Reading about all the speculations got me all excited about the successor to my H1... If it truely live up to it's hype, I guess the H5 could be a good buy even if it means that I will have 2 similar cameras. I mean, just look at all the improvements from H1 that Sony is slowly releasing according to both the official site and from respectable professional in forums...

1.) 7.1 mp versus 5.1 mp
2.) 3" LCD screen with 230, 000 pixels and new anti-glare coating for use in bright light versus 2.5" LCD with only 115, 000 pixels.
3.) SuperHAD CCD that allows larger photosites (supposedly less noise compared to H1)
4.) Effective ISO up to 1000 versus ISO up to 400 (sample photos are distinctively less noisy but is ISO1000 relatively clean? This is the key feature that will persuade me if I am going to get the H1 successor)
5.) 13 stops flash control versus 3 stops (no more tissue to manually tone down flash)
6.) Self Timer 2" and 10" versus 10" only (useful for tripod shots to reduce shake)
7.) Zooming in video mode versus can't zoom in video mode
8.) Manual Focus Bordering (a border drawn around objects in best focus making MF useful)
9.) Comes in classic black finish body.

What got me most excited is the prospects of a relatively clean ISO 800 for H5. Sony did well with ISO 1000 for one of the latest camera release and if they manage to do the same for H5, that will mean more than 2 full stops of usable sensitivity in H5 compared to H1. It means I could use the H5 for indoor shots reasonably well too. That's just about 1 stop below our average dSLR in the market that offers up to ISO1600 sensitivity.

Now the wait is for the production camera to come out and reviews on the image quality. If it proves to be a winner, I know what I want for the coming Christmas. Plus, I get to use my wide angle and teleconvertor lens on H5 too, and the spare AA batteries. Besides, Sucre had been complaining about my old P3 being very slow.. so maybe I could sell it off and finance a compact camera for her instead...

It's great that I could use photography to help in my lessons. In the short 3 weeks, I had use it in more than 2 occasions and I plan to use some of my photos in the next lesson too. At least this gives me another reason to spend it when I get my bonus... But that's still another 9 months away. Back to lesson plans..

Tagged: singapore dsc h5 dsc h1