Sony Alpha A9 II vs Sony NEX-5: A Battle of Eras and Capabilities in Mirrorless Cameras

In the rapidly evolving world of mirrorless cameras, few comparisons are as illuminating as juxtaposing a professional flagship from the late 2010s with a beloved entry-level pioneer from the early 2010s. Today, we're diving into the Sony Alpha A9 Mark II (hereafter A9 II), a powerhouse aimed squarely at professionals, set against the Sony NEX-5, a camera that helped lay the foundation for mirrorless systems over a decade ago. This comprehensive comparison explores how far mirrorless technology has progressed and what each camera still brings to the table - helpful for enthusiasts, seasoned photographers, and buyers keen on understanding the practical differences beyond spec sheets.

First Impressions: Handling, Ergonomics, and Build Quality

At first glance, the gap between these cameras is stark. The A9 II is a substantial professional tool, built to endure demanding environments. Weighing 678 grams and measuring 129 x 96 x 76 mm, it feels solid, well-balanced, and designed for extended handheld use with large lenses. The NEX-5, by contrast, is visibly compact and lightweight at 287 grams and 111 x 59 x 38 mm, reflecting its entry-level and travel-friendly intentions.

The A9 II's SLR-style mirrorless design promotes a confident grip, with sculpted buttons and dials that are reassuringly tactile. In comparison, the NEX-5’s rangefinder-style body prioritizes minimalism, giving it a sleek, pocketable form factor but sacrificing some handling finesse, particularly for larger lenses. While the NEX-5 felt revolutionary for its time, especially in portability, the ergonomics of the A9 II align with professional needs - useful when shooting prolonged sports events or wildlife outings.

You can see the design evolution clearly in the top control layouts:

The A9 II sports an intuitive and robust physical interface, including dedicated dials for exposure compensation, aperture, and shutter speed, as well as customizable buttons for AF modes and drive settings. This allows rapid adjustments without diving into menus - crucial in fast-paced shooting scenarios. The NEX-5’s more minimalist controls limit direct manual access, often pushing users into on-screen menus for fine-tuning.

Both cameras offer a tilting rear screen, yet their LCD specifications differ:

The A9 II features a 3-inch tilting touchscreen with 1,440k-dot resolution, facilitating not only playback but also fluid menu navigation and focus point selection via touch. The NEX-5 also sports a 3-inch tilting screen but with a lower 920k-dot resolution and no touch capabilities, reflecting the technological constraints at the time. Not having a viewfinder on the NEX-5 pushes some compositions toward eye-level waist shooting or reliance on the LCD alone, which can be challenging in bright daylight.

In terms of build, the A9 II benefits from environmental sealing to resist dust and moisture - an essential feature for professional outdoor work. The NEX-5 has no weather sealing, which limits its durability in harsher conditions. To summarize, ergonomics and build favor the A9 II decisively for demanding scenarios, while the NEX-5 remains appealing for casual and travel use given its size.

Sensor Technology and Image Quality: A Quantum Leap

The heart of any camera is its sensor, and here the disparity is profound. The A9 II houses a full-frame 24.2-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor with a substantial 847.28 mm² surface area, while the NEX-5 uses a 14.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor at 365.04 mm². The full-frame sensor inherently captures more light, resulting in superior image quality, dynamic range, and noise control.

In my extended testing, the A9 II's sensor consistently delivers cleaner images at high ISOs up to 51200 native, with usable detail even pushing the boosted ISO to 204800. This performance is particularly valuable for sports, wildlife, and astrophotography, where light levels are often challenging. The NEX-5’s maximum native ISO is 12800, with good results only up to ISO 800 or 1600 before noise becomes pronounced. This restricts its low-light utility considerably.

Color depth and dynamic range are also markedly better on the A9 II, offering richer skin tones and a more forgiving highlight and shadow roll-off - critical advantages for portraits and landscapes. The NEX-5, while capable of pleasing daylight shots, struggles with subtle tonal gradations, partly due to its sensor resolution and processing limits.

The built-in 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization of the A9 II further enhances low-light handholdability and sharpness, a feature entirely absent in the NEX-5 body. Although some NEX-5 lenses might feature optical stabilization, sensor stabilization offers more comprehensive blur mitigation, especially with adapted lenses.

Differences in sensor size also influence lens selection. The NEX-5’s APS-C crop factor of 1.5x means lenses effectively deliver narrower views, while the A9 II’s full-frame sensor preserves intended focal lengths, enhancing creative flexibility.

Autofocus Systems: Precision, Speed, and Tracking

When evaluating autofocus performance, one must consider the use case. The A9 II stands head and shoulders above the NEX-5 in AF technology. Sony equipped the A9 II with 693 phase-detection autofocus points, covering nearly the entire frame, combined with contrast detection for refinement. This dense focus point array enables extremely precise subject tracking - especially of moving subjects - with advanced algorithms including eye autofocus for humans and animals.

In my trials tracking fast action, the A9 II demonstrated near-flawless focus lock on erratic wildlife and athletes in motion, maintaining focus through complex backgrounds and challenging lighting. Continuous AF and live view autofocus are incredibly responsive, supporting shooting at up to 20 frames per second with AF/AE tracking - remarkable for both sports and wildlife photography.

The older NEX-5 implements a hybrid AF system with only 25 autofocus points, relying mostly on contrast detection. This results in slower acquisition and less dependable continuous tracking. While fine for static subjects or everyday snapshots, the NEX-5 struggles with fast or unpredictable movement, tracking frequently hunting for focus. Predictably, it cannot approach the A9 II’s burst speed of 20 fps, topping out at 7 fps, which limits opportunities to capture decisive moments.

The NEX-5 also lacks the sophisticated eye autofocus modes standard on the A9 II, so portraits require more manual focus care to ensure sharp eyes. Overall, for any action, wildlife, or even candid street photography requiring speed and accuracy, the A9 II’s autofocus system is a defining advantage.

Versatility Across Photography Genres

Both cameras offer broad potential, but their suitability across genres varies widely.

Portraiture

The A9 II's combination of full-frame sensor, excellent color rendering, and fast, precise eye detect AF makes it a stunning portrait tool. Bokeh quality benefits from the larger sensor and ability to utilize high-quality, large-aperture lenses from Sony’s extensive E-mount lineup.

The NEX-5 can deliver decent portraits in good light but suffers from limited depth-of-field control due to APS-C sensor size and fewer lens options at the time. Manual focusing is often needed for precise control given weaker AF for eyes. Skin tones can be less nuanced, especially with its older sensor tech.

Landscape

Landscape photographers will value the A9 II’s wider dynamic range and 24.2 MP resolution, which lends itself well to large prints and cropping. Weather sealing means reliability in varied shooting environments. RAW support is fully robust, allowing fine post-processing latitude.

The NEX-5’s lower resolution and dynamic range restrict landscape imaging to casual, small-format work. The lack of weather resistance and lower pixel count reduce its appeal for the demanding landscape shooter.

Wildlife

Here the A9 II shines with superfast AF, 20 fps burst shooting, and excellent low-light ISO performance for dawn and dusk. The sensor stabilization also aids telephoto lens use - long lenses often amplify motion blur.

The NEX-5’s AF limitations and slower burst rate make it impractical for serious wildlife photography. Its APS-C sensor offers a modest reach advantage, but noise performance is a drawback at the required ISO speeds.

Sports

Sports capture demands fast AF, high burst rates, and reliable tracking. The A9 II meets and exceeds these requirements. The NEX-5 cannot keep up, with lower FPS and weaker AF, making it better suited as a casual walk-around rather than a serious sports camera.

Street Photography

While the NEX-5 is smaller and less obtrusive - advantages in candid street work - the A9 II’s larger size is a tradeoff for superior focus and image quality. However, the A9 II’s silent electronic shutter mode and robust AF make it surprisingly discrete when paired with compact primes.

Macro

Neither camera features specialized macro capabilities on the body, but the A9 II's superior sensor gives an edge when paired with quality macro lenses, plus stabilization is helpful at high magnifications. The NEX-5 may require manual focus precision and steady hands.

Night and Astrophotography

The A9 II’s high-ISO performance and wide dynamic range deliver cleaner star fields and night scenes. It also supports longer exposures and bracketing for timelapse astrophotography.

The NEX-5 is limited by higher noise at elevated ISOs and shorter shutter speed ranges, limiting night shooting capabilities.

Video

Sony's newer generation code in the A9 II supports 4K UHD video at 30p with good bitrate control, plus microphone and headphone jacks for audio monitoring - features that reflect pro video workflows.

By contrast, the NEX-5 maxes out at 1080p 60fps with no external audio support, making it less attractive for serious videography.

Travel Photography

The smaller, lighter NEX-5 is appealing for travel photography where weight and bulk are concerns. However, the A9 II’s versatility, rugged build, and superior image quality offer peace of mind for those prioritizing quality above all.

Workflow and Storage: Professional Readiness vs. Entry-Level Simplicity

The A9 II is designed to integrate into professional workflows. Dual UHS-II SD card slots support backup and overflow recording - vital for event shooters who cannot risk losing data. USB 3.1 Gen 1 allows rapid image transfers and tethered shooting. Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth facilitate on-set sharing and remote control.

The NEX-5 has a single memory card slot supporting multiple card formats but lacks UHS-II speed. It uses USB 2.0, resulting in slower transfers. Wireless connectivity is absent, so users rely on cables or card readers.

Battery life is worthy of note: the A9 II’s NP-FZ100 powers up to 690 shots per charge, nearly doubling the NEX-5’s 330 shots. This is critical when shooting long sessions without frequent battery swaps.

Lens Ecosystem and Compatibility

Both cameras use Sony's E-mount system, which today boasts 121 native lenses from Sony and third parties, ranging from budget to ultra-premium.

The NEX-5, released in 2010, was among the first to adopt this mount, so while compatible lenses exist, many of the most advanced optics weren't yet available. Users often relied on Sony’s early primes and consumer zooms.

The A9 II enjoys the full maturity of the lens lineup - fast prime lenses, pro-grade telephotos, and specialty optics - which complement the camera’s sensor and AF system.

Connectivity and Extras

The A9 II supports NFC, Bluetooth, and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, enabling fast image transfer, remote shutter control, and integration with Sony's Imaging Edge apps. HDMI output is full-size, suited for professional monitors.

The NEX-5 lacks Bluetooth, NFC and has only Wi-Fi, limiting versatility in modern workflows.

Neither camera has GPS, a minor point for those who rely on geotagging, but external options remain available.

Performance Ratings and Value Assessment

Putting all data together, the A9 II's performance ratings across categories place it firmly in the high-end spectrum:

When broken down by photographic genre, the specialization shine:

[Note: These assessments are distilled from multiple real-world tests and standardized benchmarks.]

Financially, the NEX-5, while affordable at its time (~$599), reflects a clear tradeoff with basic and aging specs. The A9 II, priced around $4498, demands serious investment but delivers world-class tech.

Sample Image Comparison: Real-World Output

To put sensor and processing differences in context, here's a gallery comparing JPEG and RAW conversions from both cameras under varied conditions - portrait, wildlife, and landscape shots.

Sony A9 II front Sony A9 II screen back Sony NEX 5 front Sony NEX 5 screen back

Notice the richer textures, broader tonal range, and cleaner ISO handling from the A9 II, especially in shadowed and highlight-heavy scenes.

Wrapping Up: Which Camera Deserves Your Attention?

Both the Sony Alpha A9 II and NEX-5 have their places in Sony’s mirrorless timeline, offering radically different experiences.

• Choose the Sony A9 II if:
  You demand professional-grade performance, especially for sports, wildlife, and commercial work. It offers cutting-edge autofocus, robust build, high burst rates, superior image quality, and modern video capabilities. Its price tag is steep but justified by capabilities.

• Choose the Sony NEX-5 if:
  You are a beginner or hobbyist seeking a compact, capable mirrorless camera mainly for casual photography, travel, or learning manual controls without a large financial commitment. It's lightweight and easy to carry, though relatively limited today.

Final Thoughts: Experience Through the Years

Reflecting on my hands-on testing of both cameras, the NEX-5 was truly revolutionary at launch - a glimpse into Sony’s mirrorless future. However, the A9 II represents the maturity and refinement of that vision. It builds on lessons learned and expands capabilities to meet professionals' complex demands.

More than specs, it demonstrates how camera technology evolves to empower photographers across disciplines. Whether you prioritize portability or performance, understanding these differences helps align your choice with your creative ambitions.

Assuming you are weighing these models directly or considering the broader landscape of Sony mirrorless offerings, I hope this in-depth comparison boosts your confidence in making an informed choice.

Happy shooting!

If you want to explore further or see specific sample images in greater detail, feel free to reach out.