Distortion
Moderate barrel distortion, though very low pincushion.

This is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide angle) or inward (like a pincushion -- usually at telephoto). The Cyber-shot DSC-H5's 0.85% barrel distortion at wide angle is about average among the cameras we've tested, although still uncomfortably high. At the telephoto end, the H5's distortion was unmeasurable, less than a full pixel.

Chromatic aberration
High, very noticeable effect on images at edges, not uncommon among long zooms.

Chromatic aberration is rather high at both wide angle and telephoto, showing about 7-8 pixels of very bright coloration on either side of the target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.) The effect is pretty noticeable in several of our test shots.

Corner Sharpness
Some softening in the corners of the frame.

The Sony DSC-H5 produced slightly soft corners in a few shots. At wide angle, corners were only slightly soft, compared to the center of the frame. At telephoto, corners showed stronger blurring.

Coverage
Good accuracy with both the EVF and LCD monitor.

The Sony DSC-H5's electronic optical viewfinder (EVF) and LCD monitor produced identical results here (not surprising since they're essentially the same view), with right about 100% accuracy at both zoom settings. Good results overall.