The Cyber-shot DSC-H1 was Sony's first foray into the increasingly crowded compact, image stabilized 'super zoom' market, and it was a very successful one too. The DSC-H5 (along with little brother the DSC-H2) arrived almost exactly a year later in February 2006. The H5 is notable as the first 'big zoom' compact camera to feature a 7 megapixel sensor (a new Sony 1/2.5" CCD), and for its huge 3.0" screen. Otherwise the specification is pretty much the same as the H2, itself a fairly subtle update to the original H1 - no bad thing given the very high standards set by that model. Let's start with the headline features:
7.2 million effective pixels
36-432mm equivalent (12x optical) F2.8-3.7 Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens
Super Steady Shot optical image stabilization
Wide ISO 80-1000 range
Clear RAW™ noise reduction technology
3.0” LCD (230,000 pixels) & 0.2" (200,000 pixel) Electronic viewfinder
Full photographic control
Real Imaging Processor & 14-bit DXP A/D Conversion
Optional wide and tele lens converters
Scene selection (7 modes)
Histogram indication
32MB internal memory, plus a Memory Stick/PRO Duo slot