PHOTO QUALITY. This 20-megapixel mirrorless camera captured images with very good quality. Pictures were sharp, which means you can see most details and subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were sharp. We judged this model excellent for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; very good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym; and very good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed little image noise; subjects retained most of their correct detail and color.
FLASH. The Alpha A5000 w/ 16-50mm OSS PZ with the 16-50mm kit lens captured flash shots that were good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate most subjects that are closer to the camera, but had some problems with distant subjects. The flash also has good, relatively even coverage.
LENS. This camera has a standard 3x optical zoom lens. The lens also has very wide-angle (24mm) capability that's very useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
ANTI-SHAKE. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos. Overall, the composite shake reduction results from our tests were excellent.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Sony Alpha A5000 w/ 16-50mm OSS PZ powers up in a moderate amount of time.
VIDEO. The Sony Alpha A5000 w/ 16-50mm OSS PZ takes very good video. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080. As for sound, it captures very good audio in stereo.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Unlike most mirrorless models, this camera does not include a viewfinder, which means you'll need to rely on the LCD to compose your photo or video. The display also swivels; this can be helpful when shooting self-portraits or hard-to-reach shots. This mirrorless is much smaller, thinner and lighter than most in its class.
