Photography

Sony outs lightweight, Wi-Fi-enabled α5000 interchangeable lens camera

Sony outs lightweight, Wi-Fi-enabled α5000 interchangeable lens camera
The new Sony α5000 camera is billed as the world’s lightest interchangeable lens camera to feature the convenience of Wi-Fi connectivity
The new Sony α5000 camera is billed as the world’s lightest interchangeable lens camera to feature the convenience of Wi-Fi connectivity
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The new Sony α5000 camera is billed as the world’s lightest interchangeable lens camera to feature the convenience of Wi-Fi connectivity
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The new Sony α5000 camera is billed as the world’s lightest interchangeable lens camera to feature the convenience of Wi-Fi connectivity
The Sony α5000 has a tiltable LCD screen that can flip upwards up to 180 degrees for easy self-portraits
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The Sony α5000 has a tiltable LCD screen that can flip upwards up to 180 degrees for easy self-portraits

Sony has crammed a 20.1 Megapixel APS-C image sensor and Wi-Fi capability into a package weighing only 8 oz (220 g) in its latest mirrorless camera offering – the Sony α5000. Announced at CES 2014, the camera features the same BIONZ X processor found in the company's α7 and α7R full-frame cameras, giving it ISO sensitivity of up to 16000 for low light shooting.

Billed as the "world’s lightest interchangeable lens camera to feature the convenience of Wi-Fi," the α5000 uses a Smart Remote Control feature to link to Xperia or NFC-capable Android smartphones and tablets. As well as enabling wireless image transfer, this feature also lets the user shoot remotely using their device as a trigger for the shutter.

The Sony α5000 has a tiltable LCD screen that can flip upwards up to 180 degrees for easy self-portraits
The Sony α5000 has a tiltable LCD screen that can flip upwards up to 180 degrees for easy self-portraits

Selfie-obsessed snappers can make use of the rear LCD screen which is rotatable to 180 degrees, taking the guesswork out of self-portraits and odd-angles, but also coming in handy when shooting HD video from a tripod. Another practical feature for those wanting to shoot video is the optical zoom lever positioned on the camera body.

The Sony α5000 can be fitted with any of the E-mount interchangeable lenses (of which there are now 22 on the market) and comes with a 16-50mm motorized zoom lens as standard.

The asking price will be around the US$600 mark with a when the α5000 becomes available in March 2014. It will come in three colors: white, black or silver.

Source: Sony

7 comments
7 comments
Oriorda
I never cease to be amazed at the lack of foresight major manufacturers display when they design products. This looks a good camera till you come to its WiFi. NFC? Andoid?
What are they thinking?
The world's most successful cameras are on iPhones. If you wanted to attract any of those users, the last things you would implement would be NFC and Android connectivity.
f8lee
I'm astonished at how un-ergonomic these EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens) cameras are - like a deck of cards with a beer can stuck to the front. Try as I might to want to like them, I find them completely user-unfriendly.
CenTexKev
@Oriorda - I never cease to be amazed at iPhone users who think they are the center of the smartphone universe. Sony knows which way the smartphone market is going. iPhone percent of market keeps falling and Android percent keeps rising. The latest figures show iPhone losing 9 points in just one year - down to 43.1% of the market. Android phones have risen to 50.3%. This trend will continue.
By the way, iPhone cameras are mediocre at best and do not even compare to those on some new Nokia and Samsung smartphones. Finally, why would Sony want to put any feature in their phones that encourages people to buy an iPhone instead of their superior Sony Xperia smartphones?
CaptD
@Oriorda Forget the iPhone "center of the smartphone universe" comments...
Sony is indeed shooting themselves in the foot by not offering their camera to iPhone users GLOBALLY...
What are they thinking?
What part of the marketplace do they not even attempt to attract?
Sony needs to rethink their priorities... and offer the best camera they can to as many users as possible, otherwise they are doomed to more of the same lackluster product offerings, because some other manufacturer like Nikon will do it and take away even more of their market share...
Keith Reeder
"The world's most successful cameras are on iPhones."
Oh sure - as long as your photographic aspirations never reach beyond the "need" to quickly post up yet another poxy "selfie" onto Facebook.
spcat
Well, that escalated quickly..
alecbaldwin
It is VERY SIMPLE. What most users here have not realized, the iOS/Apple ecosystem is dead. Not part of the future of major companies. Look at marketshare growth android vs. ios.. interpolate that by 3 to 5 years and apple is just a blip. Also the products are stale.. old and boring. Why would a progressive company like Sony associate itself with that. Experts in this matter agree...android matters.. ios is dead.